MECHANISED PRUNING OF INTENSIVE APPLE TREES IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE LEFT BANK FOREST STEPPE OF UKRAINE

Abstract

In intensive plantings of apple trees on clonal rootstocks, in order to obtain high and stable crops, it is necessary to manage the processes of growth and fruiting of fruit plants all the time. This is achieved by a complex of agricultural practices where mechanized pruning of fruit-bearing trees takes the main place. The research was conducted during 2020-2021 at Kharkiv Fruit Company LLC which is located in the village of Korobochkino, Chuguyiv District, Kharkiv Region. Pruning was carried out at three stages: at the beginning of the growing season (March), during the pink bouquet phase (April), and after harvesting (October). For pruning, a contour cutter of the segment type was used, forming a fruit wall at a distance of 40 cm from the central conductor in its lower part and 30 cm in its upper part. It has been established that pruning in the traditional period (at the beginning of the growing season) increases annual growth, thereby influencing crown thickening. Shoots of trees cut in the rosebud phase had the shortest length of 41.7 and 30.1 cm for the Reinette Simyrenko and Golden Delicious varieties, respectively. Post-harvest pruning also had a positive effect on the length of one-year shoots reducing it. The positive influence of mechanized pruning periods on the number of clusters on apple trees has been proven. Thus, the maximum value obtained on trees pruned in the rosebud phase was 129.8 pcs/tree for the Reinette Simyrenko variety, which is 27.9 more compared to the control, and 134.2 pcs/tree for the Golden Delicious variety, which is 31.6 pcs/tree more than control. The use of pruning trees in the pink rosebud phase increases the crop of the Renet Simyrenko variety by 7.4 t/ha compared to the control, and of the Golden Delicious variety by 7.3 t/ha. Thus, in the soil and climatic conditions of the left-bank forest-steppe of Ukraine, it is advisable to use the Fama contour pruner for pruning intensive apple plantations in the rosebud phase which provides the maximum crop per unit area, as well as the highest level of profit and profitability.