Bioscience Methods 2026, Vol.17, No.1, 32-42 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/bm 39 quality and is suitable for orchards aiming for high-quality fruits. A certain reduction in yield can be accepted in exchange for high quality. In this case, a high pruning intensity is a reasonable choice. However, to avoid excessive heavy pruning that weakens yield, in production, summer pruning and reasonable fertilization can be supplemented to increase the productivity of individual leaves, thereby compensating for the shortage of fruit quantity (Costa et al., 2004). Light pruning treatment has a high short-term yield, but from the perspectives of fruit quality and tree health, it is not advisable. Unless in specific circumstances before variety renewal, a pursuit of temporary high yield is needed, conventional production does not recommend long-term use of light pruning and should gradually transition to a stronger pruning mode. Moderate pruning treatment is suitable for most commercial orchards and is a reliable strategy for balancing yield and quality (Fallahi et al., 2002). During implementation of moderate pruning, the intensity can be appropriately adjusted according to the tree vigor: plants with extremely vigorous growth can be slightly more heavily pruned to control growth, while plants with weaker growth can be pruned slightly less to maintain branches, thus achieving tailoring to the tree. Different regions and varieties should optimize the winter pruning intensity strategy based on actual conditions. In summary, determining the winter pruning intensity should follow the principle of moderate balance, preventing excessive fruit production that leads to quality decline, and avoiding excessive pruning that wastes production capacity, in order to achieve the coordinated unity of yield and quality in the kiwifruit orchard. 7 Case Study: Analysis of the Application Effects of Different Winter Pruning Methods in a Typical Orchard 7.1 Basic information of the case orchard and implementation plan of winter pruning techniques This study selected a kiwifruit orchard in Zhouzhi County, Shaanxi Province for case analysis (Richardson et al., 2004). In the previous few years, this orchard had been using a relatively mild winter pruning method, although the yield was high, the fruit size was inconsistent, and the improvement in quality was limited (Fallahi et al., 2002). In the winter of 2024, under the guidance of technicians, the orchard divided into two winter pruning methods for comparison: one maintained the traditional mild pruning (each tree retained approximately 15 result mother branches, with light shortening), and the other implemented enhanced heavy pruning (each tree selected approximately 10 thick result mother branches, and all other branches were pruned or heavily shortened, with each mother branch retaining only 2-3 buds). Both schemes strictly bent and tied the branches to ensure uniform distribution of the result mother branches. The winter pruning operations were completed strictly according to the plan, laying the foundation for the following spring bud emergence and subsequent observations (Robinson et al., 2006). 7.2 Proportion of resulting branches and fruit quality under different winter pruning intensities In the following spring and summer, we compared the proportion of resulting branches, yield, and fruit quality in the two pruning treatment areas (Robinson et al., 2006). The results showed that in the heavy pruning area, the number of new shoots per plant was approximately one-third less than that in the light pruning area, and the proportion of resulting branches was about 45%. In the light pruning area, the proportion of resulting branches was as high as approximately 70% (Fallahi et al., 2002). During the fruit growth process in the heavy pruning area, due to good ventilation and light penetration in the tree canopy, the fruits grew fully and were generally larger in size; in the light pruning area, the dense foliage led to shading for the inner fruits, resulting in smaller single fruits. During harvest, the average single fruit weight and sugar content of the heavy pruning area were significantly higher than those of the light pruning area, and the single fruit weight and soluble solids content were significantly increased, with better fruit flavor. The proportion of fruits meeting the standard of commercial grade (large fruits, high sugar content)in the heavy pruning area was approximately 85%, much higher than 60% in the light pruning area. Due to the large number of fruits, the single yield per plant in the light pruning area was about 25% higher than that in the heavy pruning area. However, the heavy pruning area achieved the same or even slightly higher per-plot output value compared to the light pruning area due to the higher quality of its fruits (Costa et al., 2004). This case confirmed the aforementioned experimental rule: increasing the intensity of winter pruning would reduce the number of single fruits per plant, but significantly improve fruit quality, and achieve compensation in economic benefits.
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