Domestic apples are confidently displacing Polish imports from the Ukrainian market. The last bastion of the Polish product is late spring, when Ukrainian apples practically disappear from sale due to worse quality indicators and storage conditions. The main driving force behind Ukraine’s apple progress is not even the financial resources that are invested in intensive apple orchards, but experienced agronomist practitioners who ensure high-quality apple harvests. One of these agronomists is Vasily Antonovich Shvets. He has experience in planting and growing not only 8 large apple plantations in Ukraine, but also two orchards in Poland.
I come from the Buchach district of the Ternopil region, graduated from the Uman Agricultural Institute, Faculty of Horticulture and Viticulture in 1994. I was very lucky that back in 1993, thanks to the efforts of the head. Department of Professor G.K. Karpenchuk and (then) Associate Professor Candidate of Agricultural Sciences. A.V. Melnik (now professor, doctor of agricultural sciences, head of the department of fruit growing), I attended an internship in Poland. Our teachers wanted Ukrainian students to see the most progressive European practices and technologies. Therefore, we ended up in the most advanced farms in Poland - intensive pilot gardens, established using Dutch technology. It was there that I made the final decision to completely connect my life with gardening.
Upon returning to Ukraine, I was offered a job at the horticulture research station in the village. Bear's Ear, Vinnytsia region. At that time, a new garden was planted there, which was considered the most intensive, on the MM-106 rootstock according to the 4x2 m pattern. When I said at the interview that in Poland this has long been considered an anachronism, and that 40-60 tons are already harvested in Poland apples per hectare, the station employee asked me: “Aren’t you confusing anything? Maybe centners, not tons?
Indeed, in Soviet times, the apple harvest on the state farm ranged from 5 to 15 t/ha. Moreover, 10–15 t/ha was collected in a few state farms in the Vinnitsa region.
Now the usual apple yield in Ukraine is 40–60 t/ha. True, there are records of 80–100 t/ha. But the gardeners who received such results claim that they will no longer set such records: it’s a pity for the trees. It is better to have 60 t/ha every year than 100 once, and then spend 3 years restoring trees.
Then, in the 90s, many farm managers offered me to plant these very “Polish” gardens for them, but there were no resources at that time. However, by the end of the 90s, the economic crisis had reached such an extent that planting gardens in Ukraine was no longer out of the question. And I went to Poland to plant gardens and earn a living for my family.
While working in Poland, I was very lucky to establish excellent relationships with Polish gardeners, as well as work with Dutch specialists, who became my best teachers. First of all, with Jan Holter, now, unfortunately, deceased. He was a "star" of gardening, and was known from Belgium to Italy. And even now, when meeting with Dutch, German, Belgian, Italian gardeners, Holter’s name sounds like a password, like a pass to the elite world of European gardening.
Vinnytsia - a nest of apple conservatism
He returned to Ukraine in 2002 and began working at the Sadivnik farm in the Bar district of Vinnytsia region. Much has been achieved, but I must note the extreme conservatism of local gardeners, which is still evident today. In Soviet times, the fruit trust included 30 horticultural state farms in the region. Now at least 20 of them have survived, having changed only the form of ownership.
As a result, despite the presence of enormous potential in horticulture, the Vinnytsia region is now perhaps the last in the use of modern technologies: Soviet gardens are still being “squeezed out” there.
And the locomotive of progress now is Bukovina. Back in Soviet times, local resourceful guys made money by supplying dried plums and fresh apples to Moscow. And now it is there that the best intensive gardens are being built, and there are no frankly weak projects at all. The Vinnytsia region dominates not in the apples themselves, but in the volume of apple concentrate - more than half of the total national production.
In the Vinnytsia region there is still such a negative feature in work as complete secrecy. They looked at me like I was an idiot when I told absolutely everything I knew. Jan Holter always told me: “Vasya, information is like a fresh bun. And for it to sell well, it must always be the freshest. And then people will come to you, and not you to people, to find out something.”
- What varieties do you work with and which ones do you recommend planting?
- There are varieties for the supermarket, “money” ones: Golden Delicious, Fuji, Gala, clones of Red Delicious (RedCap, Top Red, Sandige, Early Red Van), the Jonagold line, the most effective of which is Red John Prince. There is a local variety, Renet Simirenko, but it is losing ground due to its specific taste.
The next group is immune or resistant varieties. Their advantage is that they do not suffer from scab and require less chemical treatment. This is the so-called. “re-varieties”: Reanda, Recolor, Reglindis, Remo, Renora, Revena, Rebella. Their main drawback is their sour taste. These are technical grades for processing.
However, it was possible to develop dessert varieties from immune varieties: Topaz and its clone Red Topaz, Sirus, Luna, Orion. These are varieties of Czech selection. In addition, there is the Rubinola variety, and Florina, a variety that has already gained a strong position in Ukraine. The newest varieties, still little-known, but very promising varieties of the Italian selection Modi, Smeralda,.
I would like to separately emphasize that these varieties are probably the last ones obtained through traditional selection. Everything new that will appear will definitely be genetically modified products. This is especially true for such a novelty as red-fleshed apples. Humanity has been cultivating apple trees since biblical times, targeted selection has been carried out for the last 250 years, but not once during all this time has a mutation been observed that gives a red color to the pulp - with the exception of individual reddish nets on the pulp from the skin of the fruit of the Gypsy variety. But as soon as genetic engineering appeared, as many as 5 varieties with red flesh immediately appeared! And the second generation has already appeared, with different skin colors, but with the same red flesh!
- The most effective way is under the planter. But besides planting the apple trees themselves, first of all you need to think about the supports. Lately I have been watching how hurricanes and storms completely break, like matches, concrete pillars for anti-hail nets - they mow down the entire area at once, like dominoes. Therefore, even before planting, you should think about purchasing reliable, proven concrete pillars or acacia stakes. Foresters should also think about this in order to plant acacia trees on stakes for gardens. After all, acacia is a Ukrainian “iron” tree.
First of all, you should organize an irrigation system. For existing gardens, even on strong and medium-growing rootstocks - MM-106, M-54-118, M-26, and even M-7 and A-2. Apple seedlings also react very positively to watering: both the quality and quantity of fruits improve.
If we plant an intensive garden on rootstocks M-9, M-7, or MM-106, the root system is located in the surface layer of soil at a depth of 40–80 cm. There is no need to perform plantation plowing to a depth of 80 cm. All soils on where the gardens were planted were loosened to a depth of 40–50 cm. Then - the usual plowing at 30 cm, cultivation, leveling. And then plant as convenient: under a shovel, planter or hydraulic drill.
Green manure is simply ideal if sown a year before planting, for example, mustard, lupine or vetch. Green manure yields up to 60 t/ha of organic matter, and this is a very serious feeding for trees in the first years.
You can plant one-year-olds or two-year-olds - crowned knipbaums. Three-year-old seedlings are already overgrown, illiquid stock of the nursery, and they require special, more expensive care.
You can plant in both spring and fall, but in our area I strongly recommend only spring planting.
The row spacing is determined only by the equipment that will work in an intensive garden. With maximum intensification, it is possible to compact row spacing up to 2.8 m, but this is only if there are special tractors and equipment for this width. Therefore, the most common width is 3.2 and 3.5 m. Personally, I successfully “crammed” apple trees onto the MM-106 at 3.5 m. But this works on low-growing varieties such as Champion, Topaz, Eliza, Modi.
In an intensive apple orchard, the trellises are stretched either before planting trees or after. Before planting, it is recommended to lay a system of anti-hail nets. And the trellises themselves can be installed after planting. The distance between the posts is no more than 6–7 m. We tried to save some money and placed it every 11 m, but in the 4th year the wire sagged under the weight of 40-50 t/ha of fruit. We had to install additional supports. We use Belgian-made wire with a thickness of 2.8 mm; it can withstand tensile strength up to 900 kg.
Chemical treatments in an intensive garden are carried out at least 15 times per season, and these are mandatory, insurance treatments. Fungicidal treatments - 22–25 times, against scab and powdery mildew. Immune varieties are treated up to 7 times - against powdery mildew and wood diseases. Insecticides for all varieties are applied up to 7 times.
Fertilizers are applied immediately in the tank mixture. In addition to calcium chloride, which is added before harvesting to improve the storage of apples.
Root feeding is carried out with nitroammophos, and, if necessary, with saltpeter and urea. It is better to apply nitroammofoska in the spring, at the start of the growing season. The tree first takes up nitrogen, and after 4–6 months. - phosphorus and potassium. When applying fertilizers in the fall, we lose nitrogen, and the plant does not yet need phosphorus and potassium.
- Are underground irrigation systems suitable?
Such systems are not used in Ukraine. I saw such a system in Poland, and then as an experimental one on one hectare. Its main enemy is rodents. And in terms of efficiency, it has no advantage over surface irrigation.
- What is the lifespan of an intensive garden?
