Young trees refer to the period from survival after planting to flowering and fruiting, usually 3-4 years. The main task of this stage is to raise trees, that is, to cultivate the skeleton of trees according to the requirements of tree structure, so as to lay a good foundation for high yield in the future. The principle of pruning young trees is light pruning, less thinning and more branches. The greater the amount of branches and leaves, the more organic nutrients are produced, the faster the formation and the earlier the fruiting period. To this end, the following pruning measures are mainly taken.

1. Cultivate the tree skeleton and enlarge the crown.

After planting, the requirements of stem height should be fixed according to different characters. In the growing season, according to the requirements of plastic surgery, taking advantage of the early maturity of buds, the new shoots of the central trunk and the extension branches of the main branches are repeatedly and moderately enucleated to promote branching and improve the branching order.

2. Pull branches and open corners to promote early forming.

When the new shoots stop growing in autumn every year, the required branch opening angle should be pulled, which will weaken the top advantage, promote the germination of buds at the lower part of branches, increase the leaf area, strengthen the trees and make them take shape as soon as possible. The angle can be opened by hanging. Don't pull branches in the growing season, the branches on the main side will grow upright, forming a right-angle dead bend to disturb the tree shape. Be open-minded, leave 0. 1 ~ 0.2 m weight short section for the cut branches after fixing, and be happy as soon as possible.

In the whole process of pruning young trees, attention should be paid to balancing the tree potential, restraining the strong and helping the weak, and making the master-slave clear and the hierarchy clear.

The extension branches of the main branches are cut off in the short and medium sections to promote the growth of long branches and expand the crown. In order to spread the crown quickly, the young trees have many branches and leaves. When pruning during dormancy, it is advisable to adopt the method of medium and short pruning, and leave the cut buds on the full buds to facilitate branching in appropriate parts. The big cherry has the characteristics of strong polarity, strong germination ability and strong branching ability. After short cutting, 3-5 long branches grow under the incision, forming so-called "three branches", "four branches" and "five branches", and the rest are mostly short branches or leafy branches, which makes the periphery crowded and the middle and lower parts empty. Therefore, these long branches under scissors should be handled according to the situation.

The upright branches pumped vertically downward can be cultivated into compact fruiting branches by strong coring in summer or extremely heavy short pruning in the second year of dormancy. Wait until a large number of results show weakness before thinning. This not only solves the problem of too dense peripheral branches, but also cultivates fruit-bearing branches and makes young trees bear fruit early. Other branches growing horizontally and obliquely can be treated appropriately by slow release, light short cutting and medium short cutting respectively, so as to achieve the purpose of pruning with light cutting, less thinning and more branches.

The upright branches on the back have strong growth potential, and if they are not treated, they will easily become competitive branches and disturb the tree shape. Thinning is generally used on other fruit trees. On cherry, it can be cultivated into a compact fruiting branch group close to the main branch by extremely heavy cutting, or it can be cultivated into a uniaxial fruiting branch group after its base is twisted flat.

Generally, weak branches tend to grow slowly, with few branches and easy uniaxial elongation, which not only hinders the growth of other branches, but also tends to weaken and die. Therefore, small fruit branches should be cultivated by pruning to prolong their life and give full play to their production potential. The first is young and short branches, the first is medium and long branches, and the rest are foliage branches; In the second year, the middle and long branches at the top are cut short, generally only one long branch or middle branch is issued, and the rest are short branches; In the third year, only short and medium branches are cut, and the rest branches are slowly released to promote their early fruits.

Pull out branches and open corners, and slow down the growth. Young cherry trees have small branch angles, and the main branches are easy to grow upright, which is not easy to open. By pulling branches and opening angles, the apical dominance can be weakened, the germination rate can be increased, the number of short branches can be increased, flowering can be promoted, and fruit can be produced early. Branching plays an important role in young tree pruning and is also an important means of early fruit bearing.