The Growth Activity and Productivity of Apple Trees Depending on the Form of the Crown and the Time of Pruning

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure. 3.

Specific productivity of apple trees depending on the shape of the crown and the term of pruning (averaged data for 2019–2022 years)

Crown form	Term of pruning	Specific productivity per bole cross-sectional area (kg·cm−2)	Specific productivity per total shoot length (kg·m−1)
‘Fuji’
Slender spindle	winter (control)	0.40 ± 0.03 cd	0.95 ± 0.06 c
	winter and summer	0.51 ± 0.04 bc	1.44 ± 0.13 b
French axis	winter	0.26 ± 0.02 e	0.72 ± 0.10 c
	winter and summer	0.33 ± 0.01 de	0.79 ± 0.12 c
Ballerina	winter	0.57 ± 0.05 ab	1.42 ± 0.09 b
	winter and summer	0.68 ± 0.04 a	2.03 ± 0.19 a
‘Honeycrisp’
Slender spindle	winter	0.31 ± 0.03 bc	0.84 ± 0.05 bc
	winter and summer	0.40 ± 0.03 ab	1.18 ± 0.04 ab
French axis	winter	0.17 ± 0.02 d	0.54 ± 0.08 c
	winter and summer	0.24 ± 0.01 cd	0.75 ± 0.08 bc
Ballerina	winter	0.35 ± 0.03 ab	1.13 ± 0.07 b
	winter and summer	0.43 ± 0.05 a	1.78 ± 0.24 a

Average monthly weather conditions during the experiment (2019–2022 years)

Month	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Rainfall (mm)	47	44	39	48	55	87	87	59	43	33	43	48
Air temperature (°C)	−5.7	−4.2	0.4	8.5	14.6	17.6	19	18.2	13.6	7.6	2.1	−2.4
Relative air humidity (%)	86	85	82	68	64	66	67	68	73	80	87	88

Parameters of vegetative growth of apple trees depending on the form of the crown and the term of pruning (averaged data for 2019–2022 years)

Crown form	Term of pruning	Stem diameter increase (mm)	Number of shoots (pcs. per tree)	Shoot length (cm)	Total shoot length (m per tree)
‘Fuji’
Slender spindle	winter (control)	4.8 ± 0.1* ab	49 ± 3 ab	22.1 ± 1.8 c	10.6 ± 0.3 ab
	winter and summer	4.1 ± 0.1 cd	54 ± 5 a	16.0 ± 1.1 de	8.6 ± 0.8 bc
French axis	winter	5.2 ± 0.2 a	36 ± 3 c	28.8 ± 2.7 a	10.3 ± 0.8 ab
	winter and summer	4.6 ± 0.2 abc	41 ± 2 bc	27.2 ± 2.6 ab	11.0 ± 0.3 a
Ballerina	winter	4.4 ± 0.2 bcd	49 ± 3 ab	20.3 ± 1.3 bcd	9.9 ± 0.8 abc
	winter and summer	3.8 ± 0.2 d	54 ± 5 a	14.7 ± 0.7 e	7.9 ± 0.8 c
‘Honeycrisp’
Slender spindle	winter (control)	6.5 ± 0.2 bc	45 ± 2 ab	28.8 ± 0.9 ab	12.8 ± 0.8 a
	winter and summer	6.1 ± 0.1 c	44 ± 2 ab	26.4 ± 0.8 b	11.3 ± 0.3 a
French axis	winter	7.2 ± 0.1 a	39 ± 2 b	32.1 ± 2.0 a	12.4 ± 0.3 a
	winter and summer	6.9 ± 0.1 ab	39 ± 2 b	29.3 ± 1.4 ab	11.4 ± 0.4 a
Ballerina	winter	6.5 ± 0.1 bc	43 ± 1 ab	25.0 ± 1.6 b	10.7 ± 0.7 ab
	winter and summer	5.8 ± 0.2 c	50 ± 5 a	17.3 ± 0.8 c	8.6 ± 1.0 b