On average - 15–25 years. The intensive type garden achieves working harvest volumes and the first profit from the 5th year. Harvests continue to increase until the 7th–10th year. Then, for 10–15 years, the yields are stable. And after 22–25 years they decline. But the garden can be used for 30–40 years. So, in Italy I saw an intensive orchard on M-9, 36 years old, and they harvest 60 t/ha of apples. But in our conditions, after 25 years, the yield drops sharply to 15–25 t/ha. In Holland and Belgium, the question of uprooting the orchard is being raised when the yield drops to 40 t/ha.
After uprooting the garden, reclamation is carried out over a period of 3-5 years, and a new intensive type garden is established, preferably a stone fruit garden. It is not advisable to plant apple trees after apple trees or other pome trees.
In Ukraine, seedlings and nurseries have already appeared that meet modern standards. First of all, the seedlings of the Bakhmut station should be noted.
Abroad, the best varieties, seedlings and nurseries are in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy. And there is no need to be afraid of either Italian seedlings or varieties. Yes, in Italy the growing season is a month longer, but even in our conditions they perform well and winter well. The main caveat: Italian varieties and seedlings, like others, should be planted only in the spring to give the trees a year to adapt. If he survives the first winter, then there are no further problems. But autumn planting is an unnecessary lottery. In one very well-known farm, after autumn planting there was from 5 to 30% losses: the seedlings did not grow after winter.
- What can you say about cherries? I see outside your window not only apple trees, but also cherries.
Cherry is a wonderful crop. But it should initially be used for processing and harvesting. In Gorodok, Lviv region, 600 hectares of cherries were planted at once. But they have freezing, juice production, and a pitting machine.
- What is your view on the overall further development of the apple industry in Ukraine?
Honestly, I have a feeling that Ukraine will have good prices for fruits and berries for the last time. And that’s only because frosts in May wiped out crops throughout Europe.
- So what should we do? To plant intensive gardens or not to plant?
First, you should take proper care of what you already have. Secondly, only those who have sufficient financial resources and experience in gardening should start gardens.
We must not repeat the situation of 2002, 2005 or 2010, when gardens were formally established under the state program to support horticulture. But in fact, money was laundered and stolen. Under this program, instead of gardens, they planted all the trash from nurseries that they could find. First, we cleaned out and buried all the rotten brushwood from Ukrainian nurseries. Then - from Moldavian ones, then from Polish ones, and now they have even reached Italian ones.
In practice, it looks like this: the first truck brings ideal material, the second already raises questions, and the third actually contains bundles of moldy brushwood that were once seedlings. Moreover, this happens not at the suggestion of a hired manager, but rather the owner, who takes it cheaper. Of course, as an agronomist, I refuse to work with such material. A high-quality seedling in Italy costs 4.5 euros/piece, but they manage to bring it for 1.2 euros. But this is the kind of garbage that cannot be found in Ukraine. So this is either money laundering or some other scheme.
But for those who are planning to actually engage in apple breeding as a long-term business, I want to give some advice:
The most important thing in this enterprise: choosing a location for intensive gardens! A lot is said and written about this in all the literature on gardening. Slope exposure, wind rose, presence of natural or artificial protective plantings, etc. But for some reason, the majority of those who want to have gardens neglect these rules, forgetting that we can improve the quality of the soil, but never the location of the garden!
- Initially plan the entire financial resource so that it is enough for the entire volume of work at once. And assume that planting 1 hectare of intensive garden costs about 30 thousand euros.
- Don't be afraid of competition. I have been hearing the same argument for 25 years: there is no point in planting, because everyone around is planting apple trees. This was said in the 90s, in the 2000s, and now. Remember that even if everyone plants apple trees, not everyone will grow an apple, and not everyone will have the patience to do it. And in the end, you will have enough space in the market.
- You should start an apple orchard only if you are ahead of your competitors from the very beginning: plant only the newest and best, but already proven varieties. There is no point in trying to compete in the market with old varieties: there is already an overabundance of them.
- Follow the principle of my Dutch teacher Jan Holter: “There is no place for greed and pity in the garden.” Don't be greedy and give the trees what they need here and now: supports, water, fertilizers, treatments, and so on. And in the same way, don’t let your uprooting hand tremble when the time comes to change the garden.
Vadim Naninets
Snyatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region
Establishing optimal planting designs in relation to certain natural and economic characteristics of the farm is one of the solutions to the problem of increasing gross fruit production.
According to N. M. Kurennoy, the design (type) of a garden is determined by a combination of the following factors: the characteristics of the placement of trees, the formation and pruning of the crown, the growth strength of the rootstock and the productivity of the variety-rootstock combination, the agricultural technology used, the system of machines, tools, the economic efficiency of fruit production and etc. For the southern zone, N.M. Kurennaya identifies the following designs (types) of gardens.
Gardens on seed and medium-sized vegetatively propagated rootstocks with compacted row placement of trees in rows and wide row spacing (300 - 600 trees per 1 ha), formed according to the type of round (spherical, volumetric) or semi-flat small-sized crown with a height of up to 3.5 - 4 m. with 5 – 8 main branches. When fully mature, the plantings form continuous crowns in a row more than 2.5 - 3.0 m wide.
Orchards on seed (medium- and low-growing varieties), semi-dwarf and medium-growing clonal rootstocks with 500 - 800 trees per 1 hectare, formed according to the type of flat crowns (palmettes) with the predominant development of lower branches, up to 3.5 m in height and the width of the fruit wall 1.5 – 2.5 m.
Gardens of spur-type varieties grown under irrigation or in areas with increased moisture on medium- and low-growing rootstocks (500 - 666 and 1000 - 1666 trees per 1 hectare, respectively, with the formation of a freely growing rounded crown and 833 - 1000 and 1250 - 2000 trees - with formation of flat crowns).
Gardens on dwarf rootstocks, grown under irrigated conditions or in areas with high humidity.
Gardens on low-growing rootstocks (M9, M26, M7) with rounded, low-volume crowns that form a solid wall in the planting undergo extensive production testing. This is a free-growing spindle-shaped bush with a plant placement of 3 x 1 - 1.5 m and a crown diameter (row crown width) of 2 - 2.5 m, a slender spindle and columnar formation (pillar) with a placement of 3.5 - 4 x 1 and 3, 5 x 1 m (2500 - 5000 trees per 1 hectare) and a crown width of about 1 m.
According to Z. A. Metlitsky, more than half of the total height and width of the crown of fruit trees in orchards of the first two types with large crowns falls on part of the branches, bare of overgrowing twigs and leaves and performing only the functions of connection between the roots and the top of the crown. A sparse tree placement system does not contribute to the creation of highly productive plantings, since the crown projection areas in such gardens are equal to only 20–50% of the total garden area instead of the normal 60–80%. The creation of powerful trees capable of producing record yields when placed sparsely in the garden has not justified itself. Russian biologist and fruit grower P. G. Schitt put forward and substantiated a proposal for dense (row) planting of fruit trees, combining the advantages of dense and sparse placement of trees and devoid of their inherent disadvantages.
This can be achieved by using varieties and rootstocks suitable for planting dense apple orchards.
Varieties and rootstocks for intensive apple orchards
In terms of biological characteristics and the nature of production, dwarf and semi-dwarf trees are among the most intensive crops. They begin to bear fruit in the 2nd to 5th year after planting, and the relatively small size of such trees allows them to be placed on a unit area several times larger than vigorous-growing ones.
According to Ya. S. Nesterov, promising varieties for planting intensive-type apple orchards are spurts Yellowspur, Wellspur, Rabispur, Cherryred and varieties with restrained growth Wagner, Low Red, Rum Beauty, Lambourne, Granny Smith, Williams, Annie Elizabeth, Farside.
The zoned apple tree varieties bred by SKZNIISiV are very promising for intensive plantings in the southern horticultural zone: Kuban spur, Delicious spur, Luch..
The apple tree varieties Grieve Rouge and Red Melba on the weak-growing M9 rootstock are also suitable for cultivation using intensive technologies. In addition, when planting intensive gardens, the previously zoned varieties Idared and Starkrimson on a similar rootstock should also be used.
Winter ripening apple tree varieties: Western European Gloucester and American Jonagold on weak-growing M9 rootstock also meet the requirements of intensive fruit growing. To the characteristics of these varieties it is necessary to add high commercial quality and the special attractiveness of their fruits.
It should be noted that the Gloucester and Jonagold varieties are affected by fungal diseases. However, they have become widespread in intensive gardens in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Hungary and other countries. Currently, these varieties are undergoing extensive production testing in the south of the European part of the CIS.
According to experts (N.I. Kondratenko), in apple orchards in the south of Russia it is advisable to cultivate the early-fruiting, highly productive variety Golden Delicious, which for a long time retained the “leadership” in intensive plantings in many countries of Europe and the USA.
Currently, the attention of practitioners is attracted to a new variety, Golden Delicious (Clone B), which is more resistant to sunburn. The feasibility of its cultivation on alluvial-meadow soils of the Kuban horticultural zone has already been proven in terms of productivity, consumer and commercial qualities of the fruit.
