Future Trees – notes

March 2017 | Ross Wilson and Craig Hornblow, AgFirst | Future Orchards® Orchard Walk notes

These notes accompany the Future Trees presentation and provide a practical guide to thinking about the tree that will form the basis of a modern orchard. They focus on matching nursery material and rootstock to the intended planting system, then managing establishment so the canopy fills quickly without losing control of structure.

The notes reinforce that the best planting tree is not simply the largest tree available. Branch placement, leader quality, root system health, uniformity and suitability for the chosen training system all matter. A well-specified tree should allow growers to develop a productive canopy with fewer corrective cuts and less wasted vegetative growth.

For orchard planning, the resource is a useful companion to nursery specifications and redevelopment budgets. It encourages growers to define the target tree and canopy before ordering, to assess whether the chosen rootstock and scion combination will suit the site, and to manage the young block toward early, repeatable cropping.