The annual meeting of the Brown County Livestock & Wildlife Producers Association will be held Monday, January 31, 2022. It will be at the Brown County Extension Office located at 605 Fisk Avenue in Brownwood, Texas at 6:00pm.
This meeting is open to any Brown County livestock/wildlife producer as well as those concerned about livestock and wildlife predation.
There is no registration fee to attend the January 31st program.
For more information contact the Brown County Extension Office at 325-646-0386.
***
Pruning yard trees
Winter time, the coldest month, is the ideal time to do your major tree pruning. Making a proper cut while pruning is recommended. Proper cuts heal rapidly. Make cuts just outside the natural “collar” where the branch to be removed attaches to the trunk or a larger limb. Don’t leave a stub, which only invites decay into the tree, and don’t cut them back flush against the trunk. This only makes for a larger wound and removes the important collar tissues which promote speedy healing.
Use the 3-cut method when you do need to remove a large limb to prevent it from stripping the bark down the trunk. Start by cutting upward from beneath the branch, cutting about 1/3 of the way through. Then cut downward from above and farther out to remove the branch. Finally, remove the remaining stub with a cut just outside the natural branch collar.
THINGS NOT TO DO:
- Do not top your tree. Topping is unfortunately a common practice designed to encourage vigorous new growth. While that is achieved, the overall strength and structure of the tree are sacrificed. The limbs that are forced from latent buds are very often weakly attached, which makes them susceptible to wind damage. Pollarding is often confused with topping, but this practice is following by thinning, and is more technically demanding. Many Europeans utilize this practice to dwarf their trees.
- Do not make stub cuts. Do not leave a portion of the branch sticking out; this will allow rot to enter more easily.
- Do not make cuts flush with the trunk or adjoining limb. The proper cut is made flush with the collar at the base of the branch. The collar is the somewhat raised area surrounding the branch union with the parent branch or trunk. This zone contains chemically-protective tissue; if it is cut off or severely cut into, proper natural ‘healing’ cannot occur. And, once this area is damaged, it is damaged for good. Trees have the unique ability to compartmentalize, or surround injured tissues with a protective barrier.
- Do not cut large limbs with a one-cut method. This will surely result in bark peeling from the weight of the cut limb. Rather, use the three-cut method.
THINGS TO DO:
- Do approach the tree, and look for any limbs that might be a hazard to someone underneath it or to a building or structure nearby. Broken branches, weak branches, narrow crotch angles, and other obvious faults should be identified. First and foremost, these limbs should be taken care of.
- Do remove any dead or dying material on the tree.
- Do remove limbs that are rubbing each other or cross over one another. Limbs that rub will develop wounds that attract insects and diseases.
- Do remove excessive vertical sprouts. Some may need to be left in place to encourage caliper growth.
- Do choose to keep branches with wide crotch angles. Wide crotch angles are generally from 40 to 90 degrees, and are very strong as a result of being composed of solid wood. Narrow crotch angles are less than 40 degrees, and contain a bark inclusion that causes them to be very weak. Narrow crotch angles should preferably be pruned out while the tree is still young. In older, established trees, bracing and cabling may be the only resort.
- Do prune the tree to your liking. There are many different ways that one particular tree may be pruned. Even experts will have differing opinions on which branches to remove. The bottom line is: whatever you like is what you should do, so long as you utilize proper cutting techniques and pruning methods.
- Do keep in mind that you should always have a reason for every cut that is made.
One additional note about the pruning time is in reference to oak wilt; a devastating disease of oak trees that is especially prevalent in Central Texas but has reached other areas of the state as well. The beetle that spreads oak wilt and the infectious fungal mats on which the beetles feed are most active in spring but may be active in most months of the year. If you prune oaks when beetles and fungal mat infections are active you are inviting these disease-carrying beetles to come and infect your tree.
Thus, pruning of oaks is best kept to the coldest months or if absolutely necessary, the hottest months in order to avoid inviting trouble. It is also important to paint pruning cuts on oak immediately (not hours later) with a commercial pruning sealant to repel the beetles.