Getting new orchard plantings to perform

November 2006 | Prepared by Craig Hornblow and John Wilton, AgFirst | Future Orchards® notes and presentation

Rapid and complete canopy development is central to the economics of a new orchard. Craig Hornblow and John Wilton emphasise that the major cause of low orchard productivity is often too much unused space between trees, particularly while young orchards are establishing.

The resource argues that vigour is valuable until the allotted canopy space is filled. Once optimum tree spacing has been chosen, management should focus on developing efficient fruiting wood quickly rather than suppressing young-tree growth too early.

The notes identify more than 60% mid-season light interception as a benchmark associated with maximum orchard productivity. They also discuss indicative tree-row volumes for intensive, semi-intensive and extensive systems and note the relationship between trunk cross-sectional area per hectare and production potential.

These materials remain a practical reference for establishment planning because they connect nursery-tree quality, irrigation, nutrition, training and canopy-fill targets directly with the timing of commercial returns.