Tree Fruit Production

Abstract

This is a revised and updated edition of the book Tree Fruit Production, first published in 1959 and extensively revised in the second edition in 1972. Considerable advances have been made in recent years in the scientific production and handling of deciduous tree fruits in North America. This third edition brings together in up-to-date usable textbook form the essence of pertinent research and practical experience on the subject. Although the principles involved in the different operations of orchard management, such as pruning, soil management, fruit thinning, and harvesting remain constant, practices and techniques have been undergoing considerable change. Economic and social changes have been brought to bear in altering the approach to such aspects of pomology as tree size, plant density, mechanical harvesting, pest control and irrigation.Greatly increased costs of production have swung the emphasis of attention toward the wider use of organic chemicals in the orchard. Growth regulating substances are finding a place in the orchard, not only for fruit thinning, preharvest drop control and weed suppression, but also for other purposes such as promotion of early flowering, tree training, pruning and the advancement and extension of the harvest season.The trend toward the smaller, more easily and economically managed apple tree which began slowly some three or more decades ago and increased rapidly in subsequent years is now complete. This same trend, for the same reasons, is now beginning to involve the pear, the peach and the cherry. Thus, the constant search for suitable, size-controlling rootstocks is spreading from the apple to the other tree fruits as well.To comply with the demands of a changing market and with altering marketing methods, new cultivars of tree fruits are being developed. The modern cultivar may have to fit into a processing, farm market or consumer-pick operation. It must also satisfy the demands of new v vi TREE FRUIT PRODUCTION manual, semi-mechanical and mechanical harvesting methods. The cultivar must also be compatible with the dwarfing rootstock used and suited to the environmental conditions prevailing in each specific production area.Irrigation, which in earliest times was often a vital factor in fruit production, is now becoming a standard practice in many orchards outside of the arid and semiarid areas of the continent. As furrow irrigation has given way to the sprinkler system, so now the overhead sprinkler is being replaced by the more precise drip or trickle method.The large reference list has been updated where necessary and enriched where possible in order to provide even greater substance and scope to principles and practices presented in the text. Many changes have been made to the nearly 100 photographs and drawings with which the text is illustrated so that the illustrations truly reflect the timely character of the treatise.It is hoped that the material presented and the way in which it is presented will prove useful as a text and reference book and as a guide for orch...

Growth behaviour of apple cultivars on different apple rootstock

“…It produces a tree only 20-40% of the standard size. MM-106 is vigorous, shoots somewhat spreading, wood covered with fairly profuse whitish pubescence somewhat swollen at node [3]. M-26 rootstock is a cross of MM-106 and M-9, and produces a tree slightly larger than M-9 and is well adopted for high density planting [4].…”

“…MM-111 root stock gives a tree about the same size as that on M-26 that is about 65% of standard size. [3]. Crab Apple form small round headed tree with compact crown growth.…”

Responses of peach trees to modified pruning 2. Cropping and fruit quality

“…Consequently peach production and quality are reduced. Based on previous work (Teskey & Shoemaker 1982;Bussi et al 1986;Clauzel et al 1986;Vidaud 1987), an experimentin the Experimental Orchard of Beijing Agriculture University studied vegetative growth and cropping responses of peach trees to the new technique of "long pruning" (LP). In our first paper (Part 1) we reported the responses of tree vegetative growth (Li et al 1994b).…”

Prediction of profitability of topworking in older apple orchards under contemporary economic conditions of the Czech Republic

“…Apple trees are topworked to a more preferable cultivar, and sometimes to provide better conditions for cross-pollination (TESKEY, SHOEMAKER 1972). This practice of changing cultivars was quite common in the past when the longevity of apple orchards was much longer (STANTON, DOMINICK 1964).…”