Auckland Loganberry Garden

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 82, Issue 6, 15 June 1951, Page 513

Auckland Loganberry Garden

ALTHOUGH strawberries are the only small fruits grown extensively in the Auckland district, a few small areas of loganberries and senberries have shown that these may also be produced commercially. That loganberries can be grown successfully has been demonstrated by Mr. .A. C. Paice, of Avondale South, and in this article

W. S. Kemp,

Orchard Instruc-

tor, Department of Agriculture, Alexandra, describes the methods used.

FOR small fruits such as loganberries a fertile, well-drained soil is desirable. Mr. Paice’s property contained sufficient land for the . project, but it consists of heavy clay soil and is far from ideal. The chief factors in its favour are its closeness to Auckland City and its gently sloping northerly aspect. The land, which previously had been used for growing strawberries, lacked suitable shelter for loganberries. The only established shelter consisted of a macrocarpa hedge which had been planted on the south and west sides of the 4 -acre house section and was then about 10 years old. Only a small area could be planted inside this shelter, the bulk of the garden having to be established on the south of the ex-

isting shelter. It was therefore decided to subdivide the area into small blocks of about lj acres with macrocarpa hedges and to plant both the macrocarpa and loganberry plants at the same time. About 1| acres of loganberry vines were planted in the spring of 1944, and in 1946 the planting was increased by a acre. Spacings Inadequate The vines were planted 4ft. 6in. apart in rows 9ft. apart. The headlands were approximately 15ft. wide. In the first area the distance between the parallel rows of shelter and vines was 10ft., but in the second planting

this distance was increased to 14ft. and the northern headland was increased to a width of 25ft. to allow for a roadway into the packing shed. These spacings, especially the distance between vines, have proved to be too close. The space between the vines for training the canes on the fences is inadequate and they become entangled, making pruning, training, disease control, and harvesting more difficult. There is insufficient area of ground for full root development of each vine, and in those rows next to the shelter there is strong root competition with the macrocarpa. By the use of very heavy applications of fertiliser these disadvantages have been partially overcome. The removal of alternate vines so that the space between them was increased to 9ft. would be beneficial. Mr. Paice considers that. with present-day labour shortages the area in loganberries, about 2| acres, is too great and that boysenberries would have proved better for the second planting, as boysenberries mature a little later and picking and marketing difficulties would have been reduced considerably. Excellent Shelter Although the macrocarpa shelter was planted at the same time as the vines, constant cultivation and manuring have encouraged rapid growth and excellent shelter is ' now provided. The vines also have received constant attention to cultural details and have responded accordingly. The winter following planting they were ready to be put on the fences for the first time. A small crop was harvested that season (1945), but no substantial quantities of fruit were picked until the third summer after planting. Since then the crop has increased each year.

Training of Vines „ The vines are trained on fences of Wo P den posts approximately 4m. x 4m. and oft. long set 4tt. om, out of the ground and carrying 3 wires. At the li n n d^iin°Tnd h <Shtiv a Ceer m Dp e sts areuJri J WAII ® the l JJ-nnnd P and anchored whh SavT The first vdre is frL ThA Sound With nhnYt i?h? f Js betwpfn +he d SrS In'thJ*fir§ SSrPstabVrshed a y res. In the first area established a fourth wire has been added at the top.. This was done by nailing short Pieces m 2^\ X ip? a hni n t b Qk, t nhnS} 1 pnE they project about 9m. above the posts, and the wires are laid along the top of them. Although wooden posts were used, it would appear that a more permanent material is desirable. i•.' . « . Cultivation and Pruning Mechanical equipment for cultivation consists of a 3 h.p. mechanical cultivator which is used solely for ploughing and a 5 h.p. rotary , hoe which is used for summer cultivation. Hoeing between the plants is done by hand several times during the year to suppress weed growth. ' Each year light ploughing, ‘ in which the furrows are turned outward toward the vines, is carried out as soon as This canes are put up on the fences. This leaves open furrows down centres of rows, which facilitates draining of excess water. Care is also taken that no hollows are left, undrained to hold water and cause , roots to become waterlogged. Rotary hoe cultivation is done during summer as often as is necessary to control weed growth and maintain a good surface tilth which, will conserve moisture. At no time is the ground cultivated deeply, as the loganberry is a surface-rooting plant. Pruning is done as soon as the crop is harvested, usually during the latter half of January. All vines which have fruited are cut out and taken off the area to be burnt in order to destroy any disease with which they may be infected.

The canes are put up on the fences in June each year. The number of fruiting canes retained each year is not limited, all good ripe canes being left, The rope method of twisting one or more canes, depending on the total nUl S ber - ° f CaneS 5° • vine ’ around each wire . is used. This method is adopted P rlmaril y because it is quicker han - the loop system, which consists of looping the vines around all 4 wires and b mg the and As there, is only a short period during which vines can be put up without damaging them excessively, time is important. The loop system of training would be better from a cultural aspect, because the maximum fruiting surface would be exposed to the sunlight, disease controland harvesting would be made easier, and there would also, be less chance of restricting the opening of buds than is the case when several canes are twisted around one wire. Each year as the young canes grow thev ar? n p PP -p d hack alone' th a around ben y eath thf fruiting canes with pegs from No R wire This reduces during cultivation and ha?vesting operations. Care of the new canes is most important) as it i s upon these that the following season’s crop is produced. . . J .... r „ , Adequate Moisture Essential Adequate soil moisture is most necesqarv whAn thA bArriAq arp maturing S' during periods of drought 1 Several methods o irrigation have been tried; adequate water usually being available. The sprinkler system was tried, but it caused scorching of the berries and had to be discontinued in favour of irrigation by allowing the water to run down the gentle slope of each row. Sawdust mulch applied on a small area was very effective, but it was considered too costly. - . ap ra y in 9 ; Disease control has always been good. Spraying has been done with a knapsack sprayer, but its capacity is too small for the work required of it. Although the garden has been kept very free from disease, it has involved

a great deal of hard work and taken up time which could have been used to better advantage. It is intended to install a power sprayer when a small economical machine of suitable capacity is available. The disease control Programme last season consisted of three sprays only, The first was a 5 : 4 : 50 Bordeaux plus 50 per cent. D.D.T. powder at the rate o lib. to . the i OO gallons of water applied at early bud movement just after finishing putting up the vines in une - the- other two sprays were d.D.T. only, at the same strengths, the first early in August and the second early in September, just before the flower buds opened Caterpillars which attack the berries and Yjne snot’ veneta) are the Serious Troubles for which ™ntrS measures arenecSsarv control measures are necessary. Harvestin a ' . • , . In most seasons harvesting begins early in November and picking continues for about 9 weeks. In the flush of the season as many as 24 pickers are required to harvest the fruit at the fight stage of maturity. All picking I s done on a contract basis. The fruit 1S Picked straight into lib. chips or punnets ready for marketing. The chips are covered with transparent T6%h"Ts. Pa The btlk^/the • n A ■ 1 1 /-<•+ 1S T ° W in Auckland City - Last season part of the crop was sold to a factory for pulping but it is in the future to try 6 and 121 b. tins as well as the small chips as a means of marketing the fruit and increasing the domestic consumption for l am and preserving purposes, Full production has probably not yet been reached, especially in the area planted out in 1946. Yield per acre has been up to 3 tons, but this figure is above average for the district and has been attained only by very heavy fertiliser applications, adequate attention to cultivation, . spraying, and general care of the vines, and use of irrigation during dry periods, ♦-»