Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/629538
www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER FEBRUARY 1, 2016 35 Jamie Jamison, regional manager for Stemilt Ag Services, came up with the idea of installing the trellis and irrigation system first and then planting the trees by hand, which has a number of advantages. "It's one of those outside of the box kind of things because we're doing it in reverse order," Goldy said. It's resulted in less breakage of trees, particularly those on Geneva rootstocks where the graft union is weak, as well as lower costs for planting and for building the trellis. Trees can be clipped to the trellis as soon as they're planted to avoid wind damage and are irrigated within 10 to 15 minutes of being planted. It's been said that any bend in the cen- tral leader can reduce growth by about 30 percent, so Goldy supports individual trees with bamboo stakes. The goal is for trees to reach the top wire by no later than the end of the second leaf. He stops fertilizing as early in the second leaf as possible, in order to produce high quality fruit sooner, and hopes for a robust crop in the third leaf. Tree training is done mainly in February and March — as soon as the sap flows and the branches become flexible enough to tie down — and is finished before the crews need to work on hand thinning or cherry harvest. The goal is to maintain uniform light distribution from the top to the bottom of the tree to achieve consistent fruit color and maturity throughout, resulting in fruit with better storing and eating quality and enabling workers to pick a higher percentage of the fruit in one pass. Angled system Travis Allan, president of Yakima Valley Orchards, uses an angled system with trees 1.5 to 2 feet apart and 12 feet between rows to accommodate current equipment. His target canopy height is 11.5 to 12.5 feet. He's switched to metal poles because of concerns about the availability and quality of wooden poles. Unlike Goldy, he prefers to plant any- thing that is not a full-sized tree, whether bench grafts, sleeping eyes or rootstocks budded in place, with the trellis installed afterward. "The full-size tree is my enemy," said Allan, who believes it takes too much work to plant big trees and put the trel- lis together when a grower is planting a Planting material S everal different types of planting material can be used to establish an orchard. Bench graft: This starts out as a rootstock, which is taken out of the nursery layer bed in November and bench grafted with scion wood between January and April. Bench grafts are delivered for planting after the last spring frost. Bench-graft trunks will be about 14 to 16 inches tall, with the top 4 inches being the scion wood. Rootstock choice must be made before they are dug, and the scion variety must be determined before the rootstocks are grafted. The short lead time gives growers more time to decide on their variety-rootstock combination, but bench grafts are the most sensitive to environmental and horticultural practices in the orchard. Sleeping eye: This starts out as a rootstock planted in the nursery a year ahead of the delivery date. The rootstock is budded with the scion variety around August. At the end of the season, it is cut to the scion bud and dug up for delivery the following spring. The trunk will be about 5 to 6 inches long, with an extensive root system. Rootstock decisions must be made a year before planting, with the variety decision made several months later. Standard nursery tree: This starts out the same way as a sleeping eye. The rootstock is planted in spring, budded in August, cut back, and then allowed to grow for one more year. The following November, the tree is dug up for dormant delivery in the spring. It needs to be ordered at least two years in advance of delivery. Knip tree: This begins as a bench graft grown in the nursery the first year. The next spring, trees are cut back to desired height and the central leader established. It is dug that fall for delivery in late winter or early spring. Growth is better than with a standard tree because of a strong root system, thicker caliper trunk and increased branching. It needs to be ordered at least two years in advance of delivery. Budding in place: Rootstocks are planted in the orchard in the spring and budded to the scion variety around August. The grower develops the trees. "Once you have people who are trained, (tall spindle) lends itself to being a very efficient system. It's not very complicated. There are three or four rules you have to adhere to, to make it work." —Dale Goldy