Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Most existing commercial pear orchards in North America use either freest-
anding central leader trees or trees trained on wire trellises. Freestanding
trees for home and commercial production are best trained to conic or pyr-
amidal shapes, as for apples. High-density training systems that are being
tested and used commercially worldwide include variations on the spindle,
vertical axis, double leader, and split canopy designs (V, Y, and Tatura). Oth-
er than the double leader and split canopy systems, these designs are very
similar to those we discussed for apples. Table 3.2 below lists basic pear
training systems. In international and U.S. trials, split-canopy systems, par-
ticularly the Tatura, have often proven highly productive but increase the
difficulty of managing pests and diseases. Perhaps the best choice for or-
more details).
Minor Pome Fruit Training Systems
In addition to apples and pears, loquat, mayhaw, medlar, quince, and saska-
toon are pome fruits that are grown for personal and commercial use in
North America. Being minor commercial crops, their production systems are
usually very simple and involve freestanding trees or bushes (we'll cover
these crops in more detail in chapter 5).
Loquats are a Chinese fruit long domesticated and grown in southern
California, Florida, coastal Georgia, and Hawaii. These large evergreen shrubs
or small trees can reach 30 feet tall but are generally kept about 10 feet tall,
and quince rootstocks can be used to produce smaller plants. Loquats are
generally grown freestanding and are planted 20 to 25 feet apart within and
between rows.
Quince and medlar are very similar to pears in many respects. Table 3.3
shows typical spacings for freestanding trees. Medlar trees are spaced 7 to
20 feet apart in rows 15 to 20 feet apart, and quince trees are spaced about
15 feet apart in rows 20 to 25 feet apart. The newer training systems that
work for apple and pear may be effective for quince and medlar (tables 3.1
and 3.2) and are worth experimenting with.
