Eight- year‘Dongkui’, a Chinese bayberry cultivar, was used to analyze the effect of different pruning methods on tree dwarfism and improvement of fruit quality. Pruning methods including vertical branch pruning (VP), precise pruning (PP), vertical branch pruning+ precise pruning (VP+PP) and pruning of open skylight (PO) were carried out for 2 consecutive years, and trees without any pruning were used as control (CK). Tree height and crown width were measured before and after the experiment; fruit yield, nutritional quality (total sugar, titrable acid, Vc, total phenols, total flavonids, etc.) and chromatic aberration (L* ,a* ,b* ,h o andC* ) were also investigated. The results showed that the effect of these pruning methods on controlling growth of tree crown was as follows: VP+PP＞VP＞PP＞PO; compared with CK, the average height of trees decreased by 63%, 57%, 55% and 25%, respectively. For the average yield of Chinese bayberry tree, VP+PP＞VP＞PP＞ PO, and compared with CK, the average yield increased by 25%, 20%, 6% and -38%, respectively. And trees after treated by pruning methods of PP and VP+PP bore redder fruit than treated by the other methods. An investigation of initial maturation date and figure value ofL * suggested that fruits closed to maturity with lower L* were in higher maturity degree. Fruit quality in the second year had greater improvement than that in the first year. For example, compared with CK, the single fruit mass of VP+PP, PP, VP and PO increased by 32.0%, 30.3%, 21.1% and 8.7%, respectively, in the first year; and in the second year, increased by 48.3%, 44.9%, 43.1% and 8.9%, respectively; chromatic aberration ofa* ,h o andC* had no significant difference in the first year and significant differences between the pruning methods in the second year. For the comprehensive efficiency of these pruning methods, the order was VP+PP＞PP＞VP＞PO＞CK.
