Comparaison des modes de conduite en fuseaux étroits (Tall Spindle) et en multiaxes (Multiple Leaders) Alberto Dorigoni, spécialiste en physiologie des pommiers, Centre de transfert technologique, Fondation Edmund Mach, Italie alberto.dorigoni@fmach.it Main apple growing regions 1
STUDYING TREE ARCHITECTURE Multi-leader FRUIT WALL TRADITIONAL 2.5 m 2.5 m 2.5 m 2.5 m 4.0 m 4.0 m 4.0 m 1968-1990 First major shift in apple growing from: 3D giants to spindle/m9 2
Harvest in a standard orchard in >Trentino Alto Adige (Italy) In the last 30 years, yields have grown steadily from 30 to about 70 tons/ha Now the main goal is to increase economic and ecologic sustainability of the apple industry by: 1. Cutting down costs (input of chemicals and labour) while keeping these high yelds 2. Moving towards more environmental benign techniques (less chemicals) More yield with less input Can this be achieved by just changing tree architecture? 3
TRADITIONAL TREE ARCHITECTURE (from above) 1.25 m OUT 0.4 m 0 IN 0.4 m 1.25 m 1.25 m FRUIT WALL TREE ARCHITECTURE (from above) 1.25 m No distinction between IN and OUT 0.4 m 0 0.4 m 4 leader tree 1.25 m LESS chemicals and MORE mechanical 4
Standard canopy secondary P R I M A R Y S. T R Scheme of tree architecture fruiting wood (spurs, brindilla, etc.) structure P R I M A R Y S T R Ideal Fruit wall P R I M A R Y S T R P R I M A R Y S T R Progressive (quantitative) Second shift: the fruit walls (1990-...)? Need for great control of vigour and plasticity BiBaum /MLT is a strong tool to achieve vigour control BiBaum trees are extremely plastic 5
CENTRIFUGAL CENTRIPETAL Secondary structure Primary structure CENTRIFUGAL effect of long pruning 6
CENTRIFUGAL effect of long pruning (Chile) 200cm 150cm 100cm 50cm In both training systems the structural wood is absent. CENTRIPETAL VERTICAL HORIZONTAL Fuji ML trained (IT) Photo Craig Hornblow New Zealand 7
Appletree plasticity Shape and size of propagated trees are both under major control of the environment (cultural techniques) How can we build a short fruit wall and get rid of structural wood (secondary structure)? There are several tools that can be used: 1) Increasing the number of leaders from 1 to 2 or more 2) Short pruning instead of long pruning (not alone!) 3) Replacing dormant pruning with Lorette and postharvest cuts 4) Make use of mechanical pruning to shape trees 5) Standard growth control (root pruning, PGRs, etc.) 1)Increasing the number of leaders (Bibaum and multi-leader trees) 8
Multi-leader trees are receiving positive evaluation all over the World China Catalunya Morocco Australia Chile U.S.A. (West) U.S.A. (East) New Zealand A superspindle near Kelowna (B.C.) Left: spindle Right: 2 leader 9
A 4 leader Pink Lady at 2.0 m between trees Vigour of each leader according to the numer of leaders per tree (model) 100 90 80 70 vigour (% stock/leader) 60 spindle 50 40 30 20 y = 100x -1 R 2 = 1 multi-leader Guyot double Guyot 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 n. of leaders 10
Shoot number distribution at different tree heights (Gala - V. Adige, 2012) 200 180 160 140 a 120 a 100 80 b a 60 40 b b ab 20 0 c b a a c 1 leader 2 leaders 3 leaders 4 leaders n. of branches (2-3m) 23 32 53 54 n. of branches (1-2m) 28 49 67 88 n. of branches (0-1m) 12 23 30 34 Branch length distribution at different tree heights (Golden - V. Adige) 4 leaders 3 leaders 2 leaders 1 leader 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 1 leader 2 leaders 3 leaders 4 leaders branch length at 2-3 m 38 39 28 23 branch length at 1-2 m 44 40 38 38 branch length at 0-1 m 72 43 43 38 branch length (cm) 11
Increasing the n. of leaders is a powerful tool for building a fruit wall 1) By building more than 1 central leader as the only structural wood, vigour is diverted to form a more compex primary structure (more leaders = more dwarfing) 2) Bibaum and ML trees tend to form naturally a fruit wall, with little or no secondary structure, flat and with no gaps Vigour-wise, increasing the n. of axes looks like shifting progressively to more dwarfing rootstocks N. of leaders: additional variable for chosing the right system in new plantings (beside cv, rootstock and spacing) Standard free-standing MM 106 at 4 m between rows 4.5m 2.5m 4.0m 12
