Shoot Growth and Fruit Production of the 'Masui Dauphine' Variety of Fig (Ficus carica L.) Undergoing Renewal Long Pruning

摘要

We investigated the shoot growth and fruit production of ‘Masui Dauphine’ fig trees (Ficus carica L.) with a newly devised “renewal long pruning” method and compared the results with those of conventional short pruning under straight-line training with both normal and high limb styles. This novel pruning method combines long pruning and continuous renewal pruning such that a few dormant shoots remain long and serve both as long mother shoots and as replaceable limbs. In experiments in 2009 and 2010, the shoots sprouted earlier from the renewal long pruning trees than from the short pruning trees. The number of lateral shoots was less in the renewal long pruning trees, indicating the prevention of excess vigour in bearing shoots. Renewal long pruning did not affect total percentage of fruit set; however, it slightly increased fruit set failure in the basal portion of bearing shoots. It potentially induced early maturation and greater enlargement of the fruit. Renewal long pruning was especially useful in high-limb straight-line training because it effectively compensated for disadvantage of this training, such as increasing numbers of lateral shoots and inhibition of fruit enlargement.