Citrus Pruning, Why? by Cindy Fake, County Extension (UCCE), California

1. Pruning Citrus - Why
Cindy Fake
University of California Cooperative Extension,
Placer & Nevada Counties
January 2012

2. Why Prune Citrus?
• Improve fruit quality & marketable yields by:
– Increasing light in the canopy
– Pruning out non-productive branches (watershoots)
– Reducing risk of soil borne pathogens affecting fruit
• Reduce costs by:
– Facilitating weeding, mowing, & mulching
– Reducing tree height (also injury risk)
• Improve tree health
• Reduce insect and disease problems
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3. Benefits of Pruning
• Pruning increases annual returns
– Improve quality through better flavor and color
– Increase yields
– Increase percentage of larger fruit
– Decrease pesticides use
– Decreases harvest costs
• Increases orchard life
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4. But …?
• Each grower must weigh the cost
of pruning against the increased
revenue from higher quality or
higher yields
• Pruning must provide an
increased return to compensate
for the increased cost of
production
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5. Why?
Thank you!
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