Fruit trees have a natural growth, which ensures the most suitable development of their foliage. However, the cultivation of plants has modified these natural mechanisms, in order to make each tree grow healthily and fruit abundantly.
Among the most common interventions pruning is an indispensable activity for the care of the plants, guaranteeing them numerous benefits and more abundant and higher quality fruit in the following production season.
The condition for obtaining these results is that the intervention is performed in a perfect manner and carried out with competence and by means of the most appropriate tools. Let’s find out more about pruning and its advantages, to then explore its secrets and find out the necessary equipment to implement this operation in the best possible way.
The period of pruning
Although pruning is important to preserve the health of the plants and to stimulate their fruit production, in any case it causes them stress and it is advisable to carry it out during the vegetative rest periods, such as winter. This limits the loss of sap from the cuts, which can heal faster, when the spring recovery of the foliage approaches. Pruning during the winter months, avoiding the excessively cold ones, also limits the possible proliferation of insects or pathogens on the plant, thus preserving its health.
While some plants are pruned from December to February, March is the month chosen for numerous kinds of fruit trees, since it is the period just before spring flowering. Before proceeding, however, careful checks must be carried out on a case-by-case basis, taking into account geographical position, climate and plant type.
It is good to remember that there is also a summer pruning, called green pruning, to be carried out in the period following fruit harvesting. In addition to the elimination of dry branches and no longer productive parts of the foliage, this type of intervention limits the vegetative development of plants and effectively regulates their growth.
The importance of pruning operations
First of all, pruning aims at keeping the tree in full health, also ensuring the safety of the areas immediately below its top by eliminating dry or falling foliage.
Furthermore, it has the essential task of maximizing the productive yield of the plant, favoring its flowering and subsequent fruiting. In fact, fruit trees must be pruned regularly, to encourage an abundant and constant fruit production over time.
In younger plants, the pruning operation speeds up the beginning of their fruiting and helps them to achieve a structural development, which is favorable to fruiting as soon as possible.
In more mature trees, on the other hand, cutting branches, root suckers or after shoots effectively regulates the balance between the vegetative and productive activity of the foliage, to ensure a homogeneous growth of the plant. Optimally redistributing the sap in the most fruit-bearing parts of the tree results in a significantly higher harvest yield and, in addition, a better fruit quality in terms of size and flavor.
Cutting some of the fronds also optimizes the penetration of light and air into the branches, to the benefit of the health of the plant, which will be more oxygenated and more protected from any proliferation of parasites, fungi or other pathogens. Proper pruning not only improves the aesthetic result of the plant, but also gives it more stability and strength, making it capable of withstanding adverse weather conditions.
Which is the right way to prune?
An adequate pruning operation requires a deep knowledge of the plants and of the techniques to work in complete safety both for the operator and for the plant. In fact, it can cause damaging bark injuries and, when not done correctly, it can compromise the health of the plant.
Pruning interventions generally should not eliminate more than 30% of the branches at a time, in order to preserve the energy balance and not to stress the tree excessively. Furthermore, each operation should respect the development phase of the plant and its age, but also its production cycle, its health conditions and its defense and reaction capacities.
Choosing professional and excellent quality tools is one of the first elements for a conscious and respectful pruning. The use of high-standard equipment is essential for operating in maximum safety, both for the worker and for the plant. The basic equipment for effective pruning can change according to the variety of plants, but it is essential in any case to have tools that are always well sharpened and with the right power for the type of branches to be cut.
Among the necessary tools there are undoubtedly shears, chain pruners and loppers. Within the Campagnola catalog there are various types of products, operated by different power sources. Each one has been designed for a specific use.
Campagnola pruning shears
Among our offers you can find a wide range of pneumatic shears, electric shears with lithium-ion backpack battery and electric shears with lithium-ion plug-in battery. What the different proposals have in common are resistant blades made of forged steel, carrying out clean cuts without burrs and avoiding dangerous damages to the bark. By choosing among the different versions in our catalog, it is always possible to find the tool with the correct blade opening and cutting power for the plants to be pruned.
Furthermore, the use of carbon fiber technopolymers makes our Campagnola tools extremely lightweight. They adapt to any type of intervention and guarantee a significant reduction in the operator’s fatigue, even when he is pruning intensively. Both the electric and pneumatic versions also feature good handling and carefully designed ergonomics to facilitate an easy grip.
The absence of vibrations and kickbacks of the pneumatic models makes the operator’s work less stressful even when the pruning sessions are very long. The electric models with plug-in battery, on the other hand, have advanced technological details, such as the “double click” system or the cable with belt battery. Both are essential to further decrease the tool weight and the operator’s fatigue.
Also noteworthy is the compatibility of our Campagnola pruning shears with fixed or telescopic extension poles, which allow the user to reach any point of the tree top, working from the ground in complete safety.
The chain pruners by Campagnola
Also available in electric or pneumatic versions, the chain pruners by Campagnola offer a cutting speed, which guarantees production operations and clean cuts, performed in full respect of the tree health. In addition to being lightweight and noiseless, they are well balanced in the weight distribution and allow the operator to complete his work sessions without excessive strain on his arms, shoulders, neck or back.
To characterize the chain pruners by Campagnola are also the most effective safety systems, the absence of vibrations and the possibility, for many of the models proposed, to be connected to fixed or telescopic extension poles, in order to prune high branches, too.
The chain pruners in our catalog have been designed to adapt to the peculiar characteristics of the various plants. Thanks to their different power sources, they can meet the needs of any professional or amateur of the sector. The electric models with plug-in battery, for example, ensure the greatest freedom of movement, while the model with the battery in the backpack offers an exceptional working autonomy. The pneumatic pruners then ensure adequate performance for those who need to carry out intensive operations on fruit trees.
To complete the range of the tools by Campagnola there are also manual ones, such as shears, loppers, hedge trimmers and saws, which provide practical support for finishing cutting operations or when manual action is required.
If you are looking for the perfect tool to complete your annual pruning operations, choose among the products of the PROFESSIONAL Line and the GREEN Line of Campagnola the one that best suits your needs!