VOA慢速英语2009年-Agriculture Report - Do-It-Yourself: Pruni

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Pruning¹ makes no sense. You cut off parts of a plant. Yet the plant is supposed to grow back even better than before? This demands an answer.

The explanation begins with the apical bud. This bud is at the end of the actively² growing tip of the plant.

Apical buds produce a growth hormone³ called auxin. The buds release this hormone down the plant stem. When the top of the main shoot is removed -- by pruning or breakage -- the auxin is no long produced.

This causes buds to the side, called lateral⁴ buds, to wake up and start growing. The result: better plant development.

Pruning can also remove unhealthy or unneeded parts of a plant, and increase the growth of flowers and fruit.

Generally, the best time to prune⁵ is in late winter, before spring growth starts. But gardening experts at the University of Florida extension point out some exceptions.

For example, spring-blooming plants like spireas and azaleas should be pruned⁶ after they bloom. Then pinch the new shoots between your thumb and forefinger⁷. That will help them develop branches that produce new blooms.

Plant expert Doug Welsh says when you prune a rosebush, crape myrtle or shade tree, first remove dead, broken or diseased parts. Cut at the place where the problem begins. "Deadhead," or take off, dead blooms.

Remove any branches that touch another branch; leave the stronger one or the one that is in a better position. Remove any branches growing in the same space as the branches next to them. Also prune branches growing toward the ground, high branches growing straight up and shoots growing from the base of the tree.

But Doug Welsh, a professor at Texas A&M University, says not to go too far with pruning. He says a lot of it can be avoided just by choosing the right plant for the right space. "People can ruin what nature has created," he says.

Melissa Snyder, a master gardener in Manatee⁸ County, Florida, says pruning wounds a plant. People do not need to put anything on the wound, she says. But they do need to be careful not to wound themselves with chainsaws or other pruning tools.

Also, tools can spread disease from one plant to another. So be sure to disinfect tools with alcohol or bleach⁹ after each plant.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Next week, learn about new scientific understanding of how pruning works. And for more gardening advice, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 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》

2 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

3 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

4 lateral   

adj.侧面的，旁边的

参考例句：

• An airfoil that controls lateral motion.能够控制横向飞行的机翼。
• Mr.Dawson walked into the court from a lateral door.道森先生从一个侧面的门走进法庭。

5 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。

6 pruned   

v.修剪（树木等）( prune的过去式和过去分词 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分

参考例句：

• Next year's budget will have to be drastically pruned. 下一年度的预算将大幅度削减。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 forefinger   

n.食指

参考例句：

• He pinched the leaf between his thumb and forefinger.他将叶子捏在拇指和食指之间。
• He held it between the tips of his thumb and forefinger.他用他大拇指和食指尖拿着它。

8 manatee   

n.海牛

参考例句：

• We watched dolphin,manatee,sea lion and whale shows.我们看了海豚、海牛、海狮和鲸的表演。
• One of the most extraordinary river creatures is Amazonian manatee.其中河里最特别的生物之一要数亚马孙海牛。

9 bleach   

vt.使漂白；vi.变白；n.漂白剂

参考例句：

• These products don't bleach the hair.这些产品不会使头发变白。
• Did you bleach this tablecloth?你把这块桌布漂白了吗？