FRUIT WALL ORCHARD SYSTEMS FOR APPLE Fruit wall orchards help to make mechanical pruning easier and quicker and reduce costs. We take a look at a recent trial comparing the performance of different nursery tree types in a fruit wall system.
Fruit growers around the world are developing strategies to reduce labour inputs and increase mechanisation and automation in orchards. Fruit wall systems can improve efficiency by enabling mechanical pruning and mechanised harvesting. In the UK, however, there is a lack of knowledge about the different types of trees that can be used to establish new fruit wall orchards. COMPARING TREE TYPES
AHDB project TF 206 compared five different tree types to assess which was most suitable for establishing fruit wall orchards. The Fruit Advisory Services Team LLP (FAST) at Brogdale Farm, Favesham, Kent, conducted the trial. Royal Beaut trees, a Gala clone, were sourced from specialist nurseries and planted in March 2013 on a site that had been fallow for 10 years. The tree types tested were:
●● One-Year Five-plus-Branches ●● One-Year Unfeathered
●● Two-Year-Old (grow through) ●● Standard Knip ●● Twin Stem
12 AHDB Grower CULTIVATE
