Effect of pruning and tree shape on the growth and fruiting potential of young peach trees

Abstract

Three pruning treatments were compared on both vase and central leader shaped peach trees. They were: 1. Annual pruning. 2. No pruning at the end of the first and second year in the orchard then pruned in succeeding years. 3. Trees pruned in all years except the third year after planting. Greater tree growth, earlier cropping and higher yields were recorded from treatment 2. When summed over pruning treatments the central-leader-shaped trees outyielded the vase-shaped tree; and the central leader- shape combined with treatment 2 produced as many big fruit (> 6.5 cm diameter) as the vase-shape combined with treatment 1 and more than the other four combinations. The results suggest that in southern Victoria dessert peach trees should be shaped as central leader and left unpruned in the first and second year.