Citrus Pruning: When? (Fake, 2012)
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When Prune Citrus Cindy Fake University of California Cooperative Extension, Placer & Nevada Counties January 2012
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Citrus Pruning. When? by Cindy Fake, County Extension (UCCE), California
Transcript of Citrus Pruning: When? (Fake, 2012)
When Prune Citrus
Cindy Fake University of California Cooperative
Extension, Placer & Nevada CountiesJanuary 2012
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When to Prune?
• After freeze risk has diminished
• Before summer heat • February/March is optimal• Pruning too early may stimulate growth
flush, late frost may then damage new growth
• Winter maintenance pruning should only be small branches <0.5 cm
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When to Prune…after freeze damage
• After freeze damage, do not prune until the spring growth flush shows you where the damage is
• Pruning too early can cause more damage
• If the freeze has damaged fruit, however, remove as much of the fruit as soon as possible to prevent further injury
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When to Prune…mitigate alternate bearing
• Alternate bearing = phenomenon where a tree carries a very heavy crop load one year and a very light crop the next
• Heavy crop depletes tree’s resources
• Produces less new growth, so only produces small amount of fruit the next year
• Pruning can mitigate alternate bearing – about 30% of difference at best
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When to Prune…after a light harvest
• Heavy pruning is done after the light crop year
• Reduces bearing wood and potential fruit load for the next “heavy” year
• Major branch pruning and canopy thinning should occur at this time
• Prune heavily after a light year to:– allow the tree to replenish its
reserves– reduce heavy crop so more
moderate crop in off year
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When to Prune Citrus?
Thank you!
Cindy Fake University of California Cooperative
Extension, Placer & Nevada CountiesJanuary 2012
