When it comes to pruning a fruit tree there are some rules to follow.  For starters a fruit tree should not be bearing fruit the first couple of years after it is planted because the development of proper framework to support future fruit production will be delayed.  It is good to start regular pruning in the first year. This creates a healthy tree that is a makes it easy to harvest.  Saying that, pruning is very important because you are creating a pleasing shape, but also a shape that helps the tree to bear high-quality fruit. If you remove too many flowers or tiny fruit, and shoots you can’t really cause any permanent damage.  If you don’t prune your fruit trees the upper foliage becomes heavy and eventually   shade the lower parts of the tree too much. Eventually sunlight is cut off from the lower branches and fruit will only be growing at the top of the tree. This of course makes it hard to harvesting the fruit when all the fruit is at the top of a 20 or 30 foot high tree. Starting a pruning program or having a professional prune it for you will keep your tree shorter and it will allow sun to penetrate to the lower branches letting fruit grow easier. There is another benefit of pruning – your tree is less likely to have diseases and may bear larger fruit because the structural support of the tree has been optimized by pruning it correctly.