At present, EM VII rootstock continues to be the preferred stock 

 for Mcintosh, but an increasing number of trees on Mailing -Merton (M.M,) 

 106 are being planted. In fact, it appears that the demand for M.M. 106, 

 exceeds the supply. Grower decision on rootstock for Delicious is not 

 clear-cut, however. Although many are being planted on E.M. VII, some 

 growers question the need for putting this variety on a size -controlling 

 rootstock, since it is not as vigorous growing as Mcintosh. Contrai^y 

 to many other fruit growing areas, the number of spur Delicious being 

 planted is limited. 



The limited experience gained with trees of E.M. IX indