What is replacement cane pruning?

• A. Short spurs with 2-3 buds.
• B. Brewing of canes.
• C. Long sections of one-year-old wood with 8-20 buds, laid horizontally and tied.
• D. Only pruning to one bud.

Answer: (C)

Replacement cane pruning is a renewal approach in which a long cane from last year, carrying many buds, is kept and laid horizontally along the trellis, then tied in place to become next season’s fruiting cane. Typically this one-year-old wood has around eight to twenty buds. After harvest, the old fruiting cane is removed and a new replacement cane is selected from the current year’s growth for the following season. This method provides a plentiful supply of buds for fruiting while relying on a single, renewably long cane rather than short spur wood. It contrasts with spur pruning, which leaves short two- to three-bud spurs, and with methods that prune to just one bud.