2003 Orchard View Fruit & Orchard Production in Northern Nevada

Michael G. Janik

www.michaelsapples.com Reference Books Choices

• Bare root vs. potted trees • Price and shipping considerations • Spring or Fall planting • My preference: bare root, plant in spring How Fruit Trees and Berries Are Propagated • Rhizomes (raspberries) • Stolons or runners (strawberries) • Seeds (colonial times) • Grafting (Clones of fruit trees with desired characteristics) • Scions, Buds and Rootstocks Natural Graft Rootstocks Ready to Graft First cut showing cambial ring Second cut on rootstock and scion Whip and tongue graft Secure graft with grafting rubber Graft Secured Wrap with grafting tape; wax top Planting in Nursery Rows Sprout on graft Bare Root Apple Whip Sources for Trees

• Local nurseries • Chain Discount Stores • Mail order nurseries • www.gardenwatchdog.com • www.davesgarden.com Pollination, Pollenizers (other variety), Pollinators (bees) Selection Criteria

• What you and your clients want • What the trees need and want Personal (Customer) Needs and Likes • What type of fruit do you like? • Continuous supply—early, late, keepers • Needs—Tastes—Uses – Fresh – Baking/Cooking – Sauce/Juice – Preserves, Jams, Jellies Preserves, jams, jelly, pies Other ways to store fruits and berries Fruit Tree Needs and Likes • Climate—Hardy to USDA zones 2-6 • Chill Hours—hrs 32-45°F +800 hrs • Soil—pH 6.5 n NV pH 8.5 • Water—~2.5 gal/week, young trees • Nutrition—No need to fertilize, except • Location—Sunshine > 8 hrs/day Varieties for Northern Nevada

• UNR Cooperative Extension handout • Other cold weather varieties to try • Farm trails and fruit tastings • My variety recommendations to date Farm Trails—Stabile’s Hillview Farm Watsonville, CA • Choose an early ripening, a late, & a Apples keeper (or 2) • Handout varieties plus: – Granny Smith, Jonathan, Arkansas Black – Honeycrisp, Fuji – Smokehouse, Newtown Pippin • Apple Hill, Placerville, CA Pears

• Red Bartlett • Seckel, Bosc, d’Anjou • Pick, store, ripen, consume • Filoli Gardens Stone Fruits

• Cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines • Late blooming, early ripening! • Why don’t they Apricots produce here???? • Extension handout • Tomcot, Manchurian • Harrow series: Harogem, Hargrand, Har* Ontario • University of Minnesota, Utah, etc • NAFEX Cherries • Sweet • Bing, Van, Black Tartarian, • Royal Ann, Utah Giant, Rainier • Kristin • „Sour‟ or “Pie” or “Tart” • Montmorency • Morello • Northstar Plums

• European and Japanese • Green gage, Reine Claude • Stanley, Italian prune, President • Satsuma, Santa Rosa • Hybrids and Pluotapripeacahrines • PEACHES >1000 chill hrs -Reliance

>850 chill hours— -JH Hale -Elberta -Early Elberta -Veteran

• NECTARINES -Snow Queen -White Tiger Peaches/Nectarines Miniatures Small Fruits • Blueberries – 5.0 pH – Elliot, Norsky, Patriot, check northern catalogs • Raspberries/Blackberries – Investigate pruning methods – Thorns or Thornless – Need to control vigorous spreading roots – Heritage (Aug through Oct) – Autumn Bliss Strawberries

• Europe, North American, Chile • Hybrids; good taste, large • Tribute, Tristar • Musk, Woodland, Alpine; great taste, small • Mara du Bois, Fragissimo • Grapes – Table grapes, wine grapes – Grapes for Northern Nevada Currants and Gooseberries Red Lake Consort Ben Lomond

Nuts Pecans (native northern) Walnuts (Black) Almond (Hall’s Hardy) Getting Started Take a Soil Sample! Soil prep M & M Mulch and Manure (composted horse) Bitter pit—Ca deficiency Zinc Deficiency Chlorosis (Fe deficiency) Chlorosis on Cucumber Causes of mineral deficiencies

• Soil deficient of particular mineral Causes of mineral deficiencies

• Soil deficient of particular mineral • OVERWATERING!!!! Treatment for mineral deficiencies

• Stop Overwatering! • Chelated iron on leaves • Analyze soil/leaves, adjust pH • Apply Agricultural Sulphur • Mulch, Mulch, Mulch BASIC TRAINING FOR FRUIT TREES Right tool for the right job

Loppers Pruners Saws

Clean Sanitized Sharp Size control using rootstocks

• Standard—25 ft and up • Semi-Dwarf or half-standard – 8 to18 ft apples, pears – 15 to 20+ ft stone fruits (cherries, plums, etc • Genetic Dwarf/Miniatures—5-8 ft • Varietal vigor Tree sizes

Standard Semi-dwarf Dwarf

~2.4 times more production per acre Standard Semi-Dwarf Dwarf apple orchard Dwarf Apple Tree (must be supported) Easy access to harvest Rootstock Chart Planting Planting Natural Target Pruning Proper pruning cut, before Proper pruning cut, after Well-sealed pruning scar Natural Target Pruning II

• Always cut back to a bud or branch • Always angle the cut away from the bud • Choose growth direction Angle cut away from bud Select bud growth direction Apical Dominance

• Apical dominance is a tree’s response to a pruning cut • All pruning cuts cause the same reaction in a tree • Proper pruning uses apical dominance to shape trees Apical Dominance Pruning Forms for Fruit Trees Training A Central Leader Tree

• Apples, Pears, plums, and cherries • Dwarf Pyramid or Pyramid • French Axe • Spindle Bush 1st Year Bare Root Tree Training Horizontal Limb Growth Training using Clothespins 1st year before 2nd year, etc; after 2nd Year 2yr dwarf pyramid pear 3rd and Subsequent Years Cut out vigorous growth Vigorous growth removed Regrowth Next Summer Central leader pear in bloom Semi-dwarf Central Leader Summary

Training a Central Leader Training an Open Center Tree

• Stone fruits, esp. peaches, nectarines • Lowest limb 12-18 inches • 3-5 limbs at low angle form a vase shape • Allows sunlight needed to ripen fruit Training an Open Center Tree 1yr Open Center Cherry 2yr Open Center Cherry Open Center oriental pear Open center peach Texas peach orchard Texas peach tree Peach tree at Monticello Training a Horizontal Espalier

• Suitable for apples and pears • Recommend 24-16-16-16 inches • Opens tree to sunlight and air flow • Easy to prune • Easy access to spray, thin, and pick • Easily covered with bird netting • Aesthetically attractive Pear espalier on south-facing wall Training Anything’s Possible Apical Dominance

Note the near horizontal limb angles Training Horizontal Limbs--Before Training horizontal limbs--after 1st Year Horizontal Espalier Summer Winter

before pruning Winter after pruning 2nd Year Horizontal Espalier Water Sprouts Water Sprouts After Pruning Before After 3rd Year Espalier Apple Espaliers Third year Mature Horizontal Espalier Espalier Pear Ohio Mature Horizontal espalier End of Row Apple Espalier early summer PV Orchard 2005 Informal or Fan Espalier Candelabra Summary

• Apical Dominance • Cut to a branch or bud • Choose bud/growth direction • Training vs. Pruning

• References, Google It! • Buy a Pruning Book and Use It! Thank you

• Michael Janik

• Reno and Paradise Valley, NV

• www.michaelsapples.com

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