Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/283151
www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER APRIL 1, 2014 51 applies 50 to 75 pounds of actual nitrogen per acre, plus leaf feeds, depending on the rootstock and tree spacing, and has found no further benefit from applying rates above 100 pounds. Mike said his strategy is to fertilize excessively because nitrogen is cheap and poor tree growth is not. He applies 50 pounds of dry nitrogen in the fall and another three or four shots of 50 pounds in the spring and summer along with five or six leaf feeds with three of them containing 10 pounds of urea. Terence said he supports those kinds of nutrition programs. Though heavily fertilized trees are more at risk of winter damage, it's preferable to the risk of not filling the space, which is very expensive. Terence recommends that Honeycrisp blocks be irrigated even in eastern grow- ing regions. However, his studies show no difference in tree growth, whether the fer- tilizer is applied to the ground or through the irrigation system as long as the trees are well watered. Nor has he found a statistical benefit from applying foliar feeds or biostim- ulants. "I continue to spray foliar feeds because I'm afraid not to, but the data don't show I get much out of it," he said. Allen tries a new "snake oil" about every couple of years, and has never found one that's the magic, silver bullet. "But you keep looking," he said. Stop it and crop it Once the trees have filled their space and start to produce fruit, the nutrition program changes completely, Mike said. "The intent is to push Honeycrisp in the first two years until they fill the trellis, and then I'm going to put the brakes on and pull the nitrogen off completely. The whole plan is push, push, push, prune off the fruit load, blossom thin, and keep the thing growing, and then stop it and crop it." Allen said once Honeycrisp starts fruit- ing, it is one of the most sensitive variet- ies he has ever grown in terms of nitrogen inhibiting fruit color development. For bearing blocks, 30 pounds of nitrogen per acre is a lot. An audience member asked if scion rooting was a good way to enhance tree growth. Auvil said that, over time, scion root- ing will only increase variability of vigor and crop load. "It's really a bad idea to deliberately scion-root blocks. It's much more important to do everything possi- ble to get the tree grown before you put a crop on it, and then you won't have a problem to mitigate." Tree training Mike said he stubs back limbs in the early years using a Dutch cut to reduce the crop. Allen said he also stubs back limbs, even on well-feathered trees. Ter- ence doesn't like to cut back branches, so he removes entire branches to reduce the bud number. Any branch that is more than half the diameter of the leader is removed. Concerning grafted trees, Allen said he's grafted over old Red Delicious blocks that were on M.106, 111, or 26 rootstocks. They've been reasonably productive, with crops averaging 45 to 55 bins per acre, but they will never achieve the 100-bins-per- acre yields of newly planted blocks. • "All of our wind machines are Orchard-Rite ." "All of our wind machines are Orchard-Rite ® ." —BOB BAILEY Orchard View Farms The Dalles, Oregon )*"()**( &)$*#* ")&&%)$*%'"* %!*( "%!)$*$&)(*#'*#)&**%)$** *#*#&*%!*( "%!)$*(&)*& "(&%') %'"*'")*'#'(&'*)('&)*")*#*$#'$* %!*#&*#& "(&$*#')!*(&*(!*'")*'#*'(&' "($*'()!*(*#*'")*)$$*#&*#'*# &#') '%!*'"#$)*(&)($* '#*'(&'*%$*&)%()* (!*$()$*) ")*$)&% )*)*)' &#* ($ ()*%! ( "%!)*)&% )*%$ &)('* ($ ()*%! ( "%!)*)&% )*%$*( $#%* #(!*") "()*'")*$()*)#) )(&*%!*(!*)(&*#' "% "*()$*%'*)($*'# #*$%!)$$*'#)'")&* ))*)*"()*(*&)(' #&%!*&)('%#!$"% $$++(!) )!())++*#% '#*&$$&' ( )+(!(+(!+)+%' ) +'#*&"%&"*" %$%'++(! ( (++**# '#*&"'&*%*$ +! )+)+%%" ) +'#*&*"'&#"$ Wind Machine Service For your nearest representative: www.orchard-rite.com Cascade "The whole plan is push, push, push, prune off the fruit load, blossom thin, and keep the thing growing, and then stop it and crop it." —Mike Robinson