http://extension.umass.edu/fruitadvisor/sites/fruitadvisor/files/pdf-doc-ppt/HighDensityApple.pdf

Managing High-Density Apple Trees for High Yield and Fruit Quality

Terence L. Robinson,

Department of Horticultural Sciences

New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University

Geneva, NY 14456

The successful management of apple trees in any high-density planting system depends

on maintaining a balance between vegetative growth and fruiting (Fig. 1). If vigor is too low,

excessive fruiting results, fruit size declines, biennial bearing increases and trees fail to fill their

allotted space soon enough to make the orchard profitable. If vegetative vigor is excessive then

flowering and fruiting are reduced and containment of the tree to the allotted space becomes

problematic. The successful balance of vegetative vigor and fruiting results in ‘calm’ trees that

produce heavy annual crops and require only a light annual pruning. Pruning and crop load

management are the primary management tools along with fertilization and irrigation that are

used to achieve a balance between vegetative growth and cropping throughout the orchards life.

These management variables are affected by planting density, tree quality and tree training

strategies.

Planting Density

Planting density is the single most important factor which determines the yield of an

orchard for the first 5 years. However, tree quality also has a large impact on early yield per tree.

We suggest for modern high-density orchards that in-row spacing range from 3-5 feet and

between row spacings from 10-14 ft. (780-1450 trees/acre) Within this range, the decision of

how close to plant a new orchard should be made with consideration of the vigor of the variety,

vigor of the rootstock, and soil strength. With vigorous scion cultivars, growers should use a

more dwarfing clone of M.9 or B.9 rootstock and/or greater planting distances. With weak scion

cultivars, a more vigorous clone of M.9 rootstock should be used and/or closer planting

distances. Despite some latitude in planting distances, growers should remember that to obtain

high early yields high tree densities are essential. For weak and moderate growing cultivars such

as Honeycrisp, Delicious, Braeburn, Empire, Jonamac, Macoun, Idared, Gala, NY674, Golden

Delicious, etc we suggest an in-row spacing of 3'. For vigorous varieties such as McIntosh,

Spartan, Fuji, Jonagold, Mutsu, etc. and tip bearing varieties such as Cortland, Rome, Granny

Smith and Gingergold we suggest an in-row spacing of 4'. Between-row spacing should be 12’-

13' on slopes and 10’-11' on level ground.

Tree Quality

Several studies have shown that the greater the number of lateral branches or feathers the greater

the yield in the second and third year. Modern high-density orchards can have significant 2nd

and 3rd year yield if highly-feathered trees are planted and if trees grow well the first year. If

growers use whips or small caliper trees these do not produce significant quantities of fruit until

year 4 or 5. We recommend that nursery trees have 10-15 well positioned feathers with a

maximum length of 1 ft (30cm) and starting at a minimum height to 30” (80cm) on the tree.

Generally nursery trees in North America have not this number of feathers until the last 2 years.

Many nursery trees have 3-5 long feathers instead of 10 short feathers. The tree with few long

feathers requires more branch management than the tree with more short feathers. Fruit growers

should insist that nurseries supply trees with the feathers that are high enough to tie down after

planting.

Branch Angle Manipulation

An important method of shifting the balance between vegetative growth and cropping in

young trees is tying down of the scaffold branches below horizontal to induce cropping. In the

vertical position, a shoot grows more vigorously than in a horizontal or pendant position and

tends to remain non-fruitful. A horizontal or pendant limb grows less vigorously and then crop

heavily the next year and bend under the weight of the fruit. The fruits are also strong

competitors for resources and limit the growth of the branch even more. If a vertical limb is

manually bent horizontal, lateral buds are released from dormancy. If the vigor of the branch is

excessive, these buds may grow into vigorous upright shoots themselves and remain unfruitful.

However if the branch has more moderate vigor, the lateral buds grow into short shoots which

become fruitful.

