Apple (Malus domestica Borkh) Growth and Yield Response to Pruning, Training, and Time of Action at Holeta, Central Highlands of Ethiopia

Abstract

Apple (Malus domestica Borkh) is one of the most important temperate fruit crops globally. However, due to poor canopy management, Ethiopia's apple productivity is very low. Hence, this research was conducted to evaluate the growth and yield response of apple to pruning, training, and time of action. Variety ‘‘Anna’’ was planted in 2018 at Holeta using a randomized complete block design with three replications. A total of seven treatment combinations were applied for the study, and data on growth and yield were collected for two consecutive years. The result showed that, pruned + trained and unpruned + trained during summer had received the tallest trees (1.63 and 1.58 m, respectively) with statistical parity. Similarly, the highest trunk cross sectional area (7.48 cm²) was obtained in summer pruned + trained trees. Besides, summer unpruned + trained trees had the highest annual growth (0.37 m), canopy volume (3.30 m³), marketable (4.31 t ha^-1) and total yield (4.70 t ha^-1). Overall, apple producers are advised to implement efficient dormant or summer season training since fruit trees that were trained and left unpruned in the summer performed better on most metrics.