The use of the Red Jonagold variety, a colored mutant of the Jonagold variety, in these natural conditions is very promising. As the experiment showed, when the crown of trees of this variety is formed on the M9 rootstock of the “spindle” type and placed according to the 4 x 1.5 m pattern, already in the 3rd year after planting the garden, the beginning of marketable fruiting is noted with a yield of 9.7 tons per 1 ha. At the same time, the yield of premium fruit is 94%.
In recent years, apple trees on weak-growing rootstocks have begun to be widely introduced into industrial fruit growing. The dwarf culture has become so widespread due to a number of advantages hidden in the biological characteristics of growth and fruiting. Their essence is as follows:
1. Weak-growing apple tree rootstocks give grafted varieties greater uniformity in crown size than vigorous-growing ones. This facilitates the unification of agricultural practices that increase labor productivity.
2. Dwarf trees are significantly smaller in size than the same varieties on seed rootstocks. They make caring for them much easier and reduce labor costs in such work as crown formation and pruning, pest and disease control. Fruit picking is faster, more accurate, and the amount of available carrion is reduced.
3. In gardens on weak-growing rootstocks, especially when grown on a trellis, the yield grows much faster over the years than on the same varieties grafted on vigorous rootstocks.
4. Although the productivity of dwarf trees during the period of full fruiting is lower than that of vigorous trees, when placing a larger number of them on one hectare (666 - 2000), the total yield per unit area of the garden is also greater.
5. The commercial quality of fruits with good care is higher, the fruits are larger, better colored, and contain more dry matter.
6. The frequency of fruiting in dwarf trees is less pronounced than in vigorous trees. The results of vegetation experiments indicate the prospects of using the semi-dwarf rootstock M26 for the fullest manifestation of the potential capabilities of some apple tree varieties recommended for intensive orchards. For example, the productivity coefficient Q of the Idared / M26 combination is 1.32. The new clonal apple rootstocks bred by SKZNIISiV, the dwarf SK-3, SK-4 and semi-dwarf SK-2, are quite suitable for use in intensive gardens in the southern regions.
Formation of tree crowns in high-density apple tree plantations
The task of formation comes down to building productionally viable crowns of fruit trees, which, regardless of the adopted systems, must provide:
· construction of small-sized (compact) crowns, corresponding to the accepted system of plant placement in the planting, simple in design and formation technology;
· high strength, stability and flexibility of the skeletal part, capable of withstanding a large load of crops, etc.;
· intensive increase in leaf surface area, early entry of trees into fruiting and rapid increase in industrial yields;
· good lighting of all areas of the tree and crown of the compacted row;
· formation of trees with a limited amount of skeletal wood (main branches), which do not require complex and expensive pruning throughout the entire productive period of life;
· stable preservation of the position of first-order branches, intensive growth, regular abundant fruiting and high quality fruits;
· mechanization of work in the garden (pruning, soil and tree care, harvesting), increasing labor productivity and efficiency of fruit production.
In connection with compacted placement by reducing the distance between plants in rows, formation is of particular importance, ensuring sufficient illumination and, accordingly, productivity.
Such formations, according to V.I. Cherepakhin, R.P. Kudryavets, A.S. Devyatov include a spindle-shaped bush (spindlebush), spindle (spindle), slender spindle (weightback), French axis (piller), free-growing spindle ( free spindle, Russian spindle).
The spindle-shaped bush (spindlebush), according to V. Velkov, was developed and introduced in the garden of Hungary by Sandor Fejes and recommended for apple trees grafted on M9 and M4. Planting scheme for apple trees on M4 – 7 – 7.5 x 4 – 4.5 m; on M9 – 5 – 5.5 x 2.5 – 3m.
The spindle-shaped bush is characterized by a tiered arrangement of horizontally directed branches on the trunk in a spiral and has a pyramidal shape with a wider base. Its final dimensions are as follows: height 2 - 2.5 m, crown diameter 4.0 - 4.5 m.
The advantage of a spindle-shaped bush is its ease of formation with successful selection of varieties, early fruiting, and cultivation without support. Such a crown is not suitable for varieties that begin to bear fruit late and have branches with sharp branching angles.
The spindle (spindle) was created by gardeners in Western Europe and, according to A. S. Devyatov, differs little from the spindle bush. It is smaller in size: crown height 1.8 - 2.2 m, diameter 1.5 - 2.0 m, and apple trees are formed according to this type, grafted on rootstocks M9, M26, M27, P22, B146, 63 - 396, planted according to the scheme 2.5 - 3.0 x 1.5 - 2.0 m. Recommended varieties are low-growing, early-fruiting and with good branching (Idared, Golden Delicious, Jonared, Lambourne, Ionica, Champion). Trees require supports 2.5 - 3.0 m high from spruce, oak, acacia, bamboo, which do not rot for up to 20 years.
Further improvement of the spindle crown (spindle) led to the emergence of two new forms of crown - a slender spindle (weightback) with constantly overgrowing branches and a French axis (pillar) with cyclically renewed overgrowing branches.
The slender spindle (weightback) was developed in the late 60s of the twentieth century. for low-growing apple tree plantings on rootstock M9, B9, 62 – 396, B146, P22. Its authors, according to A.S. Devyatov, were fruit growing inspector J. Smith and the manager of the company in Gruzbek V. Zhan. In 1978 it was described by S. Wertheim. It has become widespread in the Netherlands and Belgium with single-line placement of trees according to the scheme 3 - 4 x 1 - 2 m. Unlike other spindle-shaped crowns, a slender spindle is formed from annual seedlings with branches. In addition, in the third year, the continuation branch is shortened to a weak lateral branch (translation), and the branch itself is shortened to 30–40 cm. Subsequently, the central conductor is shortened as in the third year. This helps to weaken its growth and improve fouling.
In its final form, the slender spindle (weightback) on the M9 rootstock has a height of 2 - 2.5 m and a diameter of 1.0 - 1.5 m.
The French axis (piller) was developed in England by G. A. McLean and is recommended for spur apple trees with a spreading crown on weak-growing rootstocks. According to R.N. Kudryavets, the piller consists of a central conductor up to 2 m high, on which 20–25 overgrowing branches (fruit links) are evenly placed (every 10–12 cm). One, two and three year old shoots and twigs are formed in each link. Three-year-old branches that bear fruit are cut out into a stump, leaving two or three buds. Tree planting scheme 4–5 x 1–1.5 m. A. S. Derevyatov clarifies that initially this crown was called “Piller” and was introduced into practice in France by J. Lespinasse and called the “French Axis”. It resembles a slender spindle and has a height of 3 - 4 m and with shorter, periodically renewed overgrowing and fruiting branches with a ratio of trunk diameter to branches of no less than 3:1. For the southern fruit growing zone, rootstocks M9 and M26 are recommended.
The advantage of the piller is early fruiting, ease of care, and good commercial quality of the fruit. Disadvantage: rapid aging of the lower links.
A freely growing spindle (free spindle), according to V.I. Cherepakhin, is a modification of a slender spindle and is distinguished by stronger growth at the base of the crown of branches 100 - 150 cm long. This crown is intended primarily for apple tree varieties with a spreading crown (Golden Delicious, Mantuan , Renet Simirenko, Glory to the winners, etc.), grafted on low-growing rootstocks M9, M26, P22 with a planting pattern of 4 - 4.5 x 1.5 - 2 m. The design features of the crown, principles, techniques for forming and pruning trees are basically similar to those described earlier for spindle-shaped crowns. The crown consists of a trunk and first-order branches 1 - 1.5 m long. The lower branches are positioned elevated (inclination angle 55 - 60°), the upper ones - horizontally.
In the fifth year after planting, pruning of overgrown branches begins with a three- to four-year replacement cycle. Fruit-bearing branches are shortened by 3-4 year old wood and transferred to a shortened branch with two to three buds, a replacement knot or fruit formations from which new shoots grow. Two- and three-year-old fruiting branches, if necessary, are shortened in order to regulate their load with fruit formations, especially in the varieties Golden Delicious, Starkrimson, Mantuanskoe, in order to prevent crushing of fruits from overload. In the future, they try to limit the size of the crowns by pruning so that the height is within 2 - 2.5 m, diameter up to 1.5 m.
Unlike other spindle-shaped crowns, the free-growing spindle eliminates one drawback - sagging branches, which makes it easier to care for the soil in the row.
Tree placement
Previously, it was customary to plant large gardens with plants arranged in such a way that the distances between trees in the rows were small or did not differ at all from the row spacing, for example, for apple trees on vigorous rootstocks 12 x 10, 10 x 10, 10 x 8 m. This made it possible to place 83–125 trees on one hectare. At the same time, each tree in the garden was provided with a large area and a significant volume of air and light environment, significantly exceeding the needs and possibilities of their effective use, especially by young trees.
