Question

How should I prune my trees/shrubs in a multistory agroforestry system?

Answer 1

Could you be a bit more specific on the question?

How to prune will depend on the objective of your trees. Are they for wood purposes needing a high clear stem up to X meters? Are they for fruit production? If so it will depend on the family of the tree. Expect different fruiting pruning techniques between pears, oranges, cherries, walnuts, etc. Are they for shredding into biomass ? Is pollarding an option? Does the tree responds to coppice?

Answer 2

Either for timber or fruit trees, farmers will not be specialists of trees when they choose to integrate them in their crops. Therefore, pruning will be extensive, and will not necessarily be specific to species (in case of fruit trees), unless farmer has developed own competences.