UACES Facebook The kindest cut: Learning to prune fruit trees, vines, canes
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The kindest cut: Learning to prune fruit trees, vines, canes

By Mary Hightower

U of A System Division of Agriculture

Fast facts:

  • Feb. 25 workshop shows range of fruit pruning skills
  • Workshop opens at 1 p.m.
  • For info, call Katie Hanshaw, 479-754-2406

(200 words)

CLARKSVILLE, Ark. – Pruning is an essential skill for anyone with a fruit crop, no matter if it grows on a tree, a vine or a cane.

The Fruit Research Station of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is hosting a fruit pruning workshop on Feb. 25. The workshop opens at 1 p.m. with registration and ends at 4 p.m. A $5 fee will be collected on the day of the event.

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TAKE A CLOSER LOOK -- Extension Program Associate Taunya Ernst stalks about blackberry pruning to participants during a workshop on Feb. 20, 2014, at the U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Fruit Research Station in Clarksville. (U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture photo)

“It may seem counterintuitive, but pruning, or cutting away parts of the plant, can actually help the plant become more productive,” said Dan Chapman, director of the fruit research station. “But it’s only productive if it’s done correctly.”

There will be four sessions. A session on pruning in general will run from 1:30 p.m.-2 p.m., and be followed by sessions at 2:15 p.m., 2:45 p.m. and 3:15 p.m., each covering a technique appropriate to a specific fruit crop. Attendees will be able to rotate among the sessions and learn various techniques.

Station staff and extension personnel will serve as instructors for the event.

  • Blueberries – Blair Griffin, Johnson County extension staff chair for the Division of Agriculture.
  • Grapes and muscadines – David Gilmore and Kay Buck, station staff members
  • Blackberries – Taunya Ernst, station staff member
  • Peaches – Dan Chapman, station director
  • Apples – Elena Garcia, professor-Horticulture, Division of Agriculture 

To register for the event or for more information, contact Katie Hanshaw at 479-754-2406 or email her at khanshaw@uark.edu.

For more information on horticulture, contact your county extension office, or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

 The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials in another format, please contact the Fruit Research Station as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.  

 

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Media Contact: Mary Hightower
Dir. of Communication Services
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2126
mhightower@uada.edu

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