The use of apple tree varieties created for intensive fruit growing, together with dwarf rootstocks and spindle-shaped crowns, made it possible to create dense plantings with 2 to 5 thousand trees per hectare. This made it possible to eliminate all the above-mentioned shortcomings and increase the yield in a mature garden to 30 - 40 tons per 1 hectare.
The development of fruit growing along this route is also more preferable because the amount of arable land per capita is constantly decreasing, and tens of thousands of hectares are withdrawn from annual circulation for various reasons.
New thickened structures of fruit plantings are one of the most important achievements of science and practice in the field of horticulture. Densified plantings are the initial element of a new gardening system, which includes a new structure and technology for crown formation, which allows for the fullest use of the advantages of compacted gardens and to get rid of their disadvantages.
At the same time, with excessively dense placement of trees in rows and a reduction in row spacing, as well as with rational placement, but lack of care for the crowns, which grow and thicken, the radiation regime worsens, which negatively affects the yield and quality of fruits, making it difficult to use machines and etc..
Crown formation.
Slender spindle. This spindle-shaped crown was developed in the Netherlands in the late 60s of the twentieth century. for a very dense apple garden on a dwarf rootstock M9. Its authors were fruit growing inspector J. Smith and farm manager in Gruzbek V. Zhane. It was first described by S. Wertheim in 1978. Initially, this crown was called “weightback”, but later the name “slender spindle” was assigned to it. This crown has become widespread in the Netherlands and Belgium with single-row planting with row spacing of 3-4 m and row distances of 1-2 m.
Apple orchard: modern technologies
The placement according to the scheme 3-3.25x1.25 m is considered more optimal.
A slender spindle is characterized by a central trunk, several strong branches below and rather weak branches along the entire trunk to the top at a height of 2.5 m. At the end of formation, the crown has a cone-shaped shape.
The slender spindle arose on the basis of the “spindle”. Externally, it differs from it in its smaller crown diameter and shorter length of overgrowing branches. It is necessary to install a stake, which must stand until the garden is uprooted.
For the formation of a “slender spindle”, crowned annuals are preferred. To do this, proceed as follows. One-year-olds are not dug up in the nursery, but are left for another year. They are cut back at a height of 40–45 cm from the ground and a new trunk is grown, essentially a two-year tree, but with summer branches. Their peculiarity is that they always have a wide angle of deviation, up to 60–90 degrees, and do not require deviation.
The seedling stem is cleared of branches to a height of 40–50 cm. The trunk is pruned at a height of about 1 m to ensure the branches grow in length. At a height of 70–90 cm there should be 3–5 branches. The lateral branches are not shortened. If among the upper branches there are one or two directed upwards, they are removed leaving a stump 5–10 mm long or tilted to a horizontal position, secured with twine. Always ensure that the barrel is securely fastened to the support.
Skeletal branches are not allowed in the "slender spindle". The thickness of the overgrowing can reach 2–2.5 cm. For their formation, sloping branches of medium growth strength, formed in the middle part of last year’s growth, are valued, since they do not require bending.
To ensure sufficiently strong growth of overgrowing branches, the trunk conductor is annually transferred to a weak upper branch or competitor. This achieves the goal of restraining the growth of the tree in height. The transfer of the central conductor must be done annually, and each time in the opposite direction. As a result, the trunk takes on a zigzag shape and does not deviate away from the vertical to the grafting site.
It is not customary to shorten the lateral branches on the trunk in the first 4 years of formation of the “slender spindle”, with the exception of the uppermost ones that are formed annually, if they are directed upward and grow strongly. They must be cut out leaving a short spine.
Formed trees are pruned annually. At the same time, strong growths oriented upward are cut out and sloping branches are shortened if they reach the neighboring tree.
The total height of the formed tree is 2–2.5 m, the diameter of the cone-shaped crown is 1.5–2 m. After reaching a given height, further growth of the trunk is completely cut off every year.
The control version is formed according to the “spindle” type. This crown was created by gardeners in Western Europe. Apple trees are formed according to this type, grafted on rootstocks M9, M26, M27, P22, B146, 63 -396, planted according to the scheme 2.5-3.0 x 1.5 -2.0 m. Low-growing, early-fruiting and with good branching (Idared, Red Jonagold, Jonared, Lambourne, Ionica, Champion).
After planting in a permanent place, annual seedlings without branching are pruned at a height of 75–85 cm from the ground surface.
In the spring of the first year of growing season, after the buds awaken, inspecting the trees, they select a standard with a height of 40–60 cm. Stamping is carried out in this zone, and when the increments reach a length of 50–60 cm, they are tilted to 69–70° from the vertical and secured with twine. If the lateral growths cannot be bent, they are cut out in the spring of the second year of vegetation, leaving a stump 5-10 mm long. In the spring of the second year, the central conductor is tied to a stake and cut at a height of 30–40 cm from the top growth.
In the summer of the second year, green operations are carried out (pinching and breaking off vertical shoots on first-order branches).
In the spring of the third and fourth years of vegetation, branches continue to form on the trunk. For this purpose, every spring the continuation branch of the central conductor is shortened at a distance of 30–40 cm from the upper branch. The main task is to prune the guide to ensure good coverage of the trunk with overgrowing branches, to prevent gaps of more than 15–20 cm. The length of the first order branches depends on the distance between the trees and reaches 75–100 cm. The diameter of the lower branches at the base reaches 2–3 cm, in the middle trunk zone – 1.5–2 cm. On first-order branches only overgrowing branches with growth and fruiting buds are placed.
Vertical growths on first-order branches are not allowed; they are cut out in the spring (if they were not bent or pinched in the summer). The crown height is adjusted to 1.8–2.2 m. In subsequent years, the crown is thinned out annually, cutting out all strong growths with a vertical or close to it orientation, if they were not rejected in the second half of summer during green operations.
One of the priority areas for the development of the agricultural sector of Kuban is currently the introduction of intensive horticulture. Intensive gardening is considered an innovative technology, although it was first tried to be introduced in the world in 1964 in Canada. In the Krasnodar Territory today there are only up to 30 farms that have established intensive gardens. Surely many agricultural producers do not yet have answers to questions about how to make it truly profitable. Although, perhaps, the high costs at the initial stage are frightening. But what business does not require investment? Let's try to consider an intensive garden as an investment object.
How much money needs to be invested in it, in what time frame and what financial result can be achieved? Intensive gardening is a special type of standard business consisting of a number of factors. The absence or insufficiently reliable functioning of one of them can lead to a significant decrease in economic efficiency. That is, an intensive garden without irrigation or without tree supports is like a good car without wheels or a supermarket without goods. In both cases, the absence of an individual element negates the normal functioning of the system as a whole.
From a seedling...
The first component of this business is seedlings. They provide about 80% of commercial success. As Russian and foreign experience shows, it is optimal to use healthy two-year-old seedlings with a one-year crown - “knip-baum” - “blooming branch”. In the world gene pools of apple trees today there are more than 20 thousand varieties. The main difference between varieties of the intensive type, in addition to the high marketability and content of the fruit, is the property of intensive formation of flower buds on annual shoots. Now breeders are trying to combine this property with immunity to fungal diseases and some pests in order to reduce pesticide pollution of fruits and the environment. Of course, regional selection is important to obtain varieties well adapted to a specific area. But at the moment, according to the experts who planted intensive gardens, it is better to give preference to imported seedlings - for example, Italian ones. Although problems may arise here: not all varieties are allowed to be imported into our country by Rosreestr, even those that are optimally suited to our geoclimatic conditions.
However, there is a choice for gardeners, and high-quality planting material, subject to a number of requirements, can ensure a harvest in the year of planting and, accordingly, provide a quick return on the money invested. A seedling – “knip” – is specially formed in a nursery and from the very first year of planting it “works” to bear fruit, that is, there is practically no need to work with such a tree in the garden.
At the same time, the tree bears fruit every year. The fact that “knip” bears fruit already in the year of planting opens up the possibility for the gardener to maneuver in the market with pomological varieties. This means it allows you to conquer the market as quickly as possible and ensure the highest profits. Despite the fact that its cost is 2.5 times higher than a regular one-year-old, such a seedling can pay for itself very quickly. In addition to careful selection of seedlings, supports are extremely important. A modern intensive garden is unthinkable without reliable supports for trees loaded with harvest. You can choose from three options for supports - a stake near each tree, impregnated with creosote or copper sulfate, and two types of trellis - from 1-2 rows of wire and a bamboo support near each tree, or from three to four rows of wire to which the trees are tied.
It should also be taken into account that a drip irrigation system is applicable for an intensive garden - it cannot be cheap, but other irrigation systems are not suitable in this case. The fertilizer system is developed and adjusted annually taking into account the content of nutrients in the soil, vegetative growth activity, yield, precipitation level, temperature, leaf diagnostics and other conditions.
