Root Pruning - A Poorly Understood Management Practice in Fruit Trees

Root pruning (RP) is a management practice intended to reduce excessive shoot growth resulting from a disturbed root/ shoot-balance. It appears to function by limiting the gibberellin activity in fruit trees by interfering with endogenous growth control. In this way, not only shoot growth but also fruit development and flower-bud formation can be influenced by one common mechanism. The results are contradictory and often unpredictable. The prospects of RP as a management practice are rather limited. (C) 2007 by The Haworth Press. All rights reserved.