Orchard walk provides insight into maximising apple yields

The pair discussed with fruit growers the strategies to maximise fruit yield using tree nutrition demand, growth regulating hormones and pruning techniques.

Ms Bishop spoke about hormone-based growth regulators and the responding crop load and said results were challenging to understand.

“I have managed several different plant growth regulator projects ranging in many different kinds of apples and there are always issues trying to understand the data,” Ms Bishop said.

“And a lot of that was due to incomplete understanding of plant hormones in general.

“We were using plant growth regulators to force the physiology of the trees without knowing the signalling going on in these plants.”

She said trees had very different characteristics in topography, soil and physical characteristics such as height.

“And when you apply a blanket growth regulator then you can make those differences even bigger.”

Mr Hornblow has worked as an apple consultant and travelled extensively in Europe and the United States.

He said apple trees were grown in a wide variety of soils around the world and soil nutrition could be simplified by a farmer.

“I don’t think nutrition is complicated,” Mr Hornblow said.

“You see all these different soil types and the trees are doing fine, so I think we can keep it quite simple.

“If you hit nutrition somewhere into the ballpark then the apple trees manage themselves very well.

Mr Hornblow said regular soil tests were still important for growers.

“Nutrition can have an impact if we don’t keep a close eye on it,” he said.

“You need to think about what’s leaving the gate that needs to be replaced or maintained in terms of nutrition.”

Orchard workers Chris Ross and Kenny Tomgkhao attended the workshop to learn about pruning techniques different from those they use at Lenne’s Orchard in Ardmona.

“The pruning here is very different for ours,” Mr Tomgkhao said.

“We have a different style, but it’s good to see something different to get some inspiration.”

“There are different pruning techniques and different theories,” Mr Ross said.

“The boss sent us here as we are pruning at the moment.”

Ms Bishop discussed techniques for measuring branch thickness to maximise yield through appropriate pruning techniques.

“Prioritise the tree structure first and then you fine tune, so if you have really big limbs, get them cut out first,” Ms Bishop said.

“It’s going to get your apple supply chain established properly if you have the right structure.”

Ms Bishop said visiting all of Australia’s apple-growing states during the last month had shown her the diversity of soil types and their difference with the US.

“The soil type here compared to Washington is really different,” she said.

“And then there’s the extreme of how much water you use.

“It’s a really dry climate — I can only imagine the pressure of growers to use the amount of water needed to keep trees alive.”