Orchard walk: Batlow, November 2006

15 November 2006 | Muralappi Orchard, Batlow NSW | Future Orchards 2012

The second Batlow orchard walk, hosted by James Oag and family, focused strongly on tree architecture, training and crop-load management. John Wilton of AgFirst discussed orchard systems including solaxe and slender spindle, the move toward higher tree densities, simple fruiting units and the need to visualise the mature tree form before establishing a block.

The report links pruning, branch angle, light distribution and crop load to high early yields, cost efficiency and consistent fruit quality. It also records use of trunk cross-sectional area to estimate crop numbers on young trees, with discussion of practical crop-load targets, thinning and the importance of applying a chosen tree system consistently along the row.