Apple Production Manual, Roots of Peace, Nov. 2008

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During soil preparation, avoid excessive or deep tillage practice. It is also very important to avoid tillage in dry soils, because it will turn up big pounds. 6 Planting Apple Trees The saplings should be planted if the soil not too wet. First open a large hole to accommodate the root system. Before planting, any roots that are broken or kinked should be cut off. A planting board can help positioning the sapling on the top of the hole. Replace the planting board with the tree stem fitted into the central notch with the graft at least 5-10 cm above the soil surface. After that, fill the hole with soil until the root ball is fully covered. Gently firm the soil around the tree and level the soil. The tree should be planted to the same depth as it was in the pot (or the soil mark on the trunk in the case of bare-rooted trees). Water well if the conditions are dry. Source: F. Sandor (2007) 7 Orchard Layout Some varieties need to be supported (Staking) sometimes during the whole life of the tree. Stakes should be 5cm diameter and in general about 1.5m high - 60cm below ground, and the remainder above ground. The stake should be 8cm (3in) or so from the main stem. Tie the trunk to the stake in one or two places using plastic ties available from garden centers. Do not use wire or anything which could cut into the tree trunk. The saplings that need supporting stakes depend on the used root stock. M9, M26 and M27 definitely need it. A doughnut shaped basin should be built around the planted tree, so the water drains away from the trunk. The size of the basin should be slightly wider than the planting hole. In this way the water can be applied to the entire root area and just beyond. Until the establishment of the roots, fill up the basin once or twice per week. Usually the orchard layout follows a regular pattern. The process starts with establishment of a straight line from the edge of the field, which will be the base line. After establishing a right angle (90°) to the base line, begin taking reference point measurements. One base line forms a base row and the other line (running at right angle to the first) forms the line at which the first tree in each row is placed. Using the base lines as reference points, stretch tape along one line and place pegs at the desired intervals of tree spacing. The spacing distance depends on the rootstock and the tree training system. Dwarf and intensive production systems require less spacing than standard type apple trees. Cordon type dwarf trees are planted in double or simple lined beds. Page 10 of 44
Commonly used planting distances of apple trees: Row and plant distance (m) Number of tree per Hectare Single row 5.00 X 5.00 400 7.00 X 4.00 358 6.00 X 4.00 417 5.00 X 3.00 667 8 Fertilizing Apple Trees The nutrient availability of the soil depends on the soil pH. The farmer should adjust the soil pH between the following ranges: Topsoil: Between 6.5 and 7.0 Subsoil: Between 6.0 and 6.5 Tree nutrition is probably the most important factor for successful orchard management, and it can be controlled through proper fertilization practices. The fertilization program is focused on two factors. First, during the initial phase, the adjustment of soil nutrient status is the focus. Secondly nutrients may need to be replaced if they were removed from the soil by the tree. Part of the nutrients accumulates in the “body” of the tree and a large amount of nutrients are removed by the fruit yield. Table 1; Amount of nutrient removed from soil with 10 MT of fruit yield Amount of nutrient removed from the soil by 10MT of fruit Type N (Kg) P2O5 (Kg) Page 11 of 44 K2O (Kg) CaO (Kg) MgO (Kg) Apple 6.0 2.0 15.0 3.4 2.5 Pear 5.5 1.5 16.0 3.4 2.0 Peach 13.0 6.0 28.0 4.0 2.0 Source: Gautier (1979) 8.1 Nitrogen status Nitrogen influences the tree growth. Nitrogen is especially important during the young stages of tree development. It also helps keep balance in the tree physiology. The annual nitrogen use of a tree is 80% (based on the tree reserve) whereas only 20% comes from the fertilizer application. The tree stores the applied nitrogen fertilizer mainly in the root system. Therefore, leaf nutrient analysis is very important to adjust the tree’s nitrogen status. In bloom, the stored nitrogen in the tree is almost exhausted and the shoots growth in late spring becomes externally nitrogen dependent. Therefore, nitrogen should be applied twice during the growing season. Half should be applied during the post harvest period and the other half after bloom. Tree nitrogen status can be checked and monitored through five factors: Fruit Color: Fruit color development is delayed when N levels are too high. Fruit Size and Firmness: Size generally increases with higher N levels and the fruit tends to result in less firm fruit flesh.
Page 1 and 2: APPLE PRODUCTION PERENNIAL CROP SUP
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction ..
Page 5 and 6: 3 Morphology Source: F. Sandor (200
Page 7 and 8: Order: Fruit pointed or longish Or
Page 9: Subsection: Pale or blushed, self c
Page 13 and 14: The applied phosphorus fertilizer s
Page 15 and 16: Low fruit load Mode of action Corre
Page 17 and 18: There are a number of pests which p
Page 19 and 20: 11.1 Root stock There are many prun
Page 21 and 22: stool beds of O.3 produce few salea
Page 23 and 24: considerable experience. Therefore
Page 25 and 26: 11.3 The growing habits of apple tr
Page 27 and 28: vertically from those of the first
Page 29 and 30: The pruning technique of the young
Page 31 and 32: Source: F. Sandor (2008) Thinning
Page 33 and 34: 13 Apple Varieties Table 6: Apples
Page 35 and 36: Source: Apple pollination chart fro
Page 37 and 38: Species Variety Synonyms Origin Roo
Page 39 and 40: Species Variety Synonyms Origin Roo
Page 41 and 42: 14 References F. Gyuro: Fruit produ
Page 43 and 44: NOTES Page 43 of 44

Apple Production Manual, Roots of Peace, Nov. 2008

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