CARE OF ORCHARD TREES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20087, 6 November 1939, Page 8 (Supplement)

CARE OF ORCHARD TREES

Cultivation, Ihmrang and Pruning

An interesting review of Die seasonal care of orchard trees in the matter of cultivation, thinning and pruning is given in the following article contributed by the Horticultural Division, Department of Agriculture:— Cultivation will be continued as opportunity offers, both for the suppression of seedling weeds and moisture conservation. So many phases of fruitgrowing demand attention during the first two or three months of the growing season that it is often very difficult to keep up with the routine, but any slackening in cultivation in the early part of the season usually results in a heavy growth and seeding of weeds later on when the weight of fruit precludes the use of implements.

Deficiency of moisture is not likely to be apparent until well on in the ripening season, when the rainfall is not sufficient to replace natural losses. Consequently with late ripening varieties, such as Stunner and Dougherty, development is checked, colouring retarded, and the crop will pack out a large proportion of undersized, premature, reject fruit. The necessity for discing or harrowing land that is clean and in good condition may not be apparent, but not knowing how dry the season will be it is an operation that few can afford to neglect, if the maximum is to be obtained for the year’s working, and frequently stirring the surface is the only sure way of reducing loss through evaporation and retaining moisture in the levels occupied by the roots.

Thinning Essential Thinning should be commenced as soon after the natural drop has finished, as a good idea of the size of the crop can be obtained. Much of the benefit of thinning is lost if development proceeds to any extent before the surplus fruit is removed, but as varieties, more so apricots, vary so much in different localities, previous behaviour must be relied upon to indicate when it is safe to thin without the danger of experiencing a late crop.

Small fruit is an abomination as the market for them is limited, the cost in handling is greater than on large sizes, and too much of the crop goes into the reject bin. By limiting the crop, a better average size is produced, the weight more evenly distributed over the tree, disease control is less difficult and handling costs reduced by eliminating the undersized fruit, and by enabling the tree to produce more wood, the tendency to alternate-year cropping is lessened.

More growers err towards underthinning than over-thinning, and the happy medium only can be obtained by considering the factors' governing size. The habit of the variety, size and distribution of the crop, physical condition of the tree, and the possible effect of adverse weather conditions must be studied and acted upon. Medium to small-sized varieties naturally will receive heavier thinning than the larger kinds, but by reducing the crop too drastically with varieties like Jonathan and Cleopatra, soft fleshed fruit of poor keeping quality may be expected.

Care in Spacing Appies and pears fruiting in clusters are usually left with from three to one to a spur, or sometimes alternate spurs are stripped. Short stemmed varieties need careful spacing to prevent loss at picking time, otherwise when one fruit is picked the remainder of the cluster will fall and become a loss. Commence by removing any misshapen, blemished or diseased fruit, and reduce to the required number of as near uniform size as possible. The centre apple in a cluster is usually short-stemmed and liable to be pushed

off by the remaining fruit, and should be removed. In Delicious, the centre fruit, or any others that develop at a much greater rate than the remainder, should be regarded with suspicion and discarded, for to these much of the moukly-core trouble is traceable. Care should be taken to ensure that a portion of the stem remains on the spur. If the stems are torn off with the fruit, the cluster is weakened and often falls. Peaches, nectarines and apricots should be spaced so that when developed no fruit touches its neighbour. Weak willowy growths should be thinned to an ultimate height in conformity with their strength. Care in Pruning In practice there arc so many deviations from all well-defined systems, rendered necessary by varietal peculiarities, physical condition of the tree and age, that any definite directions are apt to be misleading, but in broad

lines, the general principles apply throughout, and by noting the fruiting habit of the tree and its response to previous primings, any modification necessary can be made on well-defined lines.

Briefly the objects of pruning are: To build up and maintain a physically strong tree of a size and shape best suited for convenience and economy in management; to maintain the balance between wood and fruit production and ensure an annual average production of fruit of even size and quality; to regulate or modify the

growth in order to obtain an even distribution of the fruiting wood throughout the tree.

In orchard practice, pruning must be accompanied by cultivation and manuring to maintain vigour, and spraying to control diseases which retard or destroy growth. Although cultivation at times can be suspended with advantage as a means towards reducing wood production and promoting fruitfulness, neglected cultivation or manuring, especially in peaches or nectarines, may produce a condition of stagnation which renders satisfactory pruning almost impossible. Satisfactory Growth Just as growth is essential to satisfactory pruning, so is pruning essential to satisfactory growth, in as much as the trees’ efforts are directed towards smothering any possible contender for a place in the sun, and in so doing

develops its highest points to the detriment of those less favourably situated until, from an economic point of view, the tree is of little value.

To counteract this tendency : imiled number of well-placed limb ire selected, and b> annual prunin;

wood production is encouraged witl a view to developing fruit under th most advantageous conditions.

One of the essentials to quality fruit is the free access of ample light to ail portions, and to this end the removal of any growth crowding the centre or causing dense places in the outer fringe, claims first consideration. In this connection it is necessary to bear in mind that comparatively upright growths during the winter wii; approximate the horizontal under tip weight of a crop of fruit, and allow mice should be made to avoid c.. exposure.

Peaches and Nectarines Dealing in particular with pcachc j and nectarines where the fruit i borne on growth produced the previ-j oils season, provision for ample rc-1 newal of wood is necessary. Left t;: its own devices, the tree will malic more wood than is desirable, and cae’ season the fruiting area will ge i further out of reach and many of t; . light twiggy growths will die out. j

Various methods of treating the young growth are practised, but the general principle in each is lo remove at their bases about half of the or year laterals, cutting the weedy one and leaving alternate strong ones far the next season’s fruiting. From the basal buds of those which were removed. young shoots should arise during the next growing season far the following season’s fruiting. By shortening the shoots which have borne fruit and thinning the young ones, provision is made for a continuous supply of fruiting wood, and much of the labour ol' thinning the crop is a voided. Any shortening of limbs is done by cutting back to a suitable lateral with an outward tendency. Excepting varieties which habitually set the bulk of the crop towards the base of the laterals or evenly throughout its length, any shortening of laterals is not desirable, as with tip bearers the crop may be severely reduced.