Product Type: Fruits – Avocado
Stage: Production & Harvesting, Handling & Storage
Problem: Irregular bearing of avocado crop
Solution: Pruning for balanced avocado trees stabilizes bearing and production

1. Avocados are an example of alternate bearing trees which follow a natural cycle of high and low production seasons. But external stresses can result in highly irregular cycles.
2. Maintaining plant nutrients, soil conditions, controlling pests, and adequately managing canopy is necessary to balancing trees.
3. Trees growing an unbalanced proportion of reproductive and vegetative structures will have irregular production. Pruning removes excess organs and stabilizes production.
   
4. Flower pruning prevents excessive avocado production and sustains flowering in subsequent seasons, avoiding the extremes of the high-low production cycles. This reduces tree resource depletion over time.
   
   
5. Trials carried out from 2011 to 2014 across 10 orchards show that 30% canopy removal had some effect on the physical balance and production of the tree. Future tests of more than 30% canopy removal can confirm whether there is an ideal amount of pruning. Less than 30% removal has shown negligible impact on avocado yield. New Zealand Plant & Food Research also ran tests in 2014 on the effects of timing of avocado flower pruning by month in season to verify whether reductions in excessive flowering can improve yields.
6. Orchards where high-yield is maintained through balanced tree growth and pruning have higher production in tons per hectare than non-pruned and managed orchards.