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THE FIACE OF DWARF APPLE TREES IN COtMJlCIAL ORCHARDS 



A recent story from Oregon on "Hedgerow Apples" has prompted the writing of 

 this article in order to present our views en the pla ce of dwarf apple trees in 

 commercial orchards* 



The hedgerow system of growing apples as described ccaaisted ^f planting 

 dwarf trees which had been budded on Mailing IX roots tocks. The trees were planted 

 in rows 12 feet apart while the distance between trees in the row was fear feeto 

 The trees were supportedby a three-wire trellis* Pictures of the hedgerow showed 

 that the trees were allowed to develop into a thick, dense row of shod:s and foliage, 

 Yields •£ 1,690 boxes per acre at the end of 7 years were reported for Roue Beautyp 

 Advantages claimed for this sytem of culture were ease of harvesting, spraying and 

 pruning along with high acre yields, 



¥e have been testing and evaluating Mailing rootstocks at the University for 

 the past 25 years, IThile we have never grown trees on Mailing IX in hedgercws, 

 we have had considerable experience with their performance under Ifessachusetts 

 conditions. In light of this experience, we should like to point out some serious 

 disadvantages in the "hedgerow system" as it applied to Massachusetts conditions 9 



Our experience with Mailing IX has shown that the trees will not toler- 

 ate the competition ot grass and thus cannot be grown under a sod system of soil 

 management. We do not believe it wise to go back to a cultivation system of soil 

 management for apples in Massachusetts as such a system on our hillside orchards 

 w«uld create a serious problem of soil erosion. 



The trees on Mailing IX are very shallow rooted ad often suffer for water 

 unless irrigation is provided. They are also very easily tipped over unless seme 

 method of mechanical support is provided. The need for mechanical support adds 

 extra expense and attention to detail which must be taken into consideration, 



V/hile pruning under this system may be somewhat easier, it will be 

 more detailed and may require more man hovirs per acre. This becomes particularly 

 important as the trees get older, because it is not possible to maintain production 

 without detailed pruning. 



The control of apple scab in our humid climate would be extremely difficult 

 in the dense hedgerows, as foliage inside the rows would be difficult to reach with 

 spray materials and it would be very slow in drying. 



Dwarf trees on Mailing IX are expensive and difficult to obtain. The 

 initial cost in planting an acre of hedgerow trees could easily be so high as to 

 prevent many growers starting such an enterprise. Even a planting distance of 

 8x12 feet would require U5U trees per acreo This would represent an initial in*> 

 vestment of 9C0 to 1200 dollars per acre for just the cost cf the trees alone « 



We do not believe that the "Hedgerow System" of growdug apples is practical 

 under Massachusetts soil and climatic conditions. In the next issue cf FRUIT NOTES 

 the possibilities of semi-dwarf trees for Massachusetts orchards will be (iscussed, 



^HHs-W.D, Weeks 