At moderate or low tree densities, trees must be grown rapidly to fill the allotted space

while with modern high-density orchards which are spaced 3-5 ft between trees only moderate

growth is desired. If trees are highly feathered at planting almost no lateral growth is needed but

only vertical leader growth to achieve proper tree height. This requires that feathers be managed

by manipulating the angle of the feathers soon after planting to limit extension growth. The

extent which feathers must be managed to limit growth is a function of the in-row plant spacing.

With 3-4 ft in-row spacings (the Tall Spindle), feathers must be tied below horizontal in a

pendant position at planting so that they produce almost no extension growth and begin cropping

in the second year. This also prevents them from developing into substantial lower scaffolds.

The pendant position results in a weak fruiting branch instead of a scaffold branch. In contrast

with 5-6 ft spacings (Vertical Axis), feathers should not be tied down at planting to allow some

extension growth before cropping bends them below horizontal. This allows them to grow into

scaffolds over the first 4 years. However, any original feathers that are not horizontal at the third

year must be tied down or they will become too vigorous for the spacing. Growers who attempt

to plant feathered trees at the Tall Spindle spacing but do not tie the feathers down often end up

with limbs in the lower part of the tree that are too strong which requires severe limb removal

pruning at an early age which invigorates the tree and makes long term canopy containment

problematic. This simple change in tree management allows for long-term cropping of many

feathers and little invasive pruning for the first 5-8 years at the very close spacing of the Tall

Spindle system. In contrast to feathered trees, whips require significant lateral extension growth

even at 3-4 ft spacings. However, in the second year, the new lateral branches should be

managed according to their in-row spacing as described for feathered trees.

After the initial tying or weighting down of feathers at planting, new lateral branches that

arise along the leader do not need to be tied down. In most climates, if moderate vigor shoots are

not pruned, often cropload in the third year will bend branches down below horizontal and a

natural balance between vigor and cropping will be established without additional limb

positioning. Thus with the Tall Spindle, no additional limb tying is needed after the initial tying

or weighting down of the feathers at planting. However, in vigorous and/or warmer climates

where winter chilling is insufficient, often limbs become too large before they set sufficient crop

loads to bend the branches down. In these climates, tying down of all vigorous limbs must be

done annually for the first 3-5 years until the tree settles down and begins to crop heavily.

However, in most traditional apple growing areas, growers often invest too much money in limb

tying which should be limited to only the feathers at planting. Thereafter, the precocity of the

rootstock induces heavy cropping and a natural balance is established.

Irrigation and Fertigation

Large, highly-feathered trees often undergo water stress shortly after planting despite

adequate soil moisture levels. This is due to the damaged root system of a transplanted tree

which cannot adequately support the large top without frequent irrigation. Large, highlyfeathered

trees produce much more leaf area shortly after planting than unfeathered trees which

creates a high water demand before the root system can re-grow sufficiently to support the trees.

In-addition during many years, dry weather following planting results in water stress of newly

planted trees which can limit tree growth. Frequent and early trickle irrigation can help these

trees produce good growth in the first year. In humid areas growers are unaccustomed to

installing irrigation immediately after planting and delay its installation until mid summer. We

recommend that growers install trickle irrigation soon after planting with high density orchards

that use feathered trees to prevent water stress and maximize first year tree growth.

Frequent low doses of nitrogen fertilizer delivered at least twice weekly through the trickle

system (fertigation) for the first 12 weeks of the season will greatly improve tree growth during

the first 2 years to speed development of the canopy. Ground fertilization with dry fertilizers is

often ineffective since too much time elapses between applying the fertilizer and uptake by the

tree. With high tree densities as with the Tall Spindle system and highly-feathered trees, almost

no lateral tree growth is required and only vertical extension growth is needed. In this case

fertigation for the first 2 years is essential both for the water to avoid water stress and for the

nitrogen which is rapidly moved to the root zone and is readily available to the tree as soon as it

starts growing. Adoption of immediate fertigation of highly feathered trees, by NY growers will

considerably improve tree growth and vastly improve yield potential in the 2nd and 3rd year. For

moderate tree densities such as with the vertical axis, slender pyramid or Y-trellis, trees must be

grown vigorously for several years to fill the allotted space with canopy and relatively high

nitrogen fertilization is desirable for 2-3 years after planting. However, excessive fertilization,

especially nitrogen, can cause too much growth which results in delayed flowering, reduced

yields, poor fruit quality and greater pruning.

