New planting options 2007 and beyond – notes

March 2007 | AgFirst | Future Orchards® Orchard Walk notes

This early Future Orchards® resource examines options for new orchard plantings at a time when Australian growers were accelerating the move toward more intensive systems. The notes consider the relationship between planting density, rootstock, tree type, canopy design and the economics of getting a new block into production quickly.

The central principle is that new plantings should be designed backward from the production system growers want to operate. Tree spacing, rootstock vigour and support need to work together so the canopy can intercept light efficiently, fill its allocated space and settle into cropping without excessive vigour. The notes also point to the value of simple tree structures that reduce pruning and training complexity.

Although the resource reflects the technology and varieties available in 2007, it remains useful as a record of the fundamentals behind high-density orchard development: select appropriate planting material, establish the canopy rapidly, manage vigour early and judge the system on marketable yield and economic performance rather than tree numbers alone.