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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] mowing orchards

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  • From: Clifford Cain - uk yahoo <cc_syorks@yahoo.co.uk>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] mowing orchards
  • Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:48:06 +0100

Sorry the links do not work, they where of the documents location
The organisation that funded the program was WRAP (Waste Resources Action Programme) whose home page is http://www.wrap.org.uk. Typing apples and Remade (the organisation that collected the data) in WRAP's search tool provides a list of 11 pdf documents on the programmes. The most poignant document is entitled Case_study_Kent_Orchard modified August 2008 and the précis below is mainly based on that document.

The programme was designed to find a use for composted green waste from domestic garden collections. Growers had been using straw as a mulch for young trees but not on mature trees. Some has swapped from straw to composted green waste and seen improvements in their young tree growth and wondered it there would be a benefit to mature trees. The programme started in 2004, then extended in 2006/07. Various growers in the Kent and Medway (in South East England, the county's main fruit growing area) where involved with the trial. The upshot of the trial was that yield was increased by almost 50% (some variance by cultivar) with improved fruit size and associated profit.
The trials where conducted on Cox & Braeburn in the main, though other cultivars where tested. In 2006/07 trees where mulched with composted green waste 1m wide to a depth of 10cm. The control trees had a straw mulch applied in 2004.
In June 2007 the leaves of the mulched trees showed darker colour.
At harvest time, the numbers of apples per tree increased by 45.6% and 35% respectively for the Braeburn and Cox varieties compared to the control plots.
Fruit weight per tree for the Braeburn apples rose from 20.8kg (20.8 tonne/acre (t/ac) to 30.9kg per tree (30.9t/ac), generating an extra profit of £5,252 per acre.
For the Cox apples, fruit weight per tree increased by 49.5%, taking the weight of the fruit up from 9.7kg (9.7 t/ac) to 14.5kg (14.5 t/ac). At 1,000 trees per acre, this equated to 4,800kg per acre, generating extra fruit worth £2,784 per acre.
Although these yields were taken from part of the orchard, they were consistent with typical UK orchard yields at 10.5t/ac for Cox and 18.2t/ac for Braeburn. Moisture analysis of the top 30cm of soil, showed that the previously straw mulched soil was drying out, whereas the mulched soil retained its moisture and this is believed to account for the increase in yield, combined with the availability of K, Ca, Mg, P and N from the compost mulch.
The composted green waste lasted for 2 years, compared to the single year of straw, nor did it pose a fire risk.
One fruit grower planted Braeburn and Jazz in the autumn/winter of 2006 and mulched with composted green waste in 2007. Whilst last year was wet, the compost still conserved moisture under the mulch layer, leading to an increase of 31% in apple numbers and a 5.7% increase in average fruit weight. The increase in the weight of fruit per tree was 36% – 3.8kg per tree for mulched Braeburn trees compared to 2.8kg for ones without mulch.

So if you can get your hands on some green waste, may prove useful.

Hope that helps

Regards

Clifford Cain
Bawtry, Doncaster UK
http://www.fruitscape.co.uk





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