Specifications of orchard systems to meet the needs of the stone fruit industry will continue to be influenced by a combination of cultural, economic and marketing conditions.
Multi-leader, two-dimensional (2D) fruiting walls are becoming popular with growers as an intensive production system.
Why is early crop load management so important?
The natural fruit drop observed in fruit trees, particularly apples, in early summer is insufficient to achieve optimum crop loads, fruit size and quality, or to prevent biennial bearing.
James Downey, National Sales Manager for Polygro®, is in his fortieth year in the horticultural and agricultural business. Here he provides an overview of what Polygro can offer your business to deliver high-quality and safe food production.
Net Pro have a product that counteracts high solar radiation, heat stress, drought, desiccating winds, and hail storms.
Our flat canopy and patented pitch canopy have undergone extensive research and are designed to save livelihoods.
Observations: Fruit size was not affected by light exposure or tree side, only by the number of fruits, with the low crop load showing the bigger fruit, as expected.
Blush colour was affected differently by the light exposure and tree side.
Irregularity in cropping is a major economic constraint in many fruit tree orchards. Understanding the mechanisms involved in flowering and fruit set can help orchardists to manage crop loads, resulting in improved yields, fruit quality and returns.
Transtak® Engineering & Equipment manufactures a range of trailer sizes to handle bins for different fruits and scales of operation.
Lindsay Adams, horticultural specialist with NetPro, shares some insider information regarding the requirements for installing a NetPro canopy over an orchard, and keeping installation costs down.
A critical aspect of growing any crop is providing protection from damaging pests and diseases which can have a detrimental effect on crop yield and quality. In this regard, pesticides play an important role. However, what happens when you apply a pesticide and it does not solve the problem?
Consumers prefer highly coloured fruit. Consequently, retailers require minimum percentages of blush on fruit as delivery standards.
Modern stone fruit cultivars are bred to have a high percentage of their surface naturally coloured.
However, there can be substantial variability in colouring within the canopy, mostly due to shading—which can be more pronounced under certain training systems (for example the bottom parts of vase, or behind upright shoots in vertical leader).
