Pruning Allegheny hardwoods

The continuing heavy demand for high-quality Allegheny hardwoods, particularly black cherry and sugar maple, impresses on us the need for more information responses of hardwoods to pruning. Pruning may have beneficial effects: it may increase quality without sacrificing growth. Or it may have detrimental effects: it may cause dieback of cambium, decay, staining and discoloration, gum formation, or other pathological and physiological reactions that reduce the quality of potential factory logs and veneer bolts. Better information about such effects should point the way to hardwood pruning methods that are beneficial both biologically and economically.