Many close-planted citrus groves have reached the stage where crowding has made it necessary to remove alternate trees. In some cases, the orchards are thinned by bulldozing trees to be removed. In other cases, they are thinned by cutting off the trunks of the trees a few inches above ground level. Sprouts from these cut stumps soon become a nuisance, and if left uncontrolled will produce considerable regrowth. Pruning stump sprouts is costly and results in the forcing of more buds so that the pruning soon has to be repeated.