Hi
I would like to know if somone has experience using girdling of fig tree to increase yield and fruit size?
http://www.goodfruit.com/Good-Fruit-Grower/July-2006/Cable-ties-tested-as-alternative-to-knife-girdling/
http://www.actahort.org/books/605/605_25.htm
http://ucanr.edu/sites/fruitreport/files/130445.pdf

does this work on fig trees in the pots or its too risky?
BTW for sure i know it works on my feijoa as the only girdled branch produced fruit while all the others didnt.

This is done early in the season, I've done something similar but didn't cut all around, I didn't notice any difference. I would go for pinching, that I'm sure has a better affect on producing more figs for small trees. 

i use girdling for air layer. not sure why, but seems to help getting roots faster.

Bass ill try the tie method maybe and see ..
Pete , from my logic - probably because most sucrose stay above the air layer and concentrate on rooting the girdle instead of going down through the bark to the original plant roots.
another person told me its good to beat the tree to increase yield and probably it has same effect- good for karate practice .

I know it is used in some other fruits, such as Litchi, but have not seen or used it for figs.

Al Tapla had shown some pics a couple of years ago for using a wire girdle (not a cut) to help with air layering.  (Pete, maybe that's why you started doing that).  Makes sense it would help with that.  As for fruit production, I've seen the question asked before (but not answered in the affirmative by anyone).  I'd follow Bass' advice on this one.

Mike   central NY state, zone 5a

I had airlayers that were doing nothing for weeks. I went ahead and girdled them below the container and, like magic, they sprouted roots almost overnight. I'll definitely do it next time.

not al. i did see his thread about girdle on bonsai.i saw using girdle on one of other site. it didn't explain why, but said to use it... and I had ton of those plastic ties :)