Effects of Mechanical Pruning on Tree Growth, Yield, and Fruit Quality of ‘Arisoo’ Apple Trees

Nay Myo Win, Juhyeon Park, Seonae Kim, Youngsuk Lee, Do Van Giap, Jung-Geun Kwon, Soon-Il Kwon, Jingi Yoo, In-Kyu Kang and Hun-Joong Kweon ()
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Nay Myo Win: Apple Research Center, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA, Daegu 43100, Republic of Korea
Juhyeon Park: Apple Research Center, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA, Daegu 43100, Republic of Korea
Seonae Kim: Apple Research Center, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA, Daegu 43100, Republic of Korea
Youngsuk Lee: Apple Research Center, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA, Daegu 43100, Republic of Korea
Do Van Giap: Apple Research Center, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA, Daegu 43100, Republic of Korea
Jung-Geun Kwon: Apple Research Center, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA, Daegu 43100, Republic of Korea
Soon-Il Kwon: Apple Research Center, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA, Daegu 43100, Republic of Korea
Jingi Yoo: Department of Horticulture & Life Science, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Republic of Korea
In-Kyu Kang: Department of Horticultural Science, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
Hun-Joong Kweon: Apple Research Center, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA, Daegu 43100, Republic of Korea

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 20, 1-13

Abstract: Pruning is labor-intensive and increases production costs, while mechanical pruning offers a promising alternative. However, research on its effectiveness remains limited. To address this gap, we evaluated the effects of mechanical pruning over two consecutive years (2023 and 2024) on tree growth, yield, and fruit quality of ‘Arisoo’ apple trees. The treatment included hand (manual) pruning (HP), mechanical pruning (MP), and combined mechanical and hand pruning (MP + HP) applied during winter pruning in a super-spindle-slender-shaped apple orchard. MP significantly reduced pruning time; however, the amount of plant biomass removed was lower in the MP treatment than in the HP and MP + HP treatments. Canopy volume was higher in the HP treatment than in MP and MP + HP treatments; however, the pruning treatments did not affect trunk cross-sectional area or tree yield. Leaf chlorophyll and nitrogen contents were slightly lower in the MP treatment than in the HP treatment in 2023 but were not affected in 2024. The MP treatment also noticeably reduced light penetration within the canopy and produced smaller fruits with lower soluble solids content and poorer coloration at harvest compared to the HP and MP + HP treatments. In contrast, the HP and MP + HP treatments showed similar effects on light penetration, yield, fruit size, and fruit quality; however, the MP + HP treatment significantly reduced the pruning time compared with the HP treatment. Overall, this study found that MP reduced light penetration and produced smaller and poorly colored fruits, whereas a follow-up combination of HP after MP improved pruning efficiency, light penetration, fruit size, and fruit quality.

Keywords: pruning; tree canopy; light penetration; tree growth; yield; fruit quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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