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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Apple size in a restored orchard

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  • From: "Thomas Olenio" <tolenio@sentex.net>
  • To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Apple size in a restored orchard
  • Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004 17:21:43 -0400

Hello,

There is a lot of good advice to be found in online extension documents.

Go to Google ( http://www.google.com ) and enter this search term "Renovating Old Apple Trees".

Plenty of good reading there.

Later,
Tom


On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 13:22:41 -0700, Dan Durica <dandurica@hotmail.com> wrote:

I have recently taken over stewardship of an antique apple orchard of unknown
age (trunks are 1-1.5ft in diam.) with 29 standard trees of unknown varieties in
Madison WI Zone 5a. The orchard probably had not been pruned for 6 or 7 years (I'm
guessing), though the trees were not entirely out of control. Major branches had
been pruned to within 10 and 15 ft of the ground years ago. Since then
watersprouts have been growing vigorously, some reaching two or three inches in
diameter. Last spring we did an initial pruning of the orchard, taking out many
of the watersprouts and leaving some. We thinned the lower, older branches to
let in more light and air flow.

Except for the wet season we've had which led to a lot of scab, the orchard
looks healthier than it did when the branches were so crowded. As well we haven't
lost any trees to storms, probably because of the pruning and fruit thinning we
did. We thinned the fruit in the lower branches to one fruit per cluster.

Finally getting to my question--why is there such variation in the size of the
fruit this year? Some look a little bigger than large crabapples and some on the
same tree are the size of a softball. Most of the larger fruit are on the
watersprouts, and the smaller fruit is on the lower branches, leading me to
believe that the lower wood is not producing well because it's older. Is this
why, or could it be that the lower wood was more shaded out last year, before it
was thinned out, and didn't have enough energy stored to produce well this
season?

I should add that all of the trees had gone into alternate-year bearing, so all
the trees fruiting this year didn't last year.

The reason I want to know is I was wondering if we should prune to renew the
lower wood, or if this wood will probably produce more next year now that it has
more light hitting it.

Dan Durica

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