Small Fruits
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Presentation Topics Growing Tree Fruits 1. Soil Successfully 2. Site Part 1 3. Irrigation 4. Selection 5. IPM Ross Penhallegon 6. Pruning/Thinning . APRICOTS FERTILITY . APPLES PEST MANAGEMENT . CHERRIES IPM . PEACHES NECTARINES PESTICIIDE SAFETY . PEARS/ASIAN PEARS FROST PROTECTION . ……………………… MARKET – FRUIT QUANTITY AND . POMEGRANATES QUALITY . OTHERS SOILS . When planting an orchard, look for . Most Master Gardeners have BAD soil and deep, well drained river soils. still grow tree fruits. BEST: well drained soils . REALITY: Poor soils. Good soil grows the best tree fruits. Raised beds, 12-18 inches deep with dwarf and semi dwarf trees. 1 Get to Know Your SOIL ID Your Soil – Research It . To identify the type of soil you have, go . 80 % of Tree Problems is the Soil online at http://www.or.nrcs.usda.gov/soils.html Planted to Deep, looks like a telephone pole. Graft Look up your property, write down the codes, union. look up codes on the website Compacted Soil, lack of vigor . USDA Soils: Excessive Mulch, 2” to 4” maximum http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/HomePage .htm Excessive Moisture, Poor Drainage . View Soil Survey book at NRCS Office Interface, two soil types meet 780 Bailey Hill Road. Eugene 97405 Raise in Grade, collects water 541-465-6443 Where to Send Your Soil Three of the Closest Testing Soil Labs off for Testing of . Analytical Lab, 361 W 5th, Eugene, OR nutrients? 97401 1-541-485-8404 . A List of Analytical Labs Serving Oregon: OSU Extension Publication EM8677 . Agri-Check, PO Box 1350, Umatilla, OR 97882 1-800-537-1129 Site Considerations Site Selection-Soil . Why are site conditions so . Tolerance To Waterlogging (wet soil) important? . Pear- very tolerant . Apple-tolerant (except M26, MM106) Spacing Recommendations . Plum- tolerant Sunlight Requirements . Peach- sensitive Micro-Climates??? High vs low . Apricot- very sensitive . Cherry- very sensitive 2 50% Sand Selections 40% Silt 10% Clay . Select TREE FRUITS to site conditions . Select DISEASE resistant varieties . Select VARIETIES with maintenance requirements in mind . SIZE of trees . How much FRUIT wanted? Microclimates . Micro climates MEAN different fruits . Variations in elevations do better in different climates. (Bend VS Coos County) . Structures near your orchard site . Need test plots for tree fruit varieties. Surrounding trees, forests, fields . See which ones do best. and water ways????? . Why different fruit in south than in . Know your directional exposure north???? Sun, Wind, Rain and Frost Pockets Cold Air Goes to the Bottom of a Slope Frost Pockets & Warm Spots 3 You Can Stop the Air Flow You Can Divert the Cold Air Flow IRRIGATION Dig in the soils and grab soil. How should it feel? ExcelIrrigationHood ChartRiver Rainfall template and Crop Water Demand Water availability 10 10 9 Evapotranspiration (ET) 9 . Water fairly available 8 8 . Most important to irrigate when???? 7 7 6 Precipitation 6 . July and August = because??? 5 5 4 4 3 3 . Gravelly soils, need more water. (in)Precipitation . 2 rivers and 9 reservoirs 2 2 Evapotranspiration (in) 1 1 0 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 4 Yearly Temps . What were the temperatures in 2014? . When did people start to irrigate? Rain Fall . Best method to Irrigate? 5 Irrigation . Establish an irrigation system . Water will reach all trees . Summer watering • New trees water weekly • Established trees monthly Irrigation Check Planting and Painting Trees planted with graft union . Do a test run of irrigation system above soil line. Trunks painted with white . At the drip line of the tree exterior latex paint (can be . Dig with a shovel 8 inches deep diluted with water 1:1). Or with a soil probe Water trees in. Grab soil Prune off top at desired height to encourage branching. • It should be Moist Don’t put fertilizer in hole or • But not Wet around tree base until 2nd yr. You will soon learn your soil! Can use a light compost. Prepare the Site Planting Clear the area of: . When should trees be planted? . Weeds and Rocks . (winter or spring) . Amendment the Soil . Dig the Hole . Add Organic Matter . Two to Three times as wide as the root ball . Recommendations from soil test . As deep as the root ball . Best to do this 4 to 6 months in . Leave a small mound of dirt in the hole advance of planting date . Spread roots out uniformly over mound . Decide how you are going manage the • Plant with graft union 2”-3” above ground soil and orchard. • Back fill hole Native Soil and Mulch 6 Planting continued . Water deeply once a week first year . Remove any plastic or metal labels Record variety and rootstock . Dwarf trees should be staked . Wrap trunk