And it should be remembered that it is better to “underfeed” trees than to “overfeed”. The next component of the “garden” business is a system of protection against pests and diseases. These are not only chemicals, but also a reliable tractor and sprayer. Unfortunately, existing domestic sprayers do not meet the requirements for working in intensive gardening. Any imported sprayer is close to the optimal option. Working with a working fluid flow rate of about 260 liters per hectare, it allows you to reduce the consumption rate of the drug by 25%, and this covers the additional costs of purchasing an imported sprayer over four years. A garden is impossible without fencing, which also costs some money. Anti-hail installations are also required.
...to the refrigerator
Storage is one of the most important elements that allows you to achieve maximum profit from the garden, and an essential component of success in this type of business. You need to take care of the presence of a refrigerator from the time you decide to start gardening, because “knip” allows you to get a significant mass of apples in the second or third year - approximately 50 t/ha. Without storage, the meaning of such a business is lost, because in the fall the market is overflowing with apples that have a low price. The container needed to store apples is also a very solid investment. Renting a refrigerator can be more expensive than building your own.
Apple orchard business on apples
In the Krasnodar Territory, there are horticultural farms that, even before laying the garden, installed their own modern refrigerators - from 2 to 5, for 5 thousand tons each.
People
Well, as they say, everything is still decided by the personnel. Although an intensive garden requires a minimum of staff - because modern technologies provide for the automation of many processes, including pruning trees in an intensive garden. Despite this, competent personnel are needed at all stages of the operation of an intensive garden. As a rule, with rational technical support for a garden of 10 hectares, one manager is enough - a specialist fruit grower, one machine operator and two permanent workers. During busy periods, such as harvesting, temporary workers from the local population can be used.
Shall we count?
So, planting an intensive garden and maintaining it requires considerable investment. From the above it follows that the exclusion of even one of the elements of such a garden will reduce all the work to zero. So how much money do you need to start a garden, say, with an area of 5 hectares, with 2500 trees per hectare? We count. Returning to what was said, you will need high-quality healthy seedlings of the “knip-baum” type: 12,500 pieces for 3 dollars - a total of 37,500 dollars. Next - supports, for example, a single-wire trellis with bamboo near each tree, costing 16,615 dollars. The third is drip irrigation: if there is a source of water and electricity, the cost can be about $10,000. Fourth - fencing: a chain-link mesh 1.5 m high and reinforced concrete pillars for fastening it every 4 m will cost $1,444. Don’t forget about the equipment: you need a tractor (can be domestic), a sprayer (must be imported), a rotary mower for mowing grass between the rows, a herbicide sprayer and a transport cart - about $9,300 will be required.
In total, the approximate amount of investments and fixed assets will be about 75 thousand dollars. The work to establish a garden also includes planting trees, installing supports, installing a drip irrigation system and installing fencing and is estimated at approximately $2,000. It is worth adding annual operating expenses, which are the sum of the costs of chemical protection from pests and diseases, fertilizer, irrigation, facility security, fuels and lubricants, refrigerator rental, wages for specialists and hired workers.
They can reach $22,470. Such an impressive amount of annual overhead costs involves renting a refrigerator and purchasing disposable containers. The sum of these costs takes up to 40% of the above annual costs. By using the option with your own refrigerator and reusable containers, these costs can be significantly reduced. In terms of one tree, the total costs over 15 years of existence of the plantings will be only about 30 dollars. Over the entire fruiting period, one tree provides up to 90–100 dollars.
net profit. Large investments in creating a garden pay off with the harvest of the third year, after which the annual profit will exceed $100. Thus, for every dollar invested in an intensive apple orchard, we get 2.7 dollars. net profit. Of course, this example is exaggerated. It does not take into account payment of taxes and force majeure circumstances. But it allows us to see what the actual potential of a strategically important segment of the agricultural business for the south of Russia is - intensive horticulture.
Based on research materials
Institute in St. Petersburg
The order of implementation of the main elements of intensive technology when cultivating an apple orchard (part 1)
Organization of the site and features of trellis installation
Cultivation of an intensive apple orchard using a trellis
An apple orchard plot consists of cells, the varieties in each cell are alternated in rows (for better pollination during the flowering period), it is more convenient for each variety to have an even number of rows. Row length should not exceed 150 m (due to drip irrigation and harvesting restrictions). The cages are separated by roads 15 m wide. In each row, pillars are installed every 10-13 m (pillar height 3-4 m, 1 m underground, 2-3 m above ground), the pillars must be metal (for example, used drill pipe NKT60 ) or reinforced concrete (more expensive). The outer poles are fixed using galvanized steel wire (4 mm) and anchors (1 m long) screwed into the soil. 3 rows of galvanized steel wire (3 mm) are stretched between the posts (at a height of 50 cm, 1 m, 1.5 m). The drip line (after 50-150 cm in length) and the lowest branches are subsequently attached to the bottom wire. Subsequent rows of wire are tightened as the trees grow. Immediately after planting the seedlings, individual supports should be installed for each bamboo seedling (2-3 cm in diameter, 3 m in height) or any available analogue.
One of the most important measures when planting industrial apple tree plantations is the selection of modern varieties. To start an intensive fruit orchard, it is advisable to use, first of all, economically profitable varieties of winter-ripening apple trees, which are in high demand on the market, are transportable and can be stored well. In industrial plantings, up to 5 winter varieties of apple trees should be grown, which occupy 70-80% of the area. If there is a market near the farm, then for direct sale a certain share of highly commercial summer and autumn varieties should be introduced.
Intensive trellis-dwarf garden of the Gala Mast variety on M9 rootstock
With a small number of varieties in the garden, it is easier to implement a system for protecting plants from diseases and pests, varietal formation and pruning of trees. When selecting varieties, one should take into account their requirements for soil and climatic conditions, primarily temperature conditions and the duration of the growing season.
Features of protection against pests and diseases
Damage to apple fruit by scab
Diseases and pests are a significant threat to fruit plants. They cause weakening of plants, reduced yield and deterioration in fruit quality. In intensive gardens, the same diseases and pests are harmful as in traditional gardens. To combat them, you can use all recommended chemical and biological means of protection. The list of pesticides, doses and timing of their use are published in the professional literature, constantly updated with the advent of new pesticides and methods of their use.
In intensively dense plantings with smaller trees, the frequency and intensity of manifestations of individual diseases or pests may be somewhat different than in traditional gardens. The technique of spraying trees is also specific.
Pomological apple tree varieties recommended for intensive gardens, for example, Honey Crisp. Ligol, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Champion and others are more resistant to scab than the varieties that were popular until recently (Mekintosh).
Intensive garden of Golden Delicious apple tree on M9 rootstock (photo: I.V. Muhanin and A.I. Kozhina, Association of Russian Gardeners)
Due to their small size, trees in an intensive garden are better ventilated and more effectively treated with chemicals that reduce the development of diseases and pests inside the crown, and spraying requires significantly less working fluid, manual work and energy consumption.
To spray an intensive garden with a regular garden sprayer, it is enough to use about 600 l/ha of working fluid, and with a special “column-like” sprayer 300 l/ha, reducing the dose of the drug by 20-25%.
Conventional sprayers, equipped with a powerful fan with an air flow of over 30,000 m3/h, cause significant losses of working fluid, only 25-40% of which reaches the foliage and fruits, polluting the environment and requiring significant energy consumption.
Changes in plant spraying technology consist of the use of economical “column-like” sprayers with a horizontal air flow and a fan capacity of 20-30 thousand m3/h. and the optimal droplet size of the working fluid (70-150 microns), which provides better coverage of the sheet surface and low losses from runoff. Thanks to the use of a tractor with a lower power of 30 Kn, fuel costs are reduced, up to 30% is saved on the purchase of pesticides and the environment is polluted less.
Sprayer OVS-2000
Conventional garden sprayers are also suitable for use provided the tractor engine is running at 1500-1800 rpm, operating pressure 6-10 atmospheres, and unit speed 5-6 km/h. A smaller number of nozzles are installed (7 pieces on each side) with a diameter of 0.8-1 mm, which are adjusted so that the working fluid reaches only the first rows of trees.
The plant protection program is developed taking into account the zonal characteristics of the development of pests and diseases, as well as the weather conditions of the growing season.
From the point of view of small row spacing and a relatively short operating time, in intensive industrial plantings of apple trees under irrigation, as well as in rain-fed orchards, in regions with sufficient precipitation, it is advisable to introduce a sod-humus system for maintaining soil between rows (grassing), and tree trunk strips 0.7-1 m wide, keep under black steam.
In regions with a tense water regime or lack of irrigation in plantations, until 2-3 years of age, the row spacing is kept under black fallow, and then grassing is carried out through one row spacing, the second ones are kept under black fallow.
Intensive apple garden planted with knip-bom seedlings
With a sod-humus system, the cost of soil cultivation is reduced, plantings can be sprayed against pests and diseases in early spring and immediately after rain, and the fruits have a higher dry matter content, are brighter in color and are better stored. The soil improves its physical properties and structure and is less destroyed by water erosion. It is necessary to avoid the formation of ruts from the passage of machinery.
