Session One:  Understanding the Blueberry Bush

Session Two:   Steps in Pruning

Session Three:  Preventing the Spread of Disease While Pruning

Recap

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Module Five: Pruning

Your instructor for Module One is Patrick Byers of the Southwest Missouri State University Research Campus at Mountain Grove.  Module Five consists of three sessions regarding pruning.

There are several important reasons to prune.  Pruning maintains the vigor and productivity of the bush.  Through proper pruning you rejuvenate the newer parts of the bush, which is an essential process for consistent production.  Secondly, through proper pruning you eliminate the older, less productive canes.  Another important reason to prune is that you can develop the fruiting zone exactly where you want it.  Through proper pruning you can position that zone for most efficient harvest.  Third, pruning can affect berry size and berry quality.  Pruning thins out flower buds, resulting in larger fruit, and pruning the bush to an open structure also encourages sunlight penetration to the central parts of the bush, which can improve fruit quality.  Finally, pruning is an important aspect of maintaining bush health.  By pruning out the central part of the bush to an open structure you can encourage good air movement to that part of the bush, which reduces the conditions that favor disease.  Pruning also is an important part of sanitation, which involves the removal of damaged, dead or diseased parts of the bush.

The best time to prune highbush blueberries is in early spring.  At this point it is easy to identify any winter-injured canes, and the carbohydrates or stored foods in the plant have moved down into the crown and the roots.  Pruning this late also reduces winter injury at the cut surfaces.  Don't wait to long to prune, however, or you run the risk of damaging flower buds during the pruning process.

Now lets move on to understanding the blueberry bush.