I take dowels (usually 8" long or so), pound a nail into each end, and cut off the head. Nails hold it in place well, haven't had any damage on the trees.

I'm a wood worker so I always have scrap pieces around. I will use 4"-8" depending. I put a nail in both ends, snip of the head then sharpen that end. You poke one end in close to the crotch then spread the other branch as much as you want. In 3-6 months it's spread as much as you want or spread it more a 2nd time.

In East Africa they used forked prunings and rocks. You can also take 5/8" prunings and cut a notch in each end that wedges against a bud on both the branch and the trunk.

Applenut,

I know you've been working getting apples established in Africa. I'm curious, since apples apparently aren't native to the region, do they have any significant pests? Do they have to spray?

Also, do they have any challenges with pollination, since they don't have traditional European honey bees?

Charlie, some people use clothes pins as branch spreaders when the shoots are very small, in order to start the training early.

Olpea;

They have trouble with scab, powdery mildew, and termites from hell, but no codling moth, PC, sawfly, or other major pests we have here. However they do have monkeys, giant birds, spitting cobras, and elephants (!). But for the most part the biggest pest is the two-legged kind; larger orchards have to have a guard.

The have African honeybees, which do a fine job as long as there is a pollinator nearby, and honey is a growth industry there; we try to encourage farmers to take it up when they plant their orchards. Heavy rains during the blossoming season are the biggest challenge, which keep pollinators from flying.