When February rolls around it is time to start thinking about apple tree care. The Mercer County Horticulture Agent offers this class every other spring and covers planting, pollination, insect, disease, and general management practice. A large part of this class is always dedicated to pruning, and the different techniques. After teaching the class for several years the Horticulture Agent realized just talking about the different pruning cuts wasn’t enough, participants needed hands on experience. With the help of a volunteer who has a small orchard, the Horticulture Agent planned to split the class into two sections. The first part of the class was held at the Extension Office, which covered general production and pesticides. Everyone in the classed received publication spray guides. The second half of the class participants were driven to a small orchard for a hands-on pruning experience.

Participants were shown the different tools needed for pruning apple trees. They were taught the different cuts and were allowed to practice themselves on the trees. Another benefit of having the class in the orchard allowed participants to view different insect/disease damage.

One participant shared this class gave her the confidence to prune own fruit trees, and she gained the skills to look for different diseases like fire blight and how to treat for it.