Pear shoot pruning.

Hey guys, I recently inherited a conference pear tree when I got my new allotment and its got some shoots firing out of the bottom. I was told by the woman who showed me around the site to just cut them off because they're wasting nutrients, but I thought I would open it up to a wider range of experience and ask the guys on this site.

So can i just nip them off with little issue?

heres a shoddy cameraphone pic just to help you get an idea of what i mean


Thanks a lot for your help!
Yaco.

 

Hi Yaco

The lower shoots are the trees way of expressing that it's not receiving all the water and nutrients that it needs. By putting out new basal shoots it's trying to trap more sunlight and photosynthesize more. They can be removed, carefully, so as to avoid causing any damage to the tree - but I'd also suggest cutting back the grass and vegetation away from the tree as this is competing for water and nutrients that the tree requires. Also, take time to look for any signs of injury or damage to the tree.