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Asian pear branch broke on heavy fruits load.
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Posted by
tonytran 5A Omaha, NE (
My Page) on
Mon, Aug 4, 14 at 16:11
| I did thin this branch but apparently not enough. The branch could not handle the heavy fruits load. Will have to re-graft that branch next year. Tony |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Asian pear branch broke on heavy fruits load.
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| Holy cow Tony, that is amazing. How old is the tree? What kind of pear, and are its growing habits like this every year? Mrs. G |
RE: Asian pear branch broke on heavy fruits load.
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| Mrs.G, This is a multi grafted Asian Pear on a Giant Cleveland Flowering Pear. The variety on this branch is Shinseiki. Tony. |
This post was edited by tonytran on Tue, Aug 5, 14 at 9:46
RE: Asian pear branch broke on heavy fruits load.
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| Sorry Tony. That's a bummer. If you act soon you could pull it back in place and split it but that is a lot of hassle to do. I had a 7' apple tree break about half way up the trunk. It was only attached by the bark. I was able to save it and it is now productive. My tree was broken before bud break so that may have enhanced my success. It might be easier to graft again. Good luck, Bill |
RE: Asian pear branch broke on heavy fruits load.
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| Man Tony that blows. I had the same thing happen with my Honeycrisp last year. Whole dang top broke out of it. Every day I saw it straining under the load, but everyday I thought "I'll get it tomorrow". Makes you sick. |
RE: Asian pear branch broke on heavy fruits load.
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| Since pear tree wood is fast growing, it does not have the strength of slow growing hardwoods. To have given the overloaded branch some much-needed assistance, a 1" X 10 ft. long joint of galvanized steel electrical conduit ( cheap and strong) sold at Lowe's could have been placed upright beside the thick branch and held it up. Using 1/4" cord that is wet and then wrapped very tightly 3 times around the upper pipe before tying a tight knot will "knot' let the weight of the fastened branch pull the rope downward. A small pc. of board, or whatever placed beneath the bottom of the pipe will prevent the weight from pulling the pipe down into soft, soggy soil. After the last pear has been harvested, the rope and pipe are removed until next time comes up. As for the partially split branch. I would quickly remove the fruit and some of the smaller branches and attach the conduit NOW, pulling the downward hanging branch back to it's normal height. I would wrap the torn up area with very snug plastic sheeting and tape up the multiple layers of semi-clear plastic with tight wraps of strong tape. This would hopefully keep out rain, air, pathogens, and bugs. In a year you could take a peek under the plastic to see if the would area is being rebuilt with new plant tissue. Instead of using the pole, a rope could be attached to thicker branches above the tree's damaged branch. Years ago I did this to a forked branch of a pear tree that I managed to accidently split, and after a couple years it grew well enough to resume it's fast growth. Glad I did not whack it off with the pruner. |
RE: Asian pear branch broke on heavy fruits load.
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| I agree that trying to splint the branch and save it would be worth a try. You'll probably get fruit on it again before you would on a new graft. |
RE: Asian pear branch broke on heavy fruits load.
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| I will harvest all the fruits on this branch in about a week or so. I will try to save it by making a small fresh cut on each side of the branch to encourage callousing and wrapping it tightly with parafilm then strong duct tape around it. I will use a rope and tie it to the main trunk for support. I Will check next spring to see if the branch heals itself. I will update the result next spring. Tony |
RE: Asian pear branch broke on heavy fruits load.
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| The tree is enormous, I am in awe. Mrs. G |
RE: Asian pear branch broke on heavy fruits load.
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| The Parafilm has great use in grafting, but in this case using a 12" to 16" wide strip of poly sheeting wrapped around several times snuggly has more benefits. Spiral wrapping duct tape "mummy style" very tightly over the entire poly sleeve will give some structural support to the splits and pull them closer so that new tissue will hopefully fill in the gaps. Parafilm's paraffin is fungus food. You have probably seen deteriorating strips of Parafilm on old grafts that flakes off after turning black from fungi. I have not yet seen poly turn black from fungi/algae. However, the hours and days with the uncovered raw wood prior to the emergency care would kill off the rapidly dehydrating wood. Enzymes dry and die. |
RE: Asian pear branch broke on heavy fruits load.
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| Just out of curiosity do you guys remove some of the foliage to to reduce the weight of the broken branch? If so what percentage (obviously any broken stuff on the end comes off)? I'm glad TonyTran is going to let it sit for a week or so and harvest. I have noted fruit will often "ripen" on a broken branch. Though I suppose that may negatively effect the broken area in drying cambium and that may have already started to compartmentalize off. |
RE: Asian pear branch broke on heavy fruits load.
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- Posted by fruitnut z7b-8a,4500ft SW TX (My Page) on
Tue, Aug 5, 14 at 12:11
| The lesson with Asian pears is thin thin thin. That branch won't be strong enough for much fruit without support for many yrs. |
RE: Asian pear branch broke on heavy fruits load.
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| We used to get broken branches on my parents pear trees all the time. We just used it as a way to prune the tree. Their trees grew wild and we had trouble keeping them pruned back enough. We used to take bushels of pears and feed them to the cattle. |
RE: Asian pear branch broke on heavy fruits load.
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| I'd think the branch would be more likely to take if you get rid of the fruit now and splint it right away. |
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