Pruning and Training - Growing Organic Orchard Fruits - page 625

The open Tatura design uses double rows of trees, with each member of
a tree pair leaning in an opposite direction toward the alleys and creating
V-shaped rows of trunks supported on poles and horizontal wires. The two
rows of trees in each crop row are separated by a strip of open ground about
20 inches wide running along the center of the crop row. The row centers are
11 to 12 feet apart. The trees are planted in an offset pattern between rows
to maximize the distance between the trees. Within each row, the trees are
planted 3 to 6 feet apart (there is 1.5 to 3 feet between trees in the paired
rows). The support posts for the trellis wires are similar to the one shown in
figure 12.14b ➔ .
The open Tatura design ( figure 12.15 ➔ ) improves on early Tatura sys-
tems by lowering the canopy and reducing the trees' intrusion into the alleys.
Trees are maintained about 6 to 9 feet tall. The advantage over freestanding
trees is that there is more fruiting surface per acre. The disadvantages are
that the trees need trellis wires and poles, and there need to be many more
trees per acre. From a pest and disease control perspective, the V-shaped
rows can make it difficult to scout and apply pesticides to the interiors of
the crop rows, particularly as the orchard matures. It can also be challenging
to manage weeds within the double rows of trees without using conventional
herbicides.