Pruning (sage ability)

Pruning is an amateur-status sage ability in the study of Bushes & Shrubs and Trees. It is a horticultural practice involving the selective removal of parts of a plant, such as branches, buds or roots, thereby improving and maintaining health and productivity. The practice targets diseased, damaged, dead, non-productive, structurally unsound growth. Tree pruning is largely designed to increase the height and spread of the tree.

With regards to the products obtained from trees or shrubs, the character has the opportunity to prune as many productive patches as desired. Each patch has the potential to 75 lbs. of valued wood or vegetable material (including fruits and shelled treenuts). Potential, however, is not enough. Labor must also be applied to the patch to obtain full production.

Each patch will require, over a four-month growing season (17 weeks), a personal contribution of 3 hours of labor per week. Realistically, a character's labor is limited to a maximum of 60 hours per week.

Part of this labor will include the process of building fences, eradicating pests, carrying water and removing waste from the growing area. Some of this can be shared with laborers - but note that the work accomplished by laborers will reduce overall yields per area.

All valuable production will be gained in the last 2 weeks of cultivation. For every hour spent by the character with this skill, 2.21 lbs. of material will result. For every hour of labor produced by others without the skill, 1.0 - 1.3 lbs. of material will result. When the full potential for labor meets the total potential for production, further labor is unnecessary.

If a patch is missed during a given week, receiving no labor at all, reduce yield for that patch by 10%.