Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/40315
Productivity of various planting systems Data for years 2003 through 2010. Cumulative Average Planting system (bins/acre) Long pruning Quad V Drapeau Super spindle Candlestick 290 276 276 242 220 Hedge/palmette 217 Slender spindle 201 SOURCE: Proefcentrum Fruitteelt VZW (Pcfruit), Belgium. The systems are described below in order of profit - ability, starting with the one generating the greatest net returns. Long pruning: This planting is very productive, but fruit size is smaller, which makes it less profitable, Vercammen said. When you look at the financial results after nine years, it comes in first place, but if you look only at the results in 2009, when there was a big difference in price between small and big fruit, it was not profitable. In 2009, more than 50 percent of the fruit was smaller than 2.5 inches in diameter, and, although production was 57 bins per acre, returns did not cover costs. Vercammen said the long pruning system varies from grower to grower, and the problem of small fruit could be solved by more pruning. "Pruning is the first and cheap- est way of fruit thinning," he said. "For me, there are too many branches in these trees." A more open tree with fewer flower buds at the start of the season would result in less hand thinning and better fruit size. Vercammen said pear production is increasing in both Belgium and Holland, so as the competition increases, in the future, it will be more important than ever to grow large, good quality pears. Fruit scuffing and fruit drop is a potential problem in windy conditions because the branches are not secured. Drapeau: Trees are planted at a 45-degree angle and the limbs trained vertically. This lower-density system required the lowest initial investment of all the systems, but took five years and a lot of work to fill the space. Production last year was 62 bins per acre. Quad V: Trees have four leaders (two at each side of the V) supported by bamboo poles. This system is expensive to establish but is very pro- ductive. Every year, it has produced large fruit. It tends to have fewer flower buds than on other systems, which results in less need for hand thinning and larger fruit. The normal pruning strategy is to remove all one-year-old shoots that are too long and don't have flower buds at the end. "When you have differences in price between the small fruit and the big fruit, then this system will have an advantage," Vercammen said. "But you need a good price to get back your investment, that's for sure." Hedge/palmette: A drawback of this system is that considerable pruning is done in the establishment phase, and it takes five years to reach the top wire. However, the establishment costs are relatively low. Candlestick: The candlestick tree has a central leader and two side branches that are trained vertically, so the system has upright leaders spaced every 1.5 feet along the trellis. The idea is to grow fruit very close to the leaders. "It's not the most productive system, but, together with the V system, it produces the biggest pears, and that will be very important in the future," he said. It has been severely root pruned annually with an angled knife. This year, the grower involved decided to www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER SEPTEMBER 2011 13 production fruit weight (grams) 173 197 188 178 197 185 189