After the first few years, low nitrogen fertilization is desirable to keep the trees calm with a

balance between fruiting and cropping. Many mature high density orchards receive excessive

nitrogen fertilizer rates which cause severe canopy management problems. “Soil strength” or

fertility must be considered when calculating the amount of nitrogen to apply to mature high

density orchards especially with vigorous and poor coloring varieties. Many soils in New York

produce 30-60 lbs/acre of nitrogen annually through nitrification. This is often close to amount

needed by mature high density orchards. Excess fertility often results in excessive vegetative

growth, delayed cropping and soft and poorly colored, unmarketable fruit.

Fumigation and Weed Control

In many cases, tree growth of new orchards planted on old orchard land can be improved

significantly with soil fumigation. However, the apple replant problem with apples is variable

with some sites showing no benefit from fumigation and other sites showing significant benefits.

Ideally, growers should conduct a bioassay before replanting an old orchard site to assess the

severity of replant problem and determine the value of soil fumigation. Even with fumigation

almost all old orchard sites produce less tree growth than virgin sites. Thus, tree planting density

should be increased on old orchard sites compared to virgin sites by 20-30%.

Weed competition can drastically reduce tree growth during the first few years and can

cause a failure of the orchard to fill it’s allotted space which always results in diminished yield

and profitability. Good weed control during the first 3-4 months of a growing season is the most

critical time period of the season. In later summer months if weed control is poorer it is not

detrimental to the trees. Thus we recommend that growers provide excellent weed control for

the first 4 months of the season for the development years of the orchard.

Cropload Management

Management of cropping with high-density orchards during the first 4 years to avoid

biennial bearing is critical to maintaining a proper balance between vegetative growth and

cropping as the trees begin to bear. With precocious dwarfing rootstocks, young apple trees can

often overset in the 2nd or 3rd year resulting in biennial bearing as early as the 4th year. This then

results in increased vigor in the 4th year just when the trees have filled their allotted space and

when reduced vigor is needed. Varieties differ in their biennial bearing tendency and this must

be incorporated into the croploads allowed on young trees. For annual cropping varieties like

Gala, we recommend croploads of 6 fruits/cm2 TCA (25-40 apples/tree in the second year, 40-60

apples/tree in the third year, and 100-120 apples/tree in the fourth year). For slow growing and

biennial bearing varieties like Honeycrisp we recommend croploads of 4 fruits/cm2 TCA (15-20

apples/tree in the second year, 25-40 apples/tree in the third year, and 50-70 apples per tree in the

fourth year). Within each year, the low end of the range should be used for low vigor trees and

the high end of the range for high vigor trees.

Pruning During The Early Years

During the developmental years of an orchards life the trees have a juvenile character and

the balance between vegetative growth and cropping is shifted toward vegetative growth (Figure

1). With high density systems such as the Tall Spindle the goal is to get the trees into cropping

as soon as possible. This is best accomplished by minimizing pruning during the first 4 years.

No heading cuts should be done to the leader or lateral branches at planting or for the next 4

years since the maximum growth and earliest cropping is achieved with no pruning. For the first

4 years pruning should be limited to the complete removal of unsuitable branches such as those

lateral branches that larger than 2/3 the diameter of the leader. Of much greater importance

during the first 4 years is limb angle manipulation to change a young vigorous tree from a

vegetative state into a reproductive state. With the Tall Spindle and Vertical Axis systems the

artificial limb bending is limited to the 1st tier of branches while with the Solaxe even upper

branches tied down. With the Tall Spindle and the Vertical Axis systems the bending of upper

branches is achieved naturally by cropload.