Golden / MM106 at the end of 6 th leaf spindle 2 leaders (Bibaum) 4.0 m 8 leader MM 106 at 3 m between rows 3.4 m 0.8m 3.0 m 13
A 3 and 4 leader tree of Golden / MM106 at the end of 6 th leaf A 6 leader tree of Golden / MM106 at the end of 6 th leaf 2.4 m 14
Fuji trained with Spindle / long pruning secondary structure + bearing wood 1.25m 1.5m 1.25m 4.0m Multi-leader fruit wall of Gala bearing wood 0.4m 0.4m 1.7m 2.5m 15
TSA of each leader in spindle and multi-leader trees after 7 years Fuji trained with 1-6 leaders 120,0 100,0 80,0 TSA (cm 2 ) 60,0 40,0 y = 139,19e -0,3361x R 2 = 0,9798 20,0 0,0 1 leader 2 leaders 3 leader 4 leaders 6 leader 8 leaders TSA of trees trained with different number of leaders 7 years after planting 50 TSA (cm 2 ) 45 40 35 30 25 20 c c b a c ab 1 leader 2 leaders +24% 3 leaders +32% 4 leaders +57% bc a c b a a c b b a 15 10 5 0 Golden Gala Fuji Pink Lady 16
Yield of a semi-pedestrian 8-leader Fuji orchard at 2.75 m between rows (52 kg from 238 apples in the 6 leaf) Semi-pedestrian 8-leader Fuji orchard at 2.75 m between rows 17
Spindle Bibaum (2-stemmed trees) Bibaum planting tend to form naturally a Fruiting wall Yield of a spindle and of a 2 leader tree spindle height 2 leader tree 2-3 m 1-2 m 0-1 m 18
Yield of Fuji spindle trained and 2 leader trained Fruit color distribution in 2 orchards trained spindle and Bibaum 70 60 % fruits in color classes 50 40 30 20 10 0 0-20% 20-50% 50-80% 80-100% FERRARA Bibaum 3 33 58 6 FERRARA Spindle 10 49 38 2 LUGO Bibaum 5 27 56 13 LUGO Spindle 18 36 33 13 Tall fruit wall of Golden Delicious (4 leaders) n. trees/ha 1800 fruits/tree 248 kg/tree 64 tons/ha 122 fruit weight (g) 261 19
Tall fruit wall of Bibaum of Gala n. trees/ha 2600 fruits/tree 196 kg/tree 39 tons/ha 103 fruit weight (g) 202 red overcolor % 95 Tall fruit wall of Pink Lady n. trees/ha 3070 fruits/tree 294 kg/tree 61 fruit weight (g) 211 red overcolor % 74 20
60,0 Yield of semi-pedestrian Gala planted in 2012 2 leaders at 2.5x1.2m - 4 leaders at 2.5x1.6m (3333 trees/ha) (2500 trees/ha) a 50,0 b yield (tons/ha) 40,0 30,0 20,0 a b a b 10,0 0,0 2013 2014 2015 2 leaders 26,7 36,7 53,3 4 leaders 17,5 29,3 44,0 50,0 45,0 Yield of semi-pedestrian Fuji planted in 2012 2 leaders at 2.5x1.2m - 4 leaders at 2.5x1.6m (3333 trees/ha) (2500 trees/ha) a 40,0 35,0 yield (tons/ha) 30,0 25,0 20,0 15,0 a b n.s. b 10,0 5,0 0,0 2013 2014 2015 2 leaders 27,7 21,7 46,7 4 leaders 15,0 23,0 25,0 21
4 leaders Fuji 2 years old - Spacing: 2.25 m (between rows) x 1.6 (btw. trees) 3 and 4 leader Golden / M9 at the end of 6 th leaf 4 leader 3 leader 22
A 4 leader tree of Fuji at the end of 3 rd leaf A 6 leader tree of Fuji at the end of 3 rd leaf 23
A 8 leader tree of Fuji at the end of 3 rd leaf A 6 leader tree of Fuji at the end of 7 th leaf 24
A 8 leader tree of Fuji at the end of 7 th leaf A 8 leader tree of Red Del spur/mm106 at the end of 7 th leaf 25
4 leader Pink Lady 5 leaf at 2m spacing between trees 2) Short pruning 26
CENTRIFUGAL effect of long pruning (Chile) 200cm 150cm 100cm 50cm CENTRIFUGAL effect of long pruning (II leaf) (flower buds at 50-110cm) 20cm 40cm 60cm 80cm 100cm 120cm 27
CENTRIPETAL effect of short summer pruning (I leaf, Fuji) Flower buds a 15-40cm 40cm 30cm 20cm 10cm June cut Flower buds 1 year old Fuji pruned in June (V. Non, Italy 27/9/13) 3) Replacing winter pruning with summer pruning 28
Lorette pear trees (1919) S. Maria pear reaction after June cut (2013) 29
De-constructing effect of early June pruning Principle: divert sap towards fruits and buds at the expense of new unnecessary growth and direct light into the canopy Pruning can be done by hand or by machine Lorette as well as other forms of non-dormant pruning helps de-structuring canopies: getting rid of old structural wood and turning it back into bearing wood Strong reset effect of Summer pruning on the scaffold of Empire Hand pruning Lorette Stalk of the old leaf Crown of 4 new leaves 40cm 30cm 20cm 10cm 30
MECHANICAL PRUNING of 4 leader pedestrian orchard at 2.5 m between rows (May 22/2015) At the end of Summer, 3-4 months after the Lorette pruning, the terminal stipulary eyes at the base of the leaf on 1-year old wood produce new spurs near the cut. Crown of 4 new leaves Stalk of the old leaf Mechanical pruning Lorette 31
Fruits of Golden set in May 2010 on flowerbuds formed by Lorette pruning of 1/6/09 cut 2009 4 leaders Gala 3 years old - Spacing: 2.25 m between rows 32
