By:
Manuel Brion G. Agricultural Engineer. Head of technical department Exporter of the South.
Carlos J. Tapia T. Agricultural Engineer M. Sc. Avium-SmartCherry. Pomanova Corporation.
Nowadays, regardless of the training system used, a cherry orchard must have a minimum productive potential of around 12 tons/ha to be competitive. However, to reach this number and maintain it over time, many tasks must be carried out that concern the training stage of the projects. After that, maintenance and reproductive/vegetative balance are the fundamental basis of this productive potential.
Once “on the bike”: What type/age of wood should I have the fruit centers in order to have quality fruit and production potential?
The quality of the fruit is defined by the leaf/fruit ratio The tree's capacity depends on the capacity of each fruiting centre (one-year branch base or shoot) to feed the quantity of fruit it contains. This capacity is greater when the shoots are inserted in a branch section with an optimal diameter. However, the thickest branches within a plant tend to favour the vegetative part and begin to branch excessively, especially when they have been heavily pruned in winter. For this reason, the most important thing is to manage the concept of balance in trees, that is, we must form a tree with branches that are balanced between them, eliminating both extremes, the very thick branches and the very thin ones.
It is very important that all this analysis begins once the garden has been established, since the success of completing each of the stages of the project depends on these tasks.
Going back, when establishing a new garden the following should be considered:
First stage of training
After planting the orchard, the most important thing is to promote the base of the “skeleton of the trees”. If it is an axis-based system, the best axes must be developed in that season, with over 2 meters of height, good buds and internodes, and (in our case) without laterals that can “over-develop” the following season and go against an optimal balance. Any intervention on the axis in development in the first season is a signal contrary to the development of the roots. This is how axes intervened in green with the objective of advancing branching, erroneously in many cases, end up with very heterogeneous orchards and with their roots not fully expressed that season.
To obtain these “good axes”, both in a central axis and in its variations (YV Trellis, double axes, etc.) it is essential to develop them in the garden from 40 or 50 cm, due to this it is recommended that the gardens established from a finished plant be lowered at the time of planting. In this way, you start with a fully rooted plant and with a “0 Kilometer” axis.
In KGB, however, this base of the “skeleton” is the crown from which all the branches will emerge. This crown must be well lit so that the garden will continue to reproduce branches in the future.
Photo 1: Axis developed in the garden, objective of the first stage of training.
Second stage of training
After completing the initial stage and ensuring a good primary structure of the trees, the objective now is to complete the “skeleton” of the plants, which means obtaining the structures that will give way to production. Generally, we speak of “mother branches” where the future fruit centers (especially shoots) will be housed and which should not be permanent, but rather are expected to be able to complete a productive cycle and then be renewed.
Branching is a critical step in the formation of an orchard, as it is essential to generate a minimum number of branches with a development of at least 70-80 cm in length, and ideally from 50-60 cm in height from the axis.
Within the branching techniques we can find different ideas and procedures that allow us to branch trees and obtain this structure. Without going into detail about which of the techniques is the best, three important points can be highlighted in the branching process: SUPERVISION, SUPERVISION AND SUPERVISION. The most important thing in the formation and development of orchards, which partially defines the homogeneity and production potential of the project. The great and most important difference between success and failure in the formation of plants is the lack of analysis and supervision that must be done permanently from the beginning to the end of the branching process.
A well-branched tree is a tree that is balanced from the start. In spring, when these lateral growths are already beginning to take shape, it is advisable to at least consider the procedure and need for orthopedics, where many times you can start with the toothpick position and finish by tying up already developed branches towards the end of summer. This will allow you to begin to “balance” the tree to promote its early entry into production.
Third stage of training
Once the skeleton or permanent structure of the plants has been defined, the most important thing is to identify the balance of each one, which will be analyzed the following winter.
This analysis is done from the critical point of view of the structural balance, so that all growths that are above this "balance" are eliminated. The elimination of over-vigorous branches, considered as initial renewal pruning, is to leave a “plug” that allows new growth with a vigor in accordance with the average of the plant. This point is reproducible to all conduction systems, since in all of them we must maintain a balance between the branches that are forming the plant. It is important to analyze the balance in each section of the plant, since a branch of medium vigor in the lower part is probably vigorous in the upper part, and must be eliminated to maintain this balance above, where we need better control of the growth to allow the entry of light.
Photo 2. First renewal pruning with the aim of balancing the plant.
Throughout the productive life of the orchard, it is very important to maintain this concept of “balance” by renewing branches, since we must base production on young shoots that are the ones that could maintain a high potential. However, the above is under permanent study by different specialists and there is still no consensus that the older the shoot, the lower the quality of the fruit.
Regardless of the age of the orchard, it should always look visually “young” with vigor, healthy shoots and balanced branches that provide very good quality fruit.
It is in this way that we must speak of the concept of “permanent renewal” and not of a technique. It must also be considered that this concept of balance, which allows the structure to be in constant evolution, is manageable from the year of branching. Once the plants enter a productive state, and often in a vicious circle of very vigorous branches, shade and wear of wood, renewal is not always safe and successful.
Finally, this renewal model fits seamlessly into all existing driving systems, from a traditional central axis, Y-Trellis, Tatura, higher density axles, and with greater importance in training models such as KGB and UFO.
