Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
*Trees per acre refers to solid blocks and does not take roads into ac-
count. These are typical densities for the respective training systems
and crops.
**Tree spacing refers to distance between trees × distance
between rows.
Key: Estab. = establishment costs; Mgt. = management inputs
L = low, M = moderate, H = high, VH = very high
Uses: hg = home orchards, mg = market orchards, up = U-pick, c =
commercial grower pick
Peach, Nectarine, Apricot, Plum, and Prune Training Systems
Peaches, nectarines, and apricots have traditionally been grown as freest-
anding trees trained to open centers. Despite efforts to develop high-density
planting systems using the designs we discussed for apples, pears, and cher-
ries, low- to medium-density orchards built on open center designs remain
popular in leading peach and apricot growing regions. This is mainly due to
three reasons:
▪
There are no suitable dwarfing rootstocks yet available for these crops.
▪
Although we can greatly increase yields with high-density plantings, fruit
size is usually smaller than with lower-density systems.
▪
Depending on climate and soils, low-density orchards often match high-
density orchards in yields beginning in about year 6 or 7, when the can-
opies fill in the spaces between trees.
