I'll make some general comments although without seeing your tree I can only speculate. Citrus do not like uneven watering. They also do not like overly wet soil and suffer if they stay soggy, depriving them of oxygen. Citrus trunks sunburn easy if there is not enough leaf color. Your pruning may have exposed some trunk and aggravated whatever stress the tree already had. Watered down white latex paint on the trunk will protect the trunk until the leaf canopy returns. Commercial orchards leave the branches very long, nearly touching the ground. Yes, you should not leave fruit on the tree if you don't want it. It will not fruit as well the next season if you do.

A tree that is ringed (or girdled) is going to die. Nutrients go up the core to the leaves and travel down the bark to the roots. I ringed an annoying big poplar 3 years ago and the silly thing is still alive but it will die. Get new trees.

crikey ... it didnt bear fruit because of the intense cold winter .. the buds were all killed.. just like every fruit tree in my yard just south of ann arbor ... of all the leaves in the pic.. is see two that are not perfect.. your tree is not dying ... and frankly.. if by august.. i didnt see a few yellow leaves on a prunus.. i would begin to suspect its not a prunus ... lets see a pic of the whole.. to decide if there is enough leaves affected to merit a discussion of a problem.. BTW.. i just had 4 weeks of drought and high heat.. my cheery tree is leafless... with that in mind.. your looks pretty fat and happy .... give us some more facts.. than just this pic.. and emotion ... drought.. heat.. etc ken

Hi DL, You only have to worry about other cucumber varieties(Cucumber sativus.) Cucumbers will not cross with squash, melons, or fruits commonly called a cuke that are other species. To be absolutely sure of no cross pollination, it is recommended that different cucumber varieties are grown 1/2 mile apart. If you must grow other cucumbers, you will need to cover or tape the blooms shut the day before the blooms will opening to keep pollinators away and then hand pollinate. When it comes to cukes, you have to make sure you dab pollen from male blossoms onto the female ones. Since male cukes flowers don't make fruit, you can just break them off and rub them onto the female ones. Cuke flowers open in the morning and you need to get out there and get it done then, and then recover or re-tape. I personally find growing just one variety each year, a much easier thing to do. To save seed from a cucumber takes a little work too. You need to let them get fully ripe on the vine. They will turn orange. Then you pick them an let them sit for at least a couple weeks inside. Once you do that, you need to ferment the seeds like you do for tomatoes. I hope this helps. Also if you are interested in saving other veggie seeds or want even more in depth info, looking into purchasing Seed to Seed by Susanne Ashworth. I got it for a present and love it. Remy