A good knowledge of how pear trees grow and fruit, and how they differ from apple trees, is essential for managing a branchless multi-leader pear orchard.
Since a picture is worth a thousand words, we have illustrated this manual with many photos and drawings, as we have with our other manuals.
The branchless multi-leader tree is a good example of a controlled canopy with good distribution of sunlight. This poses new challenges for orchardists, hence the need for a manual that complements our popular manual: pear on Open Tatura.
This manual contains important aspects of pear behaviour, and shows you step-by-step how to develop and train the branchless multi-leader pear tree.
The branchless multi-leader pear tree is a relatively new training system in Australia and the manual will be progressively updated.
- 160 pages of information, photos and illustrations
- File download: 12.5Mb
- Updated and expanded: Jan 2018
Topics covered in the manual
Pollination and fruit set
- Importance of having seeded fruit
- Reserves of nutrients and hormones in the tree
- Honey bee pollination
What is parthenocarpy?
Hand thin pears
Rootstocks for pears in Australia
- Pyrus Calleryana
- Winter Nellis
- Quince
- BP1
- BM2000
- Pear trees on their own roots
What are the problems with branches?
Benefits of a branchless tree
What are fruiting units?
Creating fruiting units
Make good use of sunlight — grow pears not wood
The branchless multi-leader tree — a production line
Upright vs angled canopies
How many leaders per tree?
Your orchard starts in the nursery
- Seven steps to ensure that your orchard of branchless multi-leader pear trees gets a good start.
Tree training Open Tatura and upright trellis: first year, two leaders
Tree training: First year, four leaders
Tree training: Second year, two and four leaders
- Creating fruiting units
- Manage apical dominance
- Notching
- Stubbing new shoots
- From proleptic shoots
Forcing the leaders to make prolectic shoots
Create efficient and productive fruiting canopies
- Keep you eye on the heads of the leaders
- What is apical dominance
- Manage sunlight
- Turn proleptic shoots into fruiting units
How to keep the heads of the leaders calm NEW
Maintain efficient and productive fruiting canopies
- Restrict root growth
- Plant trees closely
- Do most of the pruning in summer and less in winter
- Apply Regulated Deficit Irrigation
- Apply growth retardants
Winter chill for breaking dormancy
- Chilling requirement
- Tree response to chilling
- The South African experience
Hail net NEW
- Net—positives and negatives
- Crop effects
- Bee activity
- Type of net, structure, shape
- Net colour
- Plant first or net first?
Tree nutrition
- Leaf analysis vs soil analysis
- Nitrogen
Can nitrogen fertiliser boost pear size?
What is Pseudomonas syringae? (pear blossom blast)
