Pruning
Professional olive tree and vineyard pruning
- Working period
November-March
Vineyard pruning is an important activity to make the vine better able to withstand adversity and achieve the desired level of production, as well as to elevate the quality of the fruit and the resulting flavor.
The vineyard has two pruning periods per year in which different interventions are carried out: winter (dry pruning: between November and March) and summer (green pruning: several times during the vegetative phase, between late spring and summer). Dry pruning is the intervention carried out in most fruit trees, however, summer pruning is very important for vines.
Pruning vines and olive trees with agricultural machinery
Pruning is used to regulate the number of clusters the vine will produce over the course of the year and is carried out from November to March (dry pruning) or from spring to summer (green pruning).
Winter pruning takes place during the dormant phase according to the characteristics of the specific vine. First, dry or unsafe branches are removed, then those directed toward the center of the plant are removed, and finally those growing parallel and very close together.
This can be a short form of pruning (when shoots are left with a maximum of 3 buds) or a long form of pruning (when about 20 buds are left), poor (less than 10 buds maximum per plant) or rich (when more than 20 buds per plant remain). Depending on the technique used, different quantity and quality of grapes are obtained. When many buds are left there is a consistent production of grapes but probably with a reduced sugar content. If the soil is not very nutritious you may opt to cut back more so as to leave more sustenance for what remains.
Pruning and sacking
Summer pruning is equally important for plant growth to avoid diseases facilitated by shading and moisture accumulation.
Sacking involves removing too many shoots from spurs and shoots so that only one is left at each node, and the canopies are not overcrowded. This is an operation that must be done carefully to avoid leaving unproductive shoots. Topping is a process of removing the apexes of shoots and leaves that have propagated beyond the final strands, and is usually done in late June-mid July.
Suckering involves removing suckers, the shoots produced by latent buds along the stem, which risk taking space and nutrition away from healthy ones.If the clusters are found to be too covered by leaves, the excessive ones are removed to allow the remaining ones enough light and to reduce the moisture at the root of infestation. If there are too many bunches, they can be removed before berry coloring in order to raise the sugar content of the grapes.
Pruners make it possible to preserve the health of the plants and to remove damaged branches. Pruners allow reduction pruning to control plant size and growth, ensuring a balance between plant size and surrounding space.
Cordless pruning shears are handy and practical tools that can easily cut branches to perform olive and fruit-growing tasks.
Tiger SL 38 secateurs feature a very compact shape, cutting power and low weight, and excellent freedom of movement in the field!