Branching of nursery apples and plums using various branching inducing methods

Chemical (benzyladenine - BA, gibberelins - GA(4/7)), mechanical (leaf pinching), and combined treatments were tested in 2015 and 2016 to increase the number and length of sylleptic side shoots (feathers) on apple ('Rubinola', 'Topaz'/M9) and plum ('Elena', 'Tophit '/St. J. A) trees. The numbers of feathers of three different lengths (1-10, 10-30, and >30 cm) were measured as the main indicator of quality along with other important morphological characteristics. The numbers of all feathers on both apple cultivars were the highest when BA was applied four times. However, mainly an increase in the numbers of shorter feathers was observed in both years. The efficiency of leaf pinching of apple trees was low. The numbers of all feathers and feathers 1-10 and 10-30 cm in length were the highest in both plum cultivars when BA was applied four times in both years. In contrast to apples, the induction of feathers longer than 30 cm improved in plum cultivars when pinching was used. Thus this approach can be also effective in organic production.