In the sod-humus system, perennial cereal grasses with a shallow root system are grown in the rows of the garden, which are periodically mowed with rotary mowers throughout the growing season, leaving the crushed mass in the form of mulch. They use low-growing, durable, trampling- and shade-resistant grasses with a dense grass stand that grow back well after mowing and do not freeze out.
Blooming apple garden
Before sowing, the seeds are mixed with sand in a volume ratio of 1:1. Pre-sowing soil preparation includes cultivation with harrowing, then it is leveled, and after sowing it is rolled with water-filled rollers.
In regions with intense water conditions and on southern slopes, sowing is carried out through one row spacing.
During the growing season, the grass stand is periodically mowed after the plants reach a height of about 15 cm. Frequent mowing has a positive effect on strengthening the grass stand. Mowing with mandatory simultaneous chopping is carried out only with rotary mowers, making sure that the chopped mass is evenly distributed on the surface of the rows and in the standard strips. Unchopped grass cuttings are not allowed. In order to reduce damage from spring frosts, it is very important to start mowing the grass in a timely manner in the spring.
In Holland, grass mowing between rows is carried out simultaneously with chemical protection of the garden, for which rotary mowers have a power take-off shaft for connection with sprayers. This helps to better organize spraying, focusing on the mowed row spacing.
Rotary mower
Over time, mowed and chopped grass gradually creates a layer of mulch 2-5 cm thick. The formation of grass seeds, which will serve as food for mice and will contribute to their active reproduction, should not be allowed.
If the fall of the sown grass in the first or second year is 15-20%, repeat surface sowing, or, stopping mowing, allow the grass to form seeds, after which mowing is restored.
With the method common in Eastern Europe, cultivated grass is not sown, and the vegetation in the inter-rows is periodically mowed, eventually achieving the formation of a persistent grass herbage.
Near trunks of trees up to 4 years of age, trunk strips about 0.5 m wide, and later - 0.7-1 m, must be kept free of vegetation. Weeds are periodically destroyed by mechanical cultivation or herbicides are applied.
From the second half of summer until late autumn, the development of low-growing weeds, with the exception of wheatgrass, is allowed in the trunk strips. This saves money, and also speeds up the process of ending shoot growth and reduces the occurrence of physiological diseases of the fruit during storage. Weeds are destroyed late in the fall so as not to provoke nesting mice.
Mechanical cultivation of trunk strips in gardens of traditional designs was previously carried out using a garden cutter FA-0.76 in conjunction with tractors T-40M, MTZ-80/82 to a depth of 10 cm.
Tractor MTZ-80
However, a significant disadvantage of using cutters of this type was damage to the roots, especially in trees on clonal rootstocks, significant unevenness of the soil and the risk of damage to the trunks.
In addition, during mechanical processing, the structure of the surface layer of soil rises, as a result of which its heat transfer decreases and trees are more damaged by spring frosts.
Herbicides
When using herbicides, the width of the trunk strip in plantings up to 4 years of age is about 0.5 m, in older ones - 0.7-1 m, and their application is carried out in the absence of wind, making sure that the drug does not get on the trunks and foliage of the trees.
The choice of herbicide and the dose depends on the age of the plantings, types of weeds and their number, soil type and the presence of drinking water sources near them.
In Western European countries, the following herbicides are used in apple and pear plantations: soil-based - simazine and its analogues (nitrogen), kerb, devrinol kazoron; contact - basta, and combined action - roundup (fosulen, glyphosate, nitosorg) and others.
Soil herbicides are used in cloudy weather in early spring before the emergence of weeds, spraying the surface of the moist soil near the tree trunk with a working liquid to create a so-called herbicidal film that prevents the growth of weeds. Herbicides of the simazine group are also used in the fall after harvest. Before application, the surface of the standard strip is freed from plant residues so that the drug solution gets onto the cleaned soil and creates a “herbicidal film”. In dry weather, it is not practical to apply soil herbicides, or they need to be embedded into the soil to a depth of 5 cm.
Systemic herbicide Roundup
Contact and systemic herbicides should be applied to vegetating weeds in sunny and calm weather, at least 2-3 hours before rainfall. Roundup and other systemic herbicides are applied by directed spraying, preventing liquid from getting on the foliage and trunk of the trees, and the height of the weeds should not exceed 15 cm. Before this, the root and trunk shoots of the trees are (required!) removed. In Holland, it is not recommended to apply Roundup after the beginning of July, as this can cause damage to trees due to its active evaporation.
A working solution of herbicides is prepared before use. The consumption of working fluid per 1 ha of treated surface when using soil herbicides is 200-300 l, and when treating vegetative weeds with contact or systemic herbicides - up to 600 l/ha.
Spraying is carried out with reduced pressure (2 atm.) in the absence of wind with the lowest speed of movement of the unit, using T-shaped or special (eccentric) nozzles and directed spray torches, and protective shields.
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11.05.2017
Grow intensive, i.e. a highly productive, low-standard and fast-growing garden is quite within the capabilities of even beginning amateur gardeners, if they are familiar with the basics of gardening. The beginning of fruiting of garden crops depends on the quality of planting material, as well as some details in the technology of their cultivation. First of all, cuttings selected from trees of high-yielding and early-fruiting zoned varieties should be used as a scion. The rootstock is obtained from seedlings grown without transplanting. After winter grafting, annual seedlings 1.0 - 1.5 m high are planted in the garden. Thanks to such actions, it is possible to minimize injury to the root system of trees during digging and replanting, which will have a beneficial effect on their further development and the beginning of fruiting.
For planting a garden plot, add at least 8 – 10 kg/m2humus, and directly when planting trees, in each planting hole - 15 - 20 kg of soil mixture from humus and a fertile ball of soil. This method will allow you to do without systematic feeding of trees during the first 3–4 years.
Forming a low trunk (25 - 30 cm) is another trick that helps to bring the beginning of the productive period of crops closer. As practice shows, in trees with a flat crown, a low trunk (or even its complete absence) does not limit the possibility of processing and caring for the trunk circle and row spacing, but allows you to significantly reduce the height of the tree and concentrate the harvest in the central part of the crown.
The formation of the crown begins in early spring, cutting off the seedlings immediately after planting them at a height of 70–80 cm from the ground surface. When the buds swell, they are removed from the future trunk to a height of 15–30 cm. In the spring of next year, all shoots formed from the preserved buds located above the trunk are bent in the direction of the row (future fruit wall) at an angle of 75–80° to the trunk and shortened by a third (upper) or a quarter (lower). This technique helps to enhance the branching of the future semi-skeletal branch. The lower bent branches are attached with twine to pegs driven into the ground in the plane of the row, and the upper ones are attached to the branches located below. In the fall or next spring, the pegs are removed, and all the upper branches are subsequently attached to the lignified lower ones.
Depending on the strength of growth and branching, the continuation shoot (trunk, conductor) is shortened by 25–40 cm. In this case, one should be guided by the consideration that a highly cut conductor will lead to the formation of “windows” in the crown, gaps that will increase the growth of the plant and reducing its productivity. As soon as the buds swell (after 10–15 days), they are removed on the upper surface along the entire length of future semi-skeletal branches to avoid the formation of tops. This will also contribute to the further development of lateral buds, forming horizontal shoots (and later branches with numerous fruit formations) located parallel to the surface of the earth.
The same crown formation technology is followed in subsequent years. By the age of five or six years, the trees will already be fully formed. And during the last pruning at this age, the central conductor is removed by transfer to a weaker horizontal branch.
The entire system of agricultural measures for early fruiting gardens is aimed at accelerating the fruiting of trees and maximizing the growth of their leaf surface. If fruits appear on one- or two-year-old plants, they are not picked off in the spring, but are given the opportunity to fully ripen. If a tree at the age of five or six blooms profusely and produces high yields, it is necessary to prune the crown in order to thin it out and create conditions for better lighting of the plant. Simultaneously with thinning, the semi-skeletal branches, which by this time are already touching the branches on the neighboring tree, are shortened (by transferring them to a weak shoot), and the strong apical ones are removed. If tops form on the central conductor or at the base of semi-skeletal branches, they are not removed, but rather bent back and shortened by a third (quarter) to turn them into fruiting branches.
When creating a garden of biennial or annual (with a crown) plants with a high trunk (80 - 100 cm), it is recommended to immediately reduce it to 25 - 30 cm. To do this, the formed high crown is cut off (before the start of sap flow) at a height of 70 - 80 cm, as in the case of unformed annual seedlings. All subsequent operations are similar: removing the buds on the future trunk to a height of 15 - 30 cm, bending them in a row and fixing the skeletal branches by tying them to pegs.
During the first two years, trees are watered at the rate of 5 - 10 buckets per plant. At least 2 - 3 plantings are carried out per year, and 1 - 2 waterings the next year. The row spaces can be sown with perennial grasses the very next year after planting, but in this case the trees require regular watering at least twice a month using 4 - 6 buckets of water for each seedling. It is also advisable to water the grass between the rows.
