How to Prune Almond Trees in a few steps

When we can pruning Almond Trees

As it happens in most fruit trees, we prune small almond trees during the first or second year in order to determine their shape (corona).
 The shape is very important and can affect the amount of production, quality, ease of harvest or other agricultural activities.

Why we pruning Almond Trees

 We prune mature trees in order to preserve their shape and open the interior of the tree so that ventilation and sunlight are improved. We also prune mature trees in order to remove the lower, broken, weak or diseased branches, and of course get rid of old wood, water sprouts or sucking insects Locusts. All previous operations are encouraged to produce long-term fruits. The frequency of pruning of a mature tree ranges from once a year to once every two years

The best shape for an Almond Tree

The most common shape of an almond tree is a vase. This shape consists of 3-4 main branches, which are formed at a height of 28-31 inches (70-80 cm) above the ground and at an angle of 50 to 60 degrees with the stem so that mechanical harvesting is facilitated. Each branch has two secondary branches. The first is formed with an average distance of 16 inches (40 cm) from the base and the second at a distance of 24-31 inches (60-80 cm) in the opposite direction to the first. In general, the formation of the crown of the tree should be completed as soon as possible by minor operations.

Fruits of Almond Tree after After prune

Almond gives its fruits Much sooner than other trees. If a tree crown is correctly identified from the beginning, the tree size will continue to increase and production increases every year for many years. The fruits of the almond tree come to form buds, as they have a productive life of 3-4 years. Hence, pruning aims to renew fruitwood and form new fruit branches to replace those who have stopped production. As a rule, 20% of the tree crown must be trimmed again every year in order to allow new wood to grow.

Our goal is to have at any time several buds of one year and up to 14-20 inches (35-52 cm), as these buds usually produce nuts for the next 4 years.

How to keep Almond Tree alive for all time

Old and weak trees, which lack active plant growth, can be strengthened after excessive pruning. However, if the pruning is severe, there will be an increase in the growth of water buds in the following year. In general, the water buds should be removed, because they often shade parts that produce fruits from the tree, which leads to reduced production