I was told that I should pinch the terminal buds at 4 to 6 leaves
I'm at that stage now But I'm vary hesitant in doing it
I have waited all this time to see it grow now I'm to hold it back
I just don't see much benefit in doing it if the trees are fed than
Why would you do it ?
How much faster will it make fruit ripen ?
Forcing it to branch will it produce more fruit next year ?  

Encouragement is required please

Thank you

Mario this should help answer your questions, written by herman.

Count up 6 leaves on the new branch and pinch off the tip!!!.That is the answer.

Also you people do not have to understand that if you do not pinch you are not going to have fruits.
In your case you will have fruits on new growth if you pinch or not,if you wait long enough..Pinching is done to limit the number of fruits per branch and to speed up the growing of fruits.
Pinching is usefull in short growing season like up north and other cold climates.
Pinching also makes the remaining fruits to grow larger and better tasting.
Pinching makes the tree mature a smaller calculated number of fruits in cold climates where otherwise,if left alone a lot of fruits(Very large numbers) will grow to normal green size but will not mature till the winter come.

Here is the original post on gardenweb

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/fig/msg0611441718628.html

Marjo,
To make your own observation (as art &/or science) this year, pinch some branches as suggested (after 6th or 5th leaf) on the same plant and leave some branches unpinched. On average you will observe that the fig embryo formation may start early on the pinched branches so more probability of early ripening.

Hi Mario:In your climate(zone 5,),you need to positivelly do the pinching ,and other small tricks,in order to make your tree ripe fruits.
Like:Starting the tree early,if possible,placing container on warm surface,Best soil care,and content,granulated dolomitic lime added,for tree health,Osmocote,for feeding,etc.
All these and a lot of TLC,is needed to produce ripe figs in zone 5,but one thing is fact.
It is Possible.
Now, if this Fig plant was inground in southern Italy,then,of course it would have produced ripe tasty fruits without any care at all.
In zone 5 it needs you as a faithfull partener to live,and prosper.

i pinch the tip of a plant if it doesn't have any other branches and is only growing up as a single shoot.  that removes apical dominance and you get it to branch.  i have a long season and i wasn't aware that you could do this to make your fruit ripen more quickly.

Mike
The pinching of apical tip you described is done to encourage side shoots for branching off and is done to all fruit trees (so it will not grow like a columnar apple tree).
Pinching of fig branch at the 6th or 5th leaf is done to encourage early embryos (so early ripening) but at the cost of reduced number of fig fruits.
The figs form early and are fewer for the tree to work on. What will we do with a big crop of green fat hard fig fruits overtaken by frost before ripening in a location with a short summer like ours!

Thank you all

Thanks Nelson on Herman's gardenweb posts
thanks Herman for sharing your experience on this topic
it does make sense
I will pinch them back I will leave some alone just to see what happens
as Akram suggested
in our zone 5 we have to baby these little guys

Thanks again much appreciated 

Well Marjo i hope the posts convinced you.
Whats important beside pinching that was mention in the thread is an early start as possible to wake , i constantly wheel mine in and out onto the blacktop driveway for as much warmth as possible never put on grass to cool cement is also very good to set pots on in full sun . At night bring back in so the container plants root system retain as much heat as possible.
Lately with the up and down spring and all of sudden frost one must be carful by watching the ever changing weather so there plants are no left unprotected becuase it will set them back some to me thats a big waste so im very carful. Nothing below 40-42 for my mature trees and nothing below 45-47 for my small 1 year olds some even nothing below 50 like my maderia as i watched the buds turn dark , small emerging leaves wither away at those awakeing temps this season for that plant.
What caught my plants this season and did some minor damage was Hail for the next day i had young broken leaf stems and some leaves that were ripped. Plants were in garage yesterday and today as that nasty storm that produced tornados came our way so i took no chances with hail and high winds but was able to leave garage door open for fresh air and some added humidity.
Pinching is what i also do and it helps to ripen the crop , our nights as season winds down get cold fast.
This season with decent weather should bring a good crop of figs like 2 years back as i have had good early start with my plants something i always consider very important.

Herman correct me if I am wrong but pinching should only be done on established trees two years old or older..New cuttings that can shoot upwards of 3ft tall should not be pinched until hardy roots system has been established. I remember reading this on another forum.

Yes Very young trees,2 years and younger should not be pinched,looking to create fruits,but should be pinched to create FORM.
If the tree is one lonely straight trunk,going upward then it shoud be pinched even if it is very young,because we want the tree to grow lateral branches.
Of course in the process,because of this sudden stop,in growing,the tree will grow a few fruits too,usually,5 or six,wich is ok to let them be,and they will usually ripe too.
If one side has a branch and the oposite do not,i also pinch,that side and turn the container arround toward sun,with the side that do not have a branch,and very soon,it will grow one.

