What do you mean by competing branches, straight branches and virtual branches?

The basic methods of fruit tree pruning include cutting short, thinning branches, retracting, slow-releasing, sprouting, coring, bending branches, twisting tips, softening branches, ring carving, ring peeling and so on.

1. Short cut refers to cutting off a part of annual branches, which is distinguished by the amount of cutting or the amount of cutting, including light short cut and medium short cut. There are four methods: heavy short cutting and extremely heavy short cutting. Moderate cutting can stimulate branches locally, promote the germination of cutting buds, and achieve the purpose of branching, prolonging, renewing and controlling (or short and strong); However, the total amount of branches and leaves decreased after short cutting, which had the inhibitory effect of delaying the thickening of mother branches.

The cut-off part of light and short branches is generally not more than 1/4 of the length of annual branches, and the rest branches are longer, with many lateral buds and scattered nutrients, which can form more short and medium branches, so that a single branch can enrich itself, ease the branch potential, be conducive to the formation of flower buds, and have less pruning, less damage to the tree body and less stimulation to growth and branching.

Short and medium cuttings are mostly cut at the full buds in the middle and upper part of spring shoots, and about 1/3- 1/2 of spring shoots are cut. After cutting, there are many medium-long branches, strong branches and strong growth, which can promote growth. Generally used to lengthen branches, cultivate strong branches or renew weak branches. Heavy and short shears are mostly cut at the middle and lower part of spring shoots where the buds are half full: the cut is large and the pruning amount is long, which has obvious weakening effect on branches. After heavy and short cutting, 1-2 vigorous branches or medium-long branches can be produced under the cutting mouth, that is, few but stout branches, which are mostly used for cultivating branches or renewing branches.

Extremely heavy short cuttings mostly leave dead buds of 1-2 at the base of spring shoots. After cutting, twigs of 1-2 can be produced under the cutting mouth, which can reduce the branch position and weaken the branch potential. Extremely heavy and short cuttings react better on trees with painful growth, and it is still possible to produce thick branches on strong and lush trees. Extremely thick and short branches are generally used for the treatment of long branches, upright branches or competitive branches, and can also be used for the adjustment of strong and prosperous branches or the cultivation of compact branches.

Different tree species and varieties have different responses to logging. In practical application, we should consider the characteristics of tree species and varieties and the specific pruning reaction, master the law and use it flexibly.

Second, cutting branches from the base is called thinning. Generally used to remove pests and diseases, dead branches, useless long branches, too dense cross branches and overlapping branches, as well as peripheral overlapping development branches and too dense auxiliary branches. The function of thinning branches is to improve the ventilation and light transmission conditions of crown, improve the photosynthetic efficiency of leaves and increase nutrient accumulation. Thinning branches will weaken the growth of the whole tree. Locally, it can temper the strength of the branches near Daishankou and enhance the strength of the branches near the scissors mouth. In order to strengthen the strength of branches near the kerf. The bigger the saw mark, the more obvious the weakening or strengthening effect is. The weakening effect of thinning depends on the amount and thickness of thinning. Removing the strong and leaving the weak, thinning many branches, with great weakening effect, can be used to update auxiliary branches; If the branches are sparse and the nutrients are concentrated, the trees (branches) can be robust and can be used for regeneration of large branches. The greater the thinning, the greater the weakening effect. So the big branches should be thinned in stages, once a year-not too much.

Third, the measure of cutting off perennial branches is called retraction pruning, which is referred to as retraction or shrinkage cutting. The pruning reaction varies with the position and degree of shrinkage. For example, retracting at the strong branch and removing the drooping branches and weak branches in front can improve the angle of perennial branches, shorten their length and reduce the number of branches, which is beneficial to nutrient concentration and can play a role in rejuvenation; The contraction of weak branches will inhibit their growth potential. Perennial branches usually have large wounds when they are retracted, and poor protection may also weaken the growth potential of slit branches.

In short, retraction has two functions, one is rejuvenation and the other is inhibition. The application of inhibition in production, such as controlling steep and strong auxiliary branches and inhibiting strong main branches under the condition of unbalanced tree potential. The application of rejuvenation also has two aspects. One is local rejuvenation, such as retraction of updated fruiting branches and retraction of perennial branches. Revive the mind, etc. The second is to rejuvenate the whole tree, mainly because the aging trees are retracted, the backbone branches are updated, and a new crown is cultivated.

The application of retraction rejuvenation technology should be flexibly mastered according to varieties, tree age and tree potential, branch age and branch potential. Generally, if the tree age or branch age is too large, the tree potential or branch potential is too weak, and the rejuvenation effect is poor. Guoguang variety still has good retraction effect on 4-year-old branches, while Bailong variety should be retracted on branches below 3 years old. The varieties with many latent buds and long life have obvious effect of shrinking and rejuvenating. Therefore, local rejuvenation and whole tree rejuvenation should be carried out as soon as possible.

Fourth, slow release is relative to shortcuts, and it is called slow release if it is not a shortcut. There are many lateral buds retained in slow release, and many branches in the future; But most of them are medium and short branches, and the strong branches are few. Slow release is beneficial to the relaxation of branches, the accumulation of nutrition, the formation of flower buds and early fruiting.

Slow-release branches have more branches and leaves, and the total growth is large, which is thicker than short-cut branches. When dealing with the relationship between the main branch and the auxiliary branch, if the auxiliary branch is released slowly, it will often lead to the rapid thickening of the auxiliary branch, and its branch potential may exceed the main branch. Because of the introduction, when the backbone branches are weak and the auxiliary branches are relatively strong, it is not appropriate to slow down the auxiliary branches; Control measures can be taken, or it can be leveled after slow release to weaken its growth potential. By the same token, in the process of shaping young trees, don't delay competing for branches, long branches, or flourishing branches on the back or back. Slow release should be based on the doctrine of the mean; When the number of long branches is too large and the amount of pruning at one time is too large, a small amount can be released slowly, but the branch potential must be controlled by combining measures such as softening, flattening, ring carving and ring stripping. When the slow-release long branches are still too strong in the second year, they can be thinned, so as to effectively control and maintain the subordinate relationship between the slow-release branches and the backbone branches, promote the slow-release branches to bear fruit early, and make them play the role of auxiliary branches.

The main purpose of taking slow-release measures in production is to promote flowering and fruiting; However, under different tree species, varieties and conditions, the period from slow to flowering and fruiting is different, so we should master it flexibly. In addition, after the sustained release results, it is necessary to distinguish different situations and take timely measures to recover and update them. It is not conducive to flowering and fruit setting, and it is also not conducive to ventilation and light transmission.

5. coring is to remove the tender part of the new shoot during the prosperous period of the new shoot. Nucleation can remove the apical advantage and promote the growth of other branches; After control, the new shoots after core removal can also appear secondary branches, thus weakening the growth potential of new shoots and increasing the number of medium and short branches; Some tree species and varieties also