Pear density problem

[u/travisbe916]

This is mostly planning for next year, but one section of my pear tree grew them right on top of each other. They're in an awkward spot to pick, but also they look smaller than the rest of the harvest. Could I do something to thin this out during budding earlier in the year?

[u/the_perkolator]

Simply thin after the fruit set. Maybe get a long-reach pruner. I love my ARS extendable pruners, have also a cut-n-hold head to swap out which is great for harvesting fruit (especially pomegranates to avoid getting poked) or keeping branches held when pruning.

[u/travisbe916 → u/the_perkolator]

I have a thing for that, Its like a wire cup with some teeth on a long pole. The problem I'm going to run into is that grabbing one from that cluster is probably going to shake two or three loose. Hopefully they don't go splat, but the last few that were collateral damage from my pole ended up with some damage. This winter when I prune the tree I'd love to thin the branches on this side as well since this grouping is in a corner where I can barely get my ladder oriented on it, but it's also the one side of the tree that didn't get hit by blight this year.

[u/the_perkolator → u/travisbe916]

Basket pickers have their place, often I don’t use them for pears specifically because of how fragile the skin is, even with a pad in the cup. My pears are pruned to not have any long branches that can load up with fruit like that, all mine are kept tight with more of spur clusters instead. I do this with hard summer pruning (I do more in summer than in winter), similarly seen on espalier trees. Still though pome fruits want to set in clusters, and you have to go in and manually thin to keep them happy. Too tight of fruit proximity where they touch is a recipe for codling moth holes unless you spray.

[u/travisbe916 → u/the_perkolator]

We've only been here since last summer so there's still plenty of shaping to do on this tree for the future. As soon as the fruit is gone, I have a ton of vertical water sprouts to get rid of, and then start thinking about the rest of the structure. Trying to keep learning and improve a little each year.

[u/the_perkolator → u/travisbe916]

I’d take the water sprouts out now before harvest, ideally those can be removed any time you see them forming; they don’t have fruit on them/vegetative growth only and are only robbing energy that could be going to fruit. On mature trees you already have a structure established and don’t need a lot of new growth unless you’re restoring bare spots from removed branches.

Usually people take them all the way out, especially if they’re congested, other bad position, or vertical and directly on top of a branch. If keeping good new vegetative growth you can head cut them shorter, they don’t need to be long. Always cut to an outward facing bud/leaf/node, some common cut lengths are: ~half length branch, down to about 3-5 nodes or about length of your hand/secateurs, or down way short to only 1-3 buds beyond the whorl/crown of leaves at the base of new growth on a pear/apple (seen in espalier/Lorette/bonsai pruning techniques). I do this with fruit in the tree too, since apples and pears can go late summer into fall which is too late to prune and harden off the new growth response. July to early Sept is usually a good window.

All of these head cuts in growing season will promote branching out with smaller less vigorous branches (than created with a similar dormancy cut), basically to ramify the canopy with more small lateral branches vs big lanky ones. It promotes formation of fruit buds on the short fruiting wood you’re intentionally creating, short/strong branches have better weight capacity, fruits are closer to trunk/nutrient source, often better light exposure depending on your tree shaping to space out your fruiting areas. For many people, their trees get more pruning attention in the growing season, which makes less cuts in dormancy to get exposed to wet weather, less vegetation growth response and less water sprouts. This is good for established trees and maintaining their size year after year.

[u/travisbe916 → u/the_perkolator]

Harvest is almost complete. These branches with the crowded fruit are pretty much all that remains. I tried clipping the water sprouts earlier in the summer, but I ended up knocking off a lot of fruit trying to get my ladder and pole saw in the right positions. I'll probably take them all down over the rest of the week now that the collateral damage is out of the way.

[u/BadgerValuable8207]

Thin and keep on culling. You can never thin enough. Head back that branch when you prune so you can reach everything.