BUILDING AN APPLE TREE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 155, 30 June 1916, Page 9

BUILDING AN APPLE TREE.

THE OPINION OF MR J. C. ALPASS. One of tbe studious and enthusiastic fruitgrowers of this country is Mr. J. C. Alpass, who. in the orchard of his farm in the Masterton district, has for many years made fruitgrowing his chief ■hobby, and the developing of the apple tree on tne best commercial principles his special study. He has not only experimented over a long course of years in apple-tree construction, but has investigated the subject in several other countries. Mr* Alpaas lays down th« rule at the' outset that where tlie soil is suitable and is maintained in a good state of cultivation, believing, as he does, in the tow-set, compact, sturdy tree, that there is no necessity to have the trees further apart than 12ft between the rows and 10ft in the rows. This will give afcout 350 trees to the acre. It has to be remembered that the more concentrated the produce the greater the economy in working, harvesting, etc., while the area of Che farm occupied need not be so large, for a man may thus gain the same profit from five acres as he would under some systems from ten to fifteen acres.

It may be argued that with the trees further apart they can be allowed a freer development, and consequently carry a heavier crop, but close planting implies a proper building up of the tree with a consequent heavier cropping capacity. For instance, a low-set, compact tree, carrying fruit buds right from the base of the leaders at close intervals all the way up to the extremities means a very much heavier cropping power than the more spreading and larger tree where the fruit buds have not been systematically encouraged to develop where they should —thickly from bottom to top of a few strong leaders. Mr. Alpass has seen in one orchard in Tasmania ttjes planted ten feet apart, aad bearing'tmormous crops of fruit, "he trees were thirty years old, it was leclared. The tip of the branches could be easily reached by an ordinary man, and the fruit was thickly carried from eight to ten inches from the ground to the top of the leaders, resembling nothing so much as a string of onions. This convinced him that the system was the ideal one for New Zealand.

Obviously to obtain this ideal result means building the tree up carefully from the very first. The tree should be properly planted in well-prepared soil, and the soil should subsequently be kept well cultivated. The maiden tree should be headed ten inches from the ground. The following winter the leaders should be cut hack about a third of their length, and the laterals, if not more than fourteen inches long, should be left as they are. In regard to these laterals it will be found that many of them will have a fruit spur right at the tip. As the apple matures on this tip the weight will head the lateral down and cause fruit spurs to develop. The following season a portion of the lateral should be taken off. How much will largely depend on the fruit buds that have developed. In any case, not more than half should bo taken off. Again, the of the fruit at' the end of the shortened lateral will bend it down and encourage more fruit buds. In the. winter shortening will again take place. Repetition of • this process will in the end mean that all the lateral has been removed except the stump carrying thei lowest fruit buds. By a repetition of this process nil over the iree fruit spurs will be obtained right along the leaders. The principle to be observed is that where there is a lateral in place of a fruit bud the lateral must be made to provide by the system outlined fruit buds evenly distributed, and where they should be on the leaders. The properly constructed and marimre fruit tree should have no laterals or stumps of laterals. There should be merely about half-a-' dozen well-spaced sturdy erect leaders, all carrying fruit buds from bottom to top; that Is, from about iten or twelve inches above the ground to about 7ft high. It is a mistake, thinks Mr. Alpass, to allow the fruit to grow m bunches, as this means probably smaller fruit, especially with the smaller varieties, and is an encouragement to disease. Mr. Alpass lays down three fundamental requirements in growing choice 1 and profitable fruit—a well-built tree, thorough cultivation (to conserve mroisi tare and control weeds), and systematic fighting of disease. Then, of course, comes the all important consideration— i marketing the fruit to the best advantage, and here proper grading and packing, and placing the fruit in the hands of the consumer in as direct a manner as possible. The natural influence of encouraging the formation of fruit buds, and thereby, ,of course, the encouragement of fruit, is that the formation of wood is discouraged; in other words, the more fruit a tree is made to produce, the less its branches are inclined to grow beyond easy control.