Mechanical cutting devices are quite popular in American and Italian orchards. These are machines driven by a tractor or self-propelled machines with a movable arm with rotating circular saws mounted on it.. The hydraulically controlled arm can be set at any angle and at different heights. Circular saws are driven by hydraulic motors.
Power saws are used in American orchards mainly in orange and lemon orchards. These trees do not need to be overexposed, so the cut can be limited to adjusting the size of the crowns. Mechanical saws cut the branches from the sides and from above. In apple orchards, mechanical saws are used in the production of apples for processing, when the quality of the fruit does not play a big role. The orchards that produce apples for must are cut mechanically year after year.
Partial mechanical cutting, supplemented by manual X-ray, is used in many American and Italian orchards. The task of the machine is to trim the trees from the top to the required height and from the sides, to give the rows the right thickness. Then the crowns are thinned out with the help of hand tools. Exclusive mechanical cutting has limited use. Mechanically cut trees by 2 the 3 the following years create a compact fan of shoots on the trimmed surface, which shade deeper branches, limit their fruiting and worsen the quality of the fruit. This difficult problem is solved by changing the angle and surface of the cut every year, but not as good as with manual cutting.
Partial mechanical cutting supplemented by manual operation gives good results saving labor. It is widely used in rowed orchards, where the machine can trim the tree walls to the required height and width. No machines, and strictly the components necessary to build such machines, does not allow us to use this method of cutting. The Institute of Pomology and Floriculture conducts trials on cutting trees with the help of so-called contour mowers. They have a finger cutting apparatus, which, unfortunately, does not give an even cutting surface, causing crushing and tearing of the twigs. Hence, it is necessary to correct some cuts after the mower has passed.