Pruning and Fertilizing Fruit Plants

Taste-testing the fresh, delicious fruit grown in your garden is one of the most rewarding experiences a gardener can enjoy.

Plant a lush fig tree or row of pomegranates to save money at the grocery store and enjoy harvests year after year from your harvests. Just remember: fruit trees often take several years before bearing fruits!

Pollination

Insect-mediated pollination increases yields across numerous crop species and has been demonstrated to impact fruit quality; however, its mechanical linkages with crop quality remain poorly understood. Strawberry is one such crop where pollination treatments directly influence fruit size, DMC content, mineral contents, and storability; we examined their impact using field-grown plants of Redlands Joy (Redlands Joy), Sugarbaby, and Rubygem varieties harvested at commercial maturity and measured for fresh mass, length, and diameter as well as water aerated water content plus potassium concentration in their fruit as part of our analysis.

Flowers rely on external agents for pollination due to their inactive lifestyles; insects are the primary pollinators. Bees are among the most effective pollinators, moving thousands of grains of pollen between flowers almost instantly with just their buzzing action; their action acts like a living tuning fork shaking anthers that hold pollen, propelling it onward.

Some fruits, such as tomatoes and blueberries, are self-fruitful and don’t require pollinators; others, including apples, pears, most sweet cherries, and Japanese plums, require pollen from another cultivar in order to set fruit properly. Ornamental flowering trees may provide this pollen if their bloom periods overlap with that of their fruit tree’s bloom period.

Although horticultural and ornamental trees produce pollen compatible with bees, fruit growers should still use caution when applying pesticides during full bloom as the odors given off can interfere with bee attraction/aversion patterns. If pesticides must be applied at all, the application should occur early morning to minimize exposure of bees; when possible, organic farming methods should be utilized instead as this will both increase harvest and improve their health – creating a win-win for everyone involved! As bee populations decline nationwide, taking every bit of aid possible should be leveraged.

Pruning

Pruning is one of the cornerstones of managing fruit plants; by cutting away dead and diseased parts, pruned plants direct energy toward healthy growth while increasing airflow within their canopy. Pruning can also improve tree shapes to support heavy crop loads better and help rebalance root-to-shoot ratios, which is critical for overall health and fruit production.

Heading and thinning are two primary methods of pruning fruiting trees: heading and thinning. Young trees should be directed back in their first year of growth to reduce the number of branches, which could develop spurs in future years, creating an evenly spaced spur system that will enable heavier crop production later. As trees age, they must also be thinned to remove densely clustered spurs and twigs so the remaining spurs produce an appropriate level of fruit over decades.

Correct training and pruning techniques can have a substantial impact on fruit quality; however, they cannot replace proper plant health management or supplement any deficiencies with nutrients that impact fruit production, such as root rot, drought stress, or nitrogen deficiency. Trees with such ailments will struggle regardless of how well pruned, as will those suffering from root rot, drought stress, or nitrogen deficiency.

As with most fruit plants, fruit trees should be pruned during their dormant period – late autumn or early winter for most species – for best results. Spring pruning should be avoided as this encourages new growth that could be exposed to frost damage; summer pruning could result in spurious sprouts that do not have time to harden off before severe temperature drops occur, potentially leading to insect or disease issues.

Fertilization

Fruit plants require fertilization to ensure healthy growth and fruit production, with both organic and inorganic fertilizers available on the market. Each fruit tree has specific nutrient needs at various points in its life cycle; conducting a soil analysis can help identify particular needs as well as appropriate fertilizer application rates for individual fruit trees.

Many people also turn to organic compost or mulch as a source of nutrition for their fruit plants, in addition to commercial fertilizers. While natural sources may not offer as many vitamins, they can still improve soil quality while stimulating microbial activity and increasing biodiversity. It should be noted, however, that organic matter decomposes slowly and may attract pests; for this reason, it is wise to incorporate these materials carefully into soil mixes after thoroughly mixing them in.

Organic fertilizers should be applied early each spring and summer, using liquid or granular products mixed and applied by irrigation or spraying. A complete fertilizer blend containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium is highly recommended – please follow the directions on your packaging to determine the right concentration and application rate.

Most people are familiar with inorganic fertilizers like ammonium nitrate and urea. Available from garden centers and large retailers alike, these fertilizers come in varying grades that allow you to purchase what’s suitable for your plants’ needs – some contain slow-release technology that will enable plants to absorb nutrients more slowly; others are water soluble for irrigation or foliar applications; these may come packaged as powder or crystal form and should be mixed according to instructions on packaging.

To maximize the efficacy of fertilizers, it’s vitally important to monitor for and adjust for any deficiencies or imbalances in nutrient levels. Nutrient imbalance can have severe adverse impacts on tree health as well as fruit quality.

Protection

Fruit plants thrive best in warmer environments, while cold temperatures can reduce or kill their production. Passive frost protection involves covering trees during nights of extreme cold with a two-layer umbrella covering to protect from frost damage. Covers absorb the sun’s heat during the day and release it at night, keeping soil and blossom temperatures above freezing temperatures and protecting plants from windy conditions. Cold air tends to sink downward on sloped ground, displace warm air, and expose objects nearer the ground to lower temperatures. To stop this from happening, create a windbreak around your orchard with tall eucalyptus, jamun, seedling mango trees, or jati khatti/karonda/bougainvillea hedges as an effective protection barrier.

Mulch’s insulating properties also help fruit plants from cold conditions. Covering the soil with mulch keeps temperatures consistent and allows roots to absorb essential water sources; this practice is necessary for tropical fruits like papaya, banana, litchi, and amla that require warm soil conditions for healthy growth. Weeding out mulch areas regularly to avoid voles (commonly known as meadow mice) from hiding beneath it and nibbling off tree bark from trunks and crowns of fruit plants – something voles (known as meadow mice) from doing!

Other passive protection methods involve covering trees with tarps or plastic sheets at night to shield against cold damage and increase fruit set, bloom return, and flower induction. Unfortunately, if the coverings remain for too long, they may deprive plants of moisture and cause further complications.

Some growers opt for more active frost protection by planting taller canopy trees to shield lower trees from frost, but this method can be prohibitively expensive and may not work with every fruit variety or grower. In order to provide maximum effectiveness, these taller trees must belong to different cultivars than their counterparts in order to provide adequate freeze protection – and may compete for sunlight and nutrients, restricting their growth potential further.