2 and 4 leader semi-pedestrian Golden Delicious at 2.5 m between rows, 5 leaf Treatm. tons/ha kg/tree fruit/tree fruit weight (g) fruit size (mm) 2 leaders 99 30 118 251 87.6 4 leaders 91 36 142 256 88.2 80 Yield of semi-pedestrian Gala planted in 2012 2 leaders at 2.5x1.2m - 4 leaders at 2.5x1.6m (3333 trees/ha) (2500 trees/ha) a 70 60 a b yield (tons/ha) 50 40 30 a a b b 20 b 10 0 2013 2014 2015 2016 2 leaders 27 37 53 75 4 leaders 18 29 44 62 33
Multi-leader fruit wall of Gala 1.9m free passage 2.7m betw. rows 34
inerbito nel sottofila diserbato nel sottofila Ultra-narrow training: From multi-leaders to Guyot 35
Potential for Bibaum trees Plasticity def.: the capability of being molded, or assume a desired form Bibaum trees can be easily molded into different shapes Guyot training: beyond the permanent multi-leader The geometry of trees is rotated of 90 Secondary structure: upright semipermanent branches (suckers/leaders) primary structure: 1 or 2 semi-horizontal stems 2 year old double Guyot of Gala 36
Guyot training: beyond the permanent multi-leader The geometry of trees is rotated of 90 Secondary structure: upright semi-permanent branches (suckers/leaders) primary structure: 1 or 2 semi-horizontal stems 2 year old double Guyot of Gala April 2015 Planting at 2m between rows (2000 Bibaum /ha) April 2015: Bending the main stems to the horizontal 37
Bibaum plasticity: double Guyot of Gala at 2 m between rows (August 2016, 2 leaf) with about 15 vertical limbs/tree n. trees/ha 2000 fruits/tree 50 kg/tree 12 tons/ha 24 fruit weight (g) 243 red overcolor % 96 Same trees of Fuji. Weed control: only mechanical n. trees/ha 1792 fruits/tree 33 kg/tree 11.2 tons/ha 19.5 fruit weight (g) 336 red overcolor % 79 38
Short trees of double Guyot of Golden at 2.2 m between rows Weed control: only mechanical Machines can pass even with 2 meters between the rows 39
Precision horticulture: multi-leader trees are suitable to segmentation height (m) 3,0 5 fruits*5 wires*8 leaders* 1543 trees*0.19kg= 70 tons/ha wire 5 2,5 wire 4 2,0 wire 3 1,5 wire 2 1,0 wire 1 0,5 0,0 Before and after thinning to 8 fruits/ml 40
The equilifruit can be also used for assessing the right crop on ultra-narrow canopies There is a positive feed-back loop among the different tools to achieve growth control Dis-Order Increasing n. of leaders (from 1 to n) GROWTH CONTROL Suitability to mechanical pruning Suitability to hand summer pruning Order Suitability to post-harvest pruning 41
A single Guyot of Fuji A single Guyot tree of Gala at the end of 1 st leaf 42
Double Guyot of Gala 2016 in the second leaf Spacing: 2m (between rows) x 2.4 (between trees) Pedestrian multi-leader Fuji orchard at 1 m from Davor Baum (3 leaf) 43
Double rows of double Guyot in the second leaf (2.3+1.3m btw. rows) Conclusions After 50 years of single leader training (spindle, solaxe) preformed MLT is an option that can alter fruit tree architecture. MLT productivity and quality is as good or better than the best spindle trained orchards. Its management is much simpler for the grower and projected toward the future. Multi-leader though not suitable for every grower, can result in viticulture-like tree heights, spacing and machinery. New techniques are made possible by pedestrian fruit walls, including mechanization, microclimatic modification trough anti-rain nets and multi-task microsprayers on the canopy. 44
Thanks to: Franco Micheli and Piero Malfatti, who run the 2 experimental farms (Maso Part in valle dell Adige and Maso Maiano in valle di Non), the staff of the two Masi Daniel Bondesan and Claudio Rizzi for the efficacy study on tunnels and fixed spraying systems Luisa Mattedi for the pest control in the new orchard system The meteo staff for the microclimatic data Boscato Reti s.r.l. and Keep In Touch system for the AltCarpò and the anti-rain nets Bertoni and Lochman for the tunnel sprayers Poppi and Netafim for the fixed spraying systems on the canopy FAMA for the window pruning machine Agri Com for the support in any mechanization Anselmi Brothers for the AltCarpò net movimentation Agricenter for the tools for alternative weed control Mingozzi for the support in the alternative weed control trough fire Thank you for your attention! 45