Use of click pruning to improve yield of ‘Gala’ orchards

Fruit quality is among the main factors that drive orchard profitability. In recent years, bi-axis systems in 'Gala' orchards have significantly improved yield and color. However, since 'Gala' has a type III growth habit, aging of long-pending branches reduces fruit quality. In order to address that, a field trial was planted in 2015 at the IRTA Mas Badia Agricultural Experiment Station in La Tallada d'Emporda, Spain. This trial started in 2017 and compared two pruning strategies (long vs. click) on Bibaum (R) trees planted at 3x1.2 m with 'Annaglo(cov)' as the scion cultivar and 'M.9' as the rootstock. At 3rd leaf, long pruning tended to provide higher yields than click pruning (13.3 vs. 9.9 kg tree(-1)). After that, click pruning exceeded long pruning: 14.6 vs. 10.0 kg tree(-1) at 4th leaf, 19.2 vs. 16.2 kg tree(-1) at 5th leaf, and 19.8 vs. 14.1 kg tree(-1) at 6th leaf, with cumulative production of 176.3 vs. 149 t ha(-1), click vs. long pruning respectively. Overall, fruit weight and fruit size tended to be larger for click than long pruning (173.2 vs. 157.6 g and 72.9 vs. 71.4 mm). The percentage of fruits >80 mm was very similar in this case. However, this may change as the orchard matures. Click pruning seemed to be a good alternative to long pruning by increasing yield and fruit size during the early years of the orchard life. In addition, click pruning mitigated biennial bearing. However, these observations may shift in the upcoming years as the trees mature and sustain high yields over the seasons. Therefore, these results need to be confirmed in the future.