Mature Tree Pruning

As the orchard reaches maturity, containment pruning of the canopy is essential to

maintaining trees within the allotted space and to improve the light distribution to the lower

portion of the tree. Good light distribution and good fruit quality can be maintained as trees age

if the top of the tree is kept more narrow than the bottom of the tree and if there is a good balance

between vegetative growth and cropping. Pruning strategies based on shortening or stubbing

back permanent branches that outgrow their allotted space generally are not as successful as limb

renewal pruning strategies. This is partially because the most productive fruiting wood is cut off

when a branch is shortened. In addition, stubbing cuts stimulate localized vigor on the affected

branches which results in shading of the lower canopy. In our studies on how to manage the

canopies of high-density systems, treatments where branches were shortened to maintain the

conic shape to the tree, resulted in unacceptable yield reductions, a dense canopy resulting in

interior canopy shading, excessive vigor compared to an unpruned control and poor fruit quality.

A more successful approach has been to annually remove 1-2 large upper branches

completely and develop younger replacement branches. The removal of entire branches in the

upper portion of high-density apple trees helps to open channels for light penetration which

maintains fruit production and quality in the bottom of the canopy. This "limb renewal" pruning

is the single most important pruning concept for mature high-density orchards to contain the

canopy and maintain a conic tree shape. To assure the development of a replacement branch, the

large branch should be removed with an angled or beveled cut so that a small stub of the lower

portion of the branch remains. From this stub a flat weak replacement branch often grows. If

these are left unheaded they will naturally bend down with crop. They are naturally shorter than

the bottom branches thus maintaining the conic shape of the tree without stubbing cuts. This

type of pruning does not stimulate vigorous regrowth. Our recommendation is to begin removing

1-2 whole limbs in the top of the tree once the tree is mature (year 6-7). This allows moderate

pruning each year and a method to contain tree size. It also maintains good light distribution in

the canopy without inducing excessive vigor. On trees with overgrown tops that need to be

restructured, moderate renewal pruning (1-2 large upper branches annually) for a 4-5 year period

can eliminate all of the large branches in the top of the tree.

Once branches have become horizontal or pendant under the weight of crop, they can be

shortened by heading cuts without adverse effects since the terminal bud no longer exerts

significant control over the branch. However, if the overall vigor of the mature tree remains

high, leaving the pendant branches long will help increase cropping and reduce the vigor of the

tree. After a number of years, if the pendant branches begin to shade the bottom half of the tree

they should be removed with a renewal cut and a replacement branch developed.

The natural bending of branches under the weight of fruit without heading can be used to

great horticultural advantage in the tops of vigorous trees when it is desired to limit tree height.

Often growers want to limit tree height by heading the leader in the top of the tree. If heading

cuts are made on vertical shoots in the top of trees, vigorous regrowth results. If lateral shoots or

limbs are manually bent horizontal or allowed to bend naturally under the weight of the crop they

set heavy crops the next year. The crop will also act as a strong sink for resources thereby

further reducing the vegetative vigor in the top of the tree. Once the top of the tree is fruitful and

the leader has bent under the weight of the crop it can be shortened to a weak side branch

without an vigorous response.

Conclusions

High yield and high fruit quality can be achieved with a high-density orchard when the

orchard has good light distribution throughout the tree canopy and there is a balance between

vegetative growth and cropping ("calm trees"). This can best be accomplished by maintaining a

narrow canopy shape and through regular limb renewal pruning and the development of pendant

fruiting branches. Successful growers will maintain a balance between vegetative growth and

cropping by regularly renewing the fruiting wood on the tree, moderate levels of nitrogen and

proper cropload management. Growers should try to obtain 50cm of leader shoot growth in the

first year, 75-100cm of leader shoot growth in the second and third years and 50cm of leader

shoot growth in the fourth year. If this is combined with minimal pruning and a precocious

rootstock, significant production should be obtained in the second-fourth years which will limit

vegetative growth in future years resulting in a “calm” tree.

Figure 1. The balance between vegetative growth and cropping is heavily influenced by pruning,

nitrogen and cropload.

Flowering and Fruiting

Vegetative

Growth

Vigorous, Unfruitful

Trees with Large

Fruit Size

The Balance Between Vegetative Growth and Fruiting

Weak, Fruitful

Trees with

Small Fruit Size

Pruning

Nitrogen

No

Pruning

Heavy

Croploads