Hi Everyone,

If I pinch at the 6th leaf, will it encourage a fruit bearing shoot that will produce fruit THIS year, OR is this process only to help ripen the 6 or so figs that have developed on new growth thus far, while encouraging more branching for next years fruiting?
Im curious from others experience if they have had figs from these post pinching shoots in the same season.
Any advice is appreciated...

nas I have two of the same age and species of trees healthy almost 24 inches tall..@ years old approx. I pinched them both to produce branches.. One is branching with no figs the other has figs and slowly starting to branch...

Here is a picture of the one with figs

Nas33,
i see where you are going .  ; )

you type this question
If I pinch at the 6th leaf, will it encourage a fruit bearing shoot that will produce fruit THIS year, OR is this process only to help ripen the 6 or so figs that have developed on new growth thus far, while encouraging more branching for next years fruiting?

Once pinched yes it will produce more shoots and they can develop fruit depending on how long your season is. When i pinch i do get more branches near the area of pinching but its a waste of energy to the plant to let the fruit grow because it will not ripen for me here in My climate. I pick them off as i see them and sometimes even the newly formed branches if to many, in dormant season i prune the new formed branches accordinly as needed to keep the interior or tree open for needed sun and also for scion for friends at work etc,etc. Some new branches will grow inward and some outward and some even upwards toward sky . The outward growing ones you can keep some,  the inward ones i prune off along with most upward ones. Its always an ongoing process of pruning each season. 

thanks Martin, I appreciate the info.

I need to increase the canopy on my containerized trees so pinching will help.  I also understand that equalization of sap amongst the branches is important for fig trees to fruit abundantly.

Hi nas,

What does, "equalization of sap," mean and how does that happen?

Thanks,

Vivian

Hi Vivian,

equalization of the sap refers to balancing the growth in the tree canopy.  No one branch should be much longer than the others.  They should all be approx the same distance from the main trunk.  Many old time fruit growing books refer to this as a secret to growing fruits sucessfully in containers or otherwise.

If you look at the veteren fig collectors trees, they all seem to be well balanced growth wise.

Hope this helps

Hi Vivian,

equalization of the sap refers to balancing the growth in the tree canopy.  No one branch should be much longer than the others.  They should all be approx the same distance from the main trunk.  Many old time fruit growing books refer to this as a secret to growing fruits sucessfully in containers or otherwise.

If you look at the veteren fig collectors trees, they all seem to be well balanced growth wise.

Hope this helps

Hi Nas,

Thanks for the explanation of equilization of the sap.  I'll have to pay attention to that when I prune all the babies next Spring.

As for the one inground Celeste--She's in bush form.  I will try to prune the branches to the same length from the trunk on her, as well, and see what happens.

Both Celestes are good at going crazy with their growth and seem bent on doing their own thing.  This year, it's as though they both exploded with new growth.

Should the trees be nipped back during the growing season to keep them in line?

Thanks,

Vivian

Hey All,

 Can anyone post a diagram or pic of pinching a terminal bud just curious because I Havent been pinching,must be why I have alot of unripened figs.

Thanks
Geo

Here is picture of a pinched branch , picture from 2 years ago 2008. That branch even the light brown part of it formed that season.
Tree was not productive at all and was discarded.
You can see at the point of pinch 2 new branches came out and can also be pinched off in colder climate .

Vivian,
if the tree is less than 2 years old I would leave it be.  Let it develop some root mass and grow how it wishes.  Then you can head back/pinch the central leader to encourage side shoots. 
However, I should mention there are exceptions.  I had a cutting last year that grew to 12 or more nodes and at the beginning of this season I headed it back and it is doing terrific, even setting fruit on laterals and shoots.  I think this cultivar is just extra vigorous.  Also an exception would be a plant made from a sucker.  Sometimes those are very vigorous and upright so they need to be headed back sooner.
Regarding your second point about "keeping them in line", I would say it all goes back to pinching, age of the tree, overall demeanor of the plant, etc, etc.  If your trees are over 2-3 years old and are too vigorous (over 6-8 leaves), by all means pinch and keep in line.  Remember, I don't want too vigorous of a plant in my zone, I want my branches at most 8 leaves and even that can be too much. 
Martin, thanks for the pic.  It sucks when you put effort into a tree and it gives you no love in return for your time invested.

Vivian,
if the tree is less than 2 years old I would leave it be.  Let it develop some root mass and grow how it wishes.  Then you can head back/pinch the central leader to encourage side shoots. 
However, I should mention there are exceptions.  I had a cutting last year that grew to 12 or more nodes and at the beginning of this season I headed it back and it is doing terrific, even setting fruit on laterals and shoots.  I think this cultivar is just extra vigorous.  Also an exception would be a plant made from a sucker.  Sometimes those are very vigorous and upright so they need to be headed back sooner.
Regarding your second point about "keeping them in line", I would say it all goes back to pinching, age of the tree, overall demeanor of the plant, etc, etc.  If your trees are over 2-3 years old and are too vigorous (over 6-8 leaves), by all means pinch and keep in line.  Remember, I don't want too vigorous of a plant in my zone, I want my branches at most 8 leaves and even that can be too much. 

Martin, thanks for the pic.  It sucks when you put effort into a tree and it gives you no love in return for your time invested.

Thanks Nas,

Vivian