Influence of Orchard Management Systems on Spur Quality, Light, and Fruit within the Canopy of ‘Golden Delicious’ Apple Trees

Abstract

Trees of ‘Golden Delicious’ apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) were established in 1973 in the following orchard management systems: slender spindle (SS), trellis (TR), interstem hedgerow (IH), and pyramid hedgerow (PH). Spur quality and percent photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) transmission declined from the top to the bottom of the canopy of all systems. The three conical central leader type trees (SS, IH, PH) produced a quarter of their fruit on or close to the central leader, while the palmette-shaped TR produced 60% in the center sections along the wire trellis. There was no difference between vertical fruit distribution in trees in the more intensive systems (SS, TR), but the larger trees (IH, PH) produced twice as much fruit in the top half of the canopy as in the bottom half. Trees in the SS had a lower percentage of PPF transmission values within the canopy than trees in the TR systems. Trees in IH generally had higher PPF transmission values within the canopy than the larger PH trees. The number of leaves per spur and specific leaf weight of spur leaves generally followed the light distribution pattern, and trees in the TR and IH systems had higher-quality spurs than the SS and PH systems. The SS and TR systems appeared more responsive to the orientation of the sun, having higher light transmission values on the east side of the canopy in the morning and west side in the afternoon, than the IH or PH systems.

Yield and Production Efficiency of Four Apple Cultivars in Selected Orchard Management Systems

“…If an arbitrary limit were established to have only 20% of the fruit 7.3 cm (125s or smaller) in diameter or smaller, it appears yields on the TR should not exceed 50.4 t-ha"1, IH 33.6 t-ha-1, and PH 16.8 t*ha_I. Canopy light distribution and spur quality demonstrate the same general trend, being relatively high in the TR and IH systems and very low in the PH system (Ferree, 1989). When the same comparisons between yield per hectare and fruit size are evaluated for 'Golden Delicious', no clear trend was evident for one system being superior to another.…”

Comprehensive Analysis of Flowering Patterns in One-Year-Old Long Shoots of Apple Cultivars with Contrasted Bearing Habits

“…The nature of the terminal bud and other buds near the apex on 1-yearold shoots was consistently determined as generative buds in all the cultivars studied. Given the higher light levels, photosynthetic capacity, and hormonal activity in this region, a greater intensity of flowering can be expected in the distal zone (Ferree 1989;Barritt et al 1991;Tromp 2005;Gottschalk and van Nocker 2013).…”