Due to accelerated fruiting and high rates of increase in yield, in the fifth - sixth year of crop growth, the doses of mineral fertilizers are increased by 1.5 - 2 times compared to usual norms. Nitrogen fertilizers are applied twice or three times per season (the first time during the early spring closure of moisture, the last time in mid-June), potassium and phosphorus fertilizers - in equal doses in June - August and immediately after harvesting. All mineral fertilizers are applied superficially and then incorporated into the soil between rows during the process of loosening or digging it.
An intensive orchard grown using the above technology from early-fruiting, low-standard, flat-crowned trees differs from traditional fruit plantings in its earlier start of fruiting and ripening, high efficiency and quality of the harvest.
Executive Director of the Association of Gardeners of Russia (APYAPM), Chairman of the Association of Gardeners and Nurseries (ASP-RUS), Doctor of Agricultural Sciences
A modern system for creating and cultivating intensive apple orchards
Over the past 10 - 15 years, all gardeners in the world have joined the race for early fruit production, quick payback, and high quality fruits. Advanced gardeners believe that early fruiting of gardens is achieved primarily through the use of low-growing rootstocks, planting gardens with high-quality planting material, high planting density in combination with modern planting designs. The transition to new types of gardens has changed the technology in growing planting material in the nursery. In recent years, in leading nurseries, in connection with this, approaches to growing seedlings for intensive gardens have changed.
In modern advanced nurseries, the main task is to obtain clonal rootstocks with a diameter in the conditional root collar of at least 10 - 12 mm in layered queen cells. The length of the layering should be more than 60 cm, because planting in the first field of the nursery is carried out at a depth of more than 25 cm to enhance anchoring and obtain a multi-tiered root system, and budding is carried out at a height of 15 - 20 cm from the ground, which eliminates the transfer of the scion to its own roots and increases dwarfism. Scion cuttings are taken exclusively from virus-free cutting queen cells. In advanced countries, the transfer of mother liquors to the production of virus-free material is ending.
Production of healthy planting material
The transition to new types of gardens has changed the technology for growing planting material in nurseries. Now the main task of nursery growers is to obtain high-quality planting material with specified parameters for specific types of gardens. A standard seedling is considered, in most cases, to be a one-year-old or two-year-old with a one-year crown more than 1.5 m high, having at least 3 - 5 lateral branches at least 40 cm long, with at least 7 - located along the central axis and on weak lateral branches. 10 flower buds, having a well-developed, multi-tiered root system with a root core of at least 25 cm. It should be noted that the overwhelming majority of seedlings are grown on dwarf and super-dwarf rootstocks. Such parameters for seedlings are achieved due to both a strong rootstock planted in the first field (leading nurserymen plant cuttings of exclusively the highest and first (for KNIP-BOM technology) grade in their fields), and due to elements of technology, first of all, a high-quality plant protection system , irrigation, fertilizing, constant tillage, looser planting schemes, as well as through the use of growth regulators Promalin, Paturil and Tween, which stimulate the formation of branching and the formation of flower buds. To form branches in annuals, mechanical methods have recently been widely used, such as pinching the upper leaves while maintaining the growth point when the oculants reach a height of 30 - 40 cm.
In most types of gardens, the row spacing is tinned. Soil cultivation, in our concept, is not carried out at all. In some cases, row spacing is cultivated in the year of planting. Wild grass crops are often used for grassing. There are herbicide strips in the rows. Their width is constantly decreasing and ranges from 1 to 1.5 m. Herbicides are applied twice a year. The first treatment is carried out at the end of May - beginning of June with drugs such as Roundup or Basta mixed with 2.4D. The second treatment is carried out in October at temperatures above 10*C. Mixtures of Roundup with Simazine with the addition of ammonium sulfate are used.
The most common planting schemes in intensive gardens in developed countries are single-row with a density of up to 3,500 plants per hectare. Single-line V-shaped structures, as well as two, three and even six-line structures with a density of up to 10 thousand plants per hectare are being tested everywhere.
The row spacing, in most cases, ranges from 2.1 to 3 - 4 meters. It is determined by the growth vigor of the variety-rootstock combination and the dimensions of the equipment used.
The most common forming system is the "slender spindle". The standard is at least 40 cm high. The crown consists of branches of the first tier or fruit branches in the amount of 5 to 10 pieces, located along the central conductor with a distance between them of 5 - 10 cm. All branches are supported in a horizontal position. On the central conductor and on the fruiting branches of the first order there are fruiting formations - ringlets, spears and twigs. The height of the trees is within 2.5 m.
Industrial apple variety – Golden Delicious
In structures shaped like a slender spindle, much attention is paid to the support. Seedlings on dwarf and super-dwarf rootstocks begin to bear fruit in the year the garden is planted, provided that the garden is planted with high-quality planting material and optimal conditions are created using agricultural technology. Such gardens already in the second year are quite heavily loaded with harvest and produce from 10 to 20 tons of high-quality fruits per hectare. Without the support of trees, with such high early fruiting and productivity, it is almost impossible to exploit these plantations.
In all intensive gardens, stakes are used as support to support trees. The most common are pine stakes treated with antiseptics with a diameter of up to 10 cm and a height of 3 meters. Particular attention should be paid to the processing of stakes. Untreated stakes, even with a diameter of more than 5 cm, rot in the second or third year and, when the trees are heavily loaded with fruit, cannot withstand and break, which leads to the death of fruit plants. Treated stakes last from 12 to 15 years. Plastic tubes, bamboo sticks, and reinforcement in combination with a trellis are also used as support. The stability of the structure increases many times when using a trellis. For the trellis, concrete pillars are used, which are installed in rows every 20 - 25 meters. Basically, one wire is pulled at a height of 1.8 - 2 meters. There are designs with two wires at a height of 0.5 and 2 meters in combination with slats or bamboo sticks.
The stakes support the trees in an upright position and also serve as a basis for gartering the main fruiting branches. If the branches are not tied up, they often break off under the weight of the fruit. The same happens if the twine supporting the fruit branches breaks. If there is a trellis, the branches are often tied to the wire. The garter is made with synthetic twine, and the loop on the fruit branch is made loose and not tightened. To tie trees to stakes, use a plastic tie or strips of plastic film. The stakes are tied to the trellis with wire. It must be taken into account that if the stakes are insufficiently strong and they are tied to the trellis poorly in strong winds and rain, you can lose a significant number of fruit-bearing trees. It is necessary to use galvanized wire for the trellis, because... it does not rust and does not fray the central conductors connected to it.
Harvest load of four-year-old apple trees of the Zhigulevskoe variety
The installation of stakes is carried out after planting using a hydraulic drill connected to a sprayer or post plant. It is not recommended to hammer in treated stakes, because this shortens their service life.
Protecting plants from pests and diseases, along with pruning and creating planting structures, is the most important element of the technology. The principle of its construction is one hundred percent protection of the leaf apparatus and fruits from pests and diseases. Particular attention is paid to the fight against scab.
Most intensive gardens use irrigation, mostly drip irrigation, because... water is expensive, but this system is the most economical in terms of water consumption. The rejection of hydrants is also due to the fact that sprinkling involves wetting the leaf surface, which contributes to the development of scab and the rise in cost of the plant protection system. On irrigated plots, the percentage of yield of fruits of the highest commercial quality, and the price for them increases to 50%, reaches 97%. The difference is especially observed in dry years. Gardeners who do not have funds for an irrigation system compensate for the lack of it by more carefully rationing the crop.
It is necessary to note the different approaches of gardeners to pruning and shaping trees in intensive and extensive gardens. These differences are mainly due to different planting densities. The purpose of formative pruning in existing extensive orchards on seed and medium-sized rootstocks, which are mainly common in Russia, is to complete the formation of crowns within 6 - 7 years, to create a powerful fruit wall or crown-row with great productivity potential, and then with control within the parameters of the crowns, provide all the necessary conditions for abundant fruiting with constant or periodic renewal of fruit branches in all areas of the crown. To do this, it is necessary to maintain high growth activity in plants, otherwise the plantings enter into periodic fruiting with a sharp decrease in the quality of the fruit.
Using the intensive technology of a trellis-dwarf garden, fruit growers often pursue completely opposite goals when pruning. With a density of more than two - three thousand plants per hectare, and even more so with a density of 4 - 5 thousand, there is no need to create a fruit wall - it is created at the time of planting the garden. And here the main task of pruning is to limit the growth activity of trees and transfer all branches to fruiting. The second task of pruning is to create a light regime in the crown that ensures good coloring of the fruits, which increases their marketable qualities, and only after three to four harvests have been obtained, with the help of pruning, they begin to partially replace the fruit wood that has been bearing fruit for three years with younger ones. The timing of pruning is late spring. In such gardens, much attention is paid to summer pruning. To speed up the formation of flower buds and the fastest fruiting in intensive gardens, from the first year after planting, bend the branches to a horizontal or close to it position by tying them to a support, by hanging weights of various designs on them, breaking and twisting the main branches to limit their growth and giving a more horizontal arrangement, as well as ringing the branches and the entire tree as a whole to enhance early fruiting.
