All of the following are reasons for pruning plants except to:

• A. Improve flowering
• B. Rejuvenate growth
• C. Restrict size
• D. Decrease fruit bearing capacity

Answer: (D)

Pruning is a tool to manage a plant’s vigor, shape, and productivity by removing unwanted wood, thinning for better light and air movement, and encouraging new growth. Because of that, you prune to improve flowering, stimulate renewal in older plants, and keep the plant from growing too large. Deliberately aiming to decrease how much fruit a plant can bear isn’t a typical pruning goal. While pruning can influence yield in the short term, the usual purpose is to optimize production and quality, not to reduce fruiting capacity.