Summer Pruning Strategies for Balancing Growth and Yield in High-Density Apple Orchards

Summer Pruning Strategies for Balancing Growth and Yield in High-Density Apple Orchards | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Summer Pruning Strategies for Balancing Growth and Yield in High-Density Apple Orchards Vaibhav R Chauhan, DP Sharma, Pramod Verma, Nitin Sharma, Rakesh Kumar, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8595382/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study evaluated the influence of summer pruning time and bud-retention intensity on vegetative growth, spur development, flowering behaviour and yield performance of apple ( Malus × domestica Borkh.) cv. Red Velox under high-density planting during the 2022 and 2023 growing seasons at Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Himachal Pradesh. Five pruning timings (15, 30, 45, 60 and 75 days after fruit set; T 1 –T 5 ) were combined with three bud-retention intensities (2, 4 and 6 buds; B 1 –B 3 ). Summer pruning significantly affected all measured parameters, with the interaction between timing and intensity being particularly important. Pruning at 45 days after fruit set with 2-bud retention (T 3 × B 1 ) reduced vegetative vigour while improving spur density, return bloom, yield, productivity and yield efficiency relative to other treatment combinations and the unpruned control. The study suggests that integration of appropriate pruning timing with lower bud-retention intensity can help balance vegetative and reproductive growth in high-density orchards under north-western Himalayan conditions. Apple high-density planting summer pruning spur development return bloom yield Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Table 1 to 3 are available in the Supplementary Files section. Supplementary Files finalpaper1Table1.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 18 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 14 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 14 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 13 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8595382","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":576283797,"identity":"5af9124c-94c2-470f-a1c2-7546bd737a46","order_by":0,"name":"Vaibhav R Chauhan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vaibhav","middleName":"R","lastName":"Chauhan","suffix":""},{"id":576283799,"identity":"b1fb218f-cbeb-4193-8af1-d1a2a75c88ce","order_by":1,"name":"DP 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yield","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8595382/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8595382/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study evaluated the influence of summer pruning time and bud-retention intensity on vegetative growth, spur development, flowering behaviour and yield performance of apple (\u003cem\u003eMalus \u0026times; domestica\u003c/em\u003e Borkh.) cv. Red Velox under high-density planting during the 2022 and 2023 growing seasons at Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Himachal Pradesh. Five pruning timings (15, 30, 45, 60 and 75 days after fruit set; T\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026ndash;T\u003csub\u003e5\u003c/sub\u003e) were combined with three bud-retention intensities (2, 4 and 6 buds; B\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026ndash;B\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e). Summer pruning significantly affected all measured parameters, with the interaction between timing and intensity being particularly important. Pruning at 45 days after fruit set with 2-bud retention (T\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e \u0026times; B\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e) reduced vegetative vigour while improving spur density, return bloom, yield, productivity and yield efficiency relative to other treatment combinations and the unpruned control. 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