想要果子长得好，必须要剪枝

For Big, Tasty Fruit, Be Sure to Prune¹ Fruit Trees

If there is one group of plants that needs continuous care, it is fruit trees.

Fruit trees require a lot of pruning² – the careful removal of dead, damaged or unproductive parts to make the tree grow better.

And, with the right pruning, all of the remaining branches get a good amount of sunshine.

Pruning helps fruit trees find a balance between shoot growth and fruit production. That is important for making sure the trees grow large, tasty pieces of fruit every year.

Without this balance, there may not be enough places for tree leaves to grow and fruits to hang.

The young tree

The first years are important to a fruit tree. These early years help trees develop a permanent base of branches to support a lot of fruit and get plenty of sunlight.

Centuries of fruit growing have led to many different kinds of trees, but there are three main ones: the central-leader, the open-center and the modified-central-leader.

That is a lot simpler than it sounds.

The central-leader tree has a large trunk in the center, with shorter and shorter side branches moving up the tree. It is shaped much like a Christmas tree.

The open-center tree looks almost like the opposite of a Christmas tree. It has three or four main parts growing outward and upward.

And, the modified-central-leader tree is a mix of the two: It starts as a central-leader then becomes an open-center.

These three forms let trees get enough sunlight. The ideal form for a tree depends partly on the way it grows naturally.

Get your tree in shape

Here are some ways to keep your fruit tree healthy:

Begin pruning any new tree by cutting broken stems⁴ and removing dead or diseased wood. If your new tree has just one stem³, shorten⁵ it by one-third to support branch growth. If the tree already has many branches, save well-placed stems and cut away all others.

The ideal branch placement starts about six-tenths of a meter above the ground and continues up the trunk, with about 20 centimeters between branches. For open-center trees, cut off the central stem just above the third branch.

For central-leader and modified-central-leader trees, you will need to force the main stem to continue making new branches. This can be done by cutting off about one-third of last season’s growth each year.

The top bud⁶ will grow to become an upright shoot and part of the trunk or lead branch. The lower buds⁷ will become side branches. Choose new side branches that are well-spaced along the lead branch or trunk.

The mature tree

Once a fruit tree is fully⁸ developed, the act of pruning helps create a balance between shoot growth and fruit production. How to get this balance depends on where a tree grows, its flowers and how big its fruits are.

Especially with large fruits, such as apples, individual pieces of fruit are usually too small and less sweet when the tree produces a large crop. Pruning removes some possible fruits so the plant can put more energy into those that remain.

When a tree is old enough to start growing fruit, each year prune some stems and remove others completely. Shorten stems where you want regrowth and more branches. Completely remove stems where you do not want this regrowth, such as where stems are crowded.

The amount of pruning required depends on the kind of tree you are pruning. The younger the stems on which fruits grow, the more stems must be shortened⁹.

At one extreme are peach and nectarine trees. They produce fruit only on stems that grew during the last season. So they need a lot of pruning each year to launch new shoots for the next year’s crop.

Prune enough so that a bird could fly right through the branches.

Apple and pear trees, at the other extreme, grow fruit on long-lived, very short branches called “spurs,” so they need less work. Sometimes, however, even spurs need pruning.

Most other fruit trees require more work than apple trees, and less work than peach trees. Again, completely remove some stems and shorten others to get a good balance of fruiting wood and stem growth.

I’m Alice Bryant. And I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

shoot – n. a new branch and its leaves on an established plant

branch – n. a part of a tree that grows out from the trunk

trunk – n. the thick main part of a tree

stem – n. the main long and thin part of a plant that supports the leaves and flowers

bud – n. a small part that grows on a plant and develops into a flower, leaf, or new branch

1 prune   

n.酶干；vt.修剪，砍掉，削减；vi.删除

参考例句：

• Will you prune away the unnecessary adjectives in the passage?把这段文字中不必要的形容词删去好吗？
• It is our job to prune the side branches of these trees.我们的工作就是修剪这些树的侧枝。

2 pruning   

n.修枝，剪枝，修剪v.修剪（树木等）( prune的现在分词 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分

参考例句：

• In writing an essay one must do a lot of pruning. 写文章要下一番剪裁的工夫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A sapling needs pruning, a child discipline. 小树要砍，小孩要管。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 stem   

n.茎，干，船首，词干，血统；vt.堵住，阻止，抽去梗；vi.起源于，发生

参考例句：

• Cut the stem cleanly,just beneath a leaf joint.把茎切整齐点，正好切在叶根下。
• The ship was in a blaze from stem to stern.整艘船从头到尾都着火了。

4 stems   

n.（花草的）茎( stem的名词复数 )；词干；（高脚酒杯的）脚；烟斗柄v.遏制[阻止]（液体的流动等）( stem的第三人称单数 )；封堵；遏止

参考例句：

• The present wave of strikes stems from discontent among the lower-paid. 当前的罢工浪潮起因于低工资雇员们的不满情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her interest in flowers stems from her childhood in the country. 她对花卉的兴趣产生于她在乡下度过的童年时代。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 shorten   

vt.弄短，缩小，减少

参考例句：

• Minor accidents can shorten the life of a car.小事故会缩短汽车寿命。
• My dress is too long I must shorten it.我的连衣裙太长了，我得把它截短些。

6 bud   

vi.发芽，萌芽；n.芽，花蕾

参考例句：

• Some flowers bud their leaves very early in spring.有些花在春季里很早发出叶来。
• A bad habit in a child should be nipped in the bud.应该尽早把孩子的坏习惯改过来。

7 buds   

芽( bud的名词复数 )； 苞； 半开的花； 未长大的叶

参考例句：

• the first buds appearing in spring 春天的初芽
• Willow trees breaking out into buds foretell the coming of spring. 柳枝绽青报春来。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 shortened   

v.弄短，缩短( shorten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shortened the skirt by an inch. 她把裙子缩短了一英寸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vacations have lengthened and the work week has shortened. 假期延长，工作周就缩短了。 来自辞典例句