Evaluating new rootstocks for apples in WA

August 2020 | Susie Murphy White | Future Orchards® final report, South West Western Australia

This Future Orchards® final report evaluates apple rootstocks becoming available to Western Australian pome-fruit growers. The trial was established at Terry Martella’s orchard in Kirup using Lady in Red apples and compared a range of rootstocks under the same commercial environment.

The trial included Cornell-Geneva selections CG11, CG41 and CG202, Japanese rootstocks JM1 and JM7, and T337 (M9), with M26 used as the current industry standard for comparison. Ten trees of each new rootstock were included in the trial, with planting material supplied through the Australian Pome Fruit Improvement Program and the local standard supplied by the grower.

The project schedule records trial definition in 2017, establishment work through 2018-19, measurements in 2019 and 2020, and a planned third measurement in March 2021. The purpose was to build local evidence on growth rather than rely solely on overseas descriptions of rootstock performance.

For growers considering new rootstocks, the report illustrates why local testing matters. Rootstock behaviour is influenced by scion, soil, irrigation, climate and orchard management, so WA observations provide a more relevant basis for decisions about vigour, density and future planting systems.