Maintenance and pruning of plum trees
1. Pruning of young plum trees is mainly based on light cutting and slow release. Open main branches and leave more auxiliary branches, so as to fill the space as soon as possible, relieve tree vigor and improve early yield. The angle of the main branch should be stretched by means of bracing and pulling, and the angle should be adjusted to 65-80, combined with light cutting of the outer buds to make it grow and bend. Auxiliary branches mainly use the flat and oblique average branches on both sides of the main branch, or use the upper oblique branches on both sides of some main branches by hanging branches. The branches of plum trees have shorter internodes, more buds and buds germinate and stand upright. New buds also have the ability to send secondary buds, which is easy to be crowded. In order to maintain good ventilation and light transmission conditions in the crown, excessive buds can be broken in time after germination in early spring and excessive branches can be thinned in summer. Attention should be paid to the combination of pruning in summer, and excessive upright and competitive branches should be removed in time. When cutting in summer, we should pay attention to the use of secondary secondary branches with suitable orientation and angle on the extension branches of the main branches in order to achieve the purpose of opening angle and multiple shaping. When the growth between main branches, between main branches and side branches is uneven and the affiliation is unclear, we can compress the strong branches, increase the opening angle of the strong branches, leave fewer branchlets, and lightly cut the extended branches for processing. For weak branches, we should raise the angle and leave more branchlets. In this way, the tree will leave fewer flowers and fruits, and the extended branches will be cut off again appropriately to keep the balance of the tree. Second, the pruning of trees in full fruit stage often adopts the method of changing the head of backbone branches and adjusting the angle and growth of the top of backbone branches, so as to achieve the purpose of restraining the former, promoting the latter, controlling the size of trees and maintaining the stability of trees. The peripheral branches of the upper branches are sparse, that is, sparse long branches, dense branches and competitive branches, and a small number of medium and strong branches are reserved. If the remaining branches are not cut slowly, the peripheral branches and leaves can be reduced, the illumination conditions in the inner chamber and the lower layer can be improved, the growth potential of the upper part and the periphery of the crown can be alleviated, and the fruit quality can be improved and high-quality bouquets can be formed. The pruning of branches should be sparse, weak, strong, sparse and new, and the branches should be refreshed and rejuvenated in batches in a planned way to control their number and growth. Third, prune trees when the fruits are heavy. In the full fruit period, big trees tend to sprout long branches on the back of the main branches, which should be cut off in time in combination with summer pruning. For the aging branch groups, it is necessary to recover the update in time and maintain strong growth. Other branches that are too dense, pests, diseases and delicate should be thinned out. For adult trees with vigorous growth and low yield, the reasons for their vigorous growth should be found out when pruning, and then corresponding measures should be taken. If the growth is caused by excessive pruning, the pruning amount can be appropriately reduced, and only the branches are densely planted, not chopped; On the basis of strengthening the comprehensive management of soil, fertilizer and water, the trees with many fruits, weak tree vigor and fruiting in different years should be appropriately pruned to enhance the vegetative growth and restore the growth of trees.