I’d love to be corrected by a more experienced gardener, but my understanding is energy that a plant puts into growing leaves and stems is energy that isn’t going into growing fruit. This is part of the reason for pruning plants, which otherwise seems counterintuitive.

To flower more when the tree feels that is in troubles is a standard "panic" reaction. Common in many plants.

And also because this cuttings were probably removed from flowering areas. To reduce the number of flowers or remove a percentage of small fruits is a common technique to obtain good size in fruits.