with flexible mouse guard (optional) . Paint trunk with white latex paint (optional) Or white lime. Trunk Wraps and Painting . Why paint trunk? - Summer •Winter •WHICH CRITTER Space Recommendations When paint? . Distance Between Fruit Trees Standard Apple 20 feet. Dwarf Apple 3-6 feet. Standard Pear 9 ft.. Semi-Dwarf Pear 9-12 ft.. Plum 8-11 ft. Sweet Cherry 10-15 ft. 7 How much fruit do you REALLY eat? Spacing between Trees . Dwarf: 3-6 ft. tall . A mature apple tree will Produce? . Semi-dwarf: 6-10 ft. tall Standard 20 boxes . Standard: 18-25 ft. and taller if not pruned Semi-Dwarf 6 to 10 boxes Dwarf 3 to 6 boxes EASY answer: The height is the . One box/bushel is equal to 42 pounds distance between trees. What size of tree is best? . Depends on space . Plant with pollenizers . What will the tree be used for? - At the ends . Do you have deer? - As a separate row depending on the . Use of ladders spring air movement - Have a different apple cultivars in . Differences between standard, each row Semi-Dwarf, and Dwarf trees Sunlight Requirements CRITTERS – Above ground . Deer/ sheep/ horses/cows/ elk . Ideal 8 to 10 hours . Rabbits/hare . Minimum of 6 to 8 . Raccoons For optimum growth . Possums and skunks Blossom and Pollination . BELOW GROUND Fruit Set and Production . Voles – field mice . Gopher and moles 8 Meadow Mouse Our favorite FRIENDS/FOES? (Vole) Sheep, Cow, Deer, Bird, Raccoon or Horse Damage Gopher Mound Pocket Gopher CONTROLS Solutions . Dogs . Fence 8-12 foot tall or double . Caging fencing 2ft tall and 4 foot tall, two . Plant a small pasture area next to the foot apart. orchard . Grow tall trees = ladders . Motion sprinkler . Rotten eggs, smelly soap, blood meal 9 These need replacing every two weeks minimum . Duck or chicken eggs left out in . (CAN’T IRRIGATE DURING the hot sun for 2 weeks and then THIS TIME _________ WHY ? break along the tree line. Irish spring soap bar . Dogs in the area of the trees. Blood meal in small cloth baggies . Brut cologne Fertilization-pH Evaluate fertilizer needs . PYRAMID EFFECT OF NUTRIENTS . Young trees should grow 15-18 inches . pH or adding lime or sulfur inches . Primary - N-P-K . Macros or Secondary - Cal, Mag., sulfur . Older trees should grow 12-15 inches . Micros – or small amounts – B boron, Cu . pH of 6-7 good, lime every third year. If copper; Fe iron; Cl or chloride; Mn below 6, add 80 pounds/1000 sq. feet. manganese; Zn – zinc. How much do Many orchard soils are acidic which means? plants need? Fertilization • Apply nitrogen fertilizer during growing season. (April). Is it used luxury this year or next? consumption • Early season application will Yes Maybe No promote growth in current season. • Aug-Sep application will be stored in buds for flowers-fruit for next yr. But what happens to growth?. Concentration of nutrient in soil 10 Can Compost be my Fertilizers only Fertilizer? .Compost – 2N-2P-2K . What’s in them? . Organic .1st number = 2% N . Chemical/Conventional .2nd number = 2% P .3rd number = 2% K Fertilizers Fertilization . Excess N encourages vegetative growth, bitter pit and lessens disease resistance. Whats the numbers mean? . See Fertilizer Guide (FG 66): Home Fruit, . 16N 16P 16K Vegetable, and Ornamental Gardens . 2N 0P OK 6S ammonium . “Salt and pepper” fertilizer granules underneath sulfate the drip line of the fruit tree with synthetic or . Various other fertilizers organic materials. Proper growth – 12-15 inches per year How do I Know if I need to add Fertilizer? Send Your Soil off for Testing . pH: Tree Fruits prefer a pH 6.5 to 6.8 . Soil Test . P (phosphorus), K (potassium), Ca . Monitor Plant Growth (calcium), Mg (magnesium) . Test for B (boron) every 10 years Look at new growth per year . Organic Matter in the soil . Soil texture: Clay, Silt and Sand . Salt content 11 Rootstocks Semi-standard Standard Seedling 16 Semi-dwarf MM111 16 MM106 14 Dwarf 14 12 M7 12 Sub- 10 M26 10 8 dwarf M9 8 6 M27 6 4 4 2 2 Bud 9 G.11 G.30 G.65 Supporter 4 30’ x 30’ = 1 Standard Apple Trees Or 30’ x 30’ = 4 Semi-Dwarf Apple Trees Or 30’ x 30’ = 9 Dwarf Apple Trees 60’ x 30’ = 2 Standard Apple Trees Or 60’ x 30’ = 4 Semi-Dwarf Apple Trees 4 Semi- Dwarf 9 Dwarf Trees and 9 Dwarf Apple Trees Trees 12 How to space the trees? Why plant semi dwarf or dwarf rootstocks? Advantages??? Dis-advantages??? MARKET/Purpose . Fruit quantity . Fruit quality . Market demand . Meeting demands AND changing as needed . What do growers do if growing the wrong varieties or wrong crop? . Test or demo plots – answers some of these questions 13 To sell the fruit . Must be fresh. Must look nice - quality . Must have ENOUGH fruit - quantity Market research Options: . What is popular? . Are growers growing ALL of the new . They pick varieties? .