Apple tree pruning

Hi all,

I am hoping you will able to help me with a problem which shouldn't really be a problem. Last week i started to prune the apple trees at the manor house which i work at, the last time them were done was two years ago. I was of the understanding that apple trees should be pruned every year, unfortunatly i have to work with someone who likes to make a point of they've been gardening for 30+ years and they are an expert at everything. They've turned around and said that apple trees should not be pruned every year but every 3-5 years instead. I've run out of patients with this particular person and wasn't going to argue with them so for now i have put pruning on hold.

Some help with who is right in this matter would be great

Many Thanks
Dave

 

I have a few apple trees which are ancient. They hadn't been pruned in years when we moved here so they got somewhat slaughtered to reduce their size and the crop the next season was not too good.
Trees got left for a couple of years with no pruning and crop increased. Not knowing much about the right way to prune the trees to maximize the crop I got an "expert" to show me. Result post expert pruning b awful crop. For the last 10 years I sort of prune the trees correctly! most years but it is a bit hit or miss depending on how busy I am. Last season there was a massive crop (5 wheelbarrows full off just 1 tree) post not being pruned. I'm sure if you are dealing with a commercial orchard pruning does matter no doubt but if it's just for home consumption I wouldn't imagine it matters that much. To me the main effect on what the crop is like is the weather during the growing period.