Learn to prune fruit trees at hands-on seminar

If you are looking forward to a bumper crop of apples next fall, now is the time to prune your trees. Techniques for training and pruning fruit trees for good production are significantly different than the basic techniques for pruning ornamental trees.

When high-quality fruit production is your goal, it is important to increase light penetration, to keep branches strong and allow for good air movement.

From 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Maurice Ogutu, a University of Illinois Extension fruit and vegetable specialist, in partnership with Kuipers Family Farm, will present a seminar, "Pruning and Training Fruit Trees," at Kuipers Family Farm, 1N318 Watson Road, in Maple Park west of St. Charles.

Dress appropriately for the weather because after lunch there will be a hands-on pruning demonstration in the orchard.

The $30 registration fee includes lunch and a booklet on fruit tree pruning. To register, call (630) 584-6166 or visit web.extension.uiuc. edu/kane/ to register online.