In extensive gardens with a sparse planting density of up to a thousand plants per hectare, we cannot allow ourselves to deflect the skeletal branches to a horizontal position during the period of crown formation. With such an inclination, the branches quickly weaken their growth, which makes it difficult to create a fruit wall. In such gardens, the main branches of the crown should have deflection angles from the trunk of 45 - 50 * so that subsequently, after the tree begins to bear fruit, these branches, having a normal angle of deformation, do not lose much growth activity, ensuring the marketable quality of the fruit.
We analyzed the technology of cultivating intensive and super-intensive gardens in order to understand how it combines growth activity, which is maintained even with high yields of the order of 50 - 70 and even 100 tons per hectare, dwarf and super-dwarf rootstocks are the most restraining growth activity, high planting density up to 5 and more than thousands of plants per hectare with the highest early fruiting - up to 20 - 30 tons of fruit per hectare already in the second or third year of planting the garden and abundant fruiting with excellent quality of fruit in subsequent years. Having considered the entire technology, we systematized all the factors, dividing them into two main areas:
Intensive industrial garden of the Red Chief variety.
1. How is growth activity maintained in these gardens? The youth of plants. Strong root system of seedlings due to strong rootstock, deep planting and high budding. A strong annual seedling at least 1.5 m high with lateral branches and fruit buds already in the nursery. Strictly vertical position of the plant, which is achieved by tying them to a pole so that the seedling, and subsequently the tree, always has a vertical position. Attaching branches to stakes and wires so that during harvest the branches do not deviate below the horizontal line and do not lose growth activity. Normalization of the yield, preventing overload of the branches and the entire tree as a whole, especially in the first years of fruiting. Proper pruning allows you to replace fruit-bearing branches older than three to four years with new, younger branches. Plant protection that reliably protects leaves and fruits from pests and diseases, especially scab. Irrigation is mainly drip. Fertilizing is usually small doses of nitrogen fertilizers, often combined with watering.
2. How is high early fruiting achieved in intensive gardens? High planting density from 3 to 10 thousand plants per hectare. Low-growing dwarf and super-dwarf rootstocks with budding at a height of 15 - 20 cm to enhance dwarfism. Early-growing varieties that lay fruit buds on annual shoots. Use of strong developed seedlings with fruit buds planted in the nursery. Carrying out minimal pruning in the late spring and summer, aimed at maintaining the size of the crowns, replacing fruit-bearing branches and lightening the crown to improve the color of the fruits, but not excessively enhancing their growth activity. Pulling the main branches to a horizontal position to speed up the formation of fruit buds. Breaks of the main young branches, twisting, and ringing of both branches and the tree as a whole are also used. Minimum feeding area and creation of a fruit wall during planting. Tinning of row spacing and lack of tillage in the row, which does not stimulate growth activity. Minimum fertilizers. Twice annual application of herbicides, which does not promote increased growth. On some varieties, root pruning is used to stimulate the establishment of generative formations. The central conductor, if there is a sufficient number of main branches, is not cut so as not to stimulate growth activity.
Analysis of the above technology allows us to conclude that advanced gardeners have refuted the axiom that an apple orchard must necessarily have two periods: a growth period (5 - 7 years) and a fruiting period. This arrangement does not suit modern gardeners. The main task that they set today is the fastest possible return on the capital invested in the creation of gardens. Gardeners now set the goal of obtaining marketable harvests already in the year of planting the garden, and this is already a reality. As a result, the apple tree in terms of early fruiting becomes on a par with such crops, which at first glance are unsurpassed in early fruiting, such as strawberries and currants.
The scientific development of optimal planting schemes began in our country in the late fifties or more than 40 years ago. Numerous experiments were carried out. Small-sized crowns have been developed. Among them is the Russian spindle-shaped crown for plantings on seed and medium-sized rootstocks with a planting density of 700 - 800 trees per hectare. Semi-flat forming for the same gardens has found widespread use in the gardens of the country's leading horticultural farms. In Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Crimea, designs for intensive gardens on dwarf and semi-dwarf rootstocks were developed. But for a number of social and economic reasons, all these developments were not in demand by production, which ultimately led the pioneers in this most important issue to a technological lag behind the gardeners of Western Europe and other countries.
Intensive trellis-dwarf apple garden of the Gala Mast variety on M9 rootstock
In developed countries, a massive transition to new early-fruiting and highly productive types of gardens began about 15 years ago. In Eastern European countries it is 5 - 7 years later. In Russia, active practical work in this direction began five years ago in 1994. An initial analysis of the possibility of transferring Russian gardening to intensive technologies showed that in our country there are practically no intensive gardens in which these technologies could be used. Analyzing the possibilities of planting new gardens, we were faced with the problem of planting material, which turned out to be extremely scarce in Russia, and the initial parameters of which, to put it mildly, did not meet the required ones. The main disadvantages of planting material, in our opinion, were the following. The overwhelming number of seedlings on clonal rootstocks were grown on medium-sized rootstocks - in the south MM-106, in central Russia 54-118. Due to lower requirements for standards for planting material, including rootstock material, and the lack of irrigation in a number of nurseries against the backdrop of a weak plant protection system, as well as the transfer of nurseries to growing rootstocks through a system of green cuttings, all this led to a sharp decrease in the quality of planting material grown on clonal rootstocks.
But there was a way to grow planting material of the required quality ourselves. But this path was also a dead end, because... In Russia, it turned out to be impossible to buy cuttings of dwarf rootstocks for the nursery’s first field. Theoretically, Russia had everything - a wide selection of dwarf, semi-dwarf and even super-dwarf rootstocks, but in practice it was impossible to purchase a batch of cuttings, even the smallest one. And we are left with one real and most promising, in our opinion, way - this is the creation of a system of layering queen cells of clonal rootstocks in all zones of Russia, so that later, when transitioning to new highly productive and, at the same time, dense gardens, gardeners will have the opportunity to choose according to assortment , and in terms of quality in a variety of rootstock combinations for selected types of intensive gardens.
Over the years, a good material and technical base has already been created for the development and implementation of this new direction. Using a new technology, successfully tested and refined by us in the natural and climatic conditions of central Russia, large layering queen cells of clonal rootstocks have been planted and continue to be planted. Since 1997, they have been producing high-quality cuttings with a multi-storey root system and with parameters corresponding to the technology for growing high-quality planting material for intensive gardens, queen cells at the Agronom agricultural enterprise in the Lipetsk region, and at the agricultural company Sad Gigant in the Krasnodar Territory. Since 1999, layering queen cells have been put into operation in the agricultural company "Gardens of Pridonya" in the Volgograd region, in the company "Integration" in the Belgorod region, in JSC "OPH Tsentralnoye" in the Krasnodar region, in the agricultural holding "Oboyansky" in the Kursk region, in JSC "Krona - 2" in the Rostov region. areas. Next in line are the Zherdevsky fruit nursery in the Tambov region, the Starooskolsky agricultural production complex in the Belgorod region, and the Saburovsky Gardens agricultural production complex in the Tambov region.
Our institute is successfully conducting research on developing technologies for growing high-quality planting material in the nursery. In this regard, we have introduced internal institute standards for these seedlings, and all research is aimed at developing agricultural techniques that allow us to obtain such parameters. The latest technologies for growing high-quality seedlings in a nursery in central Russia, such as KNIP-BOM and ZK, are being tested. A lot of work is being done to select rootstock combinations for new types of gardens based on zoned and promising varieties.
In parallel with the work on creating a system of layering queen cells for clonal rootstocks and developing technologies for growing high-quality planting material in nurseries, the institute is laying out gardens, the cultivation of which is carried out using new technology. In addition to the institute, we have established such gardens in the Rostov region (JSC Krona - 2), in the Belgorod region (SHC "Starooskolskoe"), in the Lipetsk region (SHC "Agronom"), in the Krasnodar Territory. Since 1999, the promotion of a new apple production system in Russia has been based on showing real results obtained in queen cells, nurseries and orchards cultivated using new technologies, not only in scientific institutions, but primarily in production conditions. The experience accumulated by scientific research and educational institutions and the new research results obtained indicate great opportunities for intensifying horticulture in the rather extreme natural and difficult economic conditions of central Russia and southern Russia. For this, our country has everything necessary - highly winter-hardy early-fruiting domestic and foreign low-growing rootstocks that ensure high early fruiting of gardens, and productive, high-value early-fruiting varieties, and generally proven technologies for obtaining high-quality cuttings and seedlings, and technologies for cultivating new orchards.
Currently, in an open market, it becomes absolutely clear that with fierce competition with fruit producers from European countries, the transition of domestic horticulture to intensive and super-intensive types of gardens is economically inevitable. The answer to the question - to be or not to be for domestic gardening depends on this. This transition should ensure the necessary competitiveness of the industry in the global and domestic markets due to the high early fruiting and productivity of orchards, high quality fruits and reduced costs.