We have 2 other apple trees, although I confess, I planted them several years back and never gave any thought to special pruning. Now they are pretty big and probably need to have some pruning done. I will have to wait till fall, I’m guessing. I was one of those wanna be gardeners who planted stuff, but didn’t make the time to give it the proper attention. Now, I need to make it work, not just for fun.
I have some friends who own an orchard and one of the things they do to increase yield is to wedge a stick between the branch and the trunk to force the branch down some, like it would be pulled down by the weight of apples, if it had any.
What happens is when the branch is pulled down by the weight of the apples, the tree produces a substance (hormone I believe he said) that increases yield. When the tree is young, there is not much fruit to weigh the branch down so they simulate the bending of the branch with these sticks.
Then the yield increases and after that nature takes over and the weight of the apples does it.
Or maybe you could tie some weights to the branches, just being careful to not let the cord grow into the bark of the branches.