פירוש על עבודה זרה 95:12

The rabbis could also agree with the mishnah. To recall, they would hold that by just bowing down to the tree the new growth would be prohibited. So why then does it need to state that it is prohibited if he chopped or trimmed it? To teach you that even though he actually did something to the tree itself, the trunk remains permitted. Only the additional part is prohibited.
This concludes this section of the sugya. R. Ashi has been resolved and Shmuel’s original statement is not dependent on the dispute between R. Yose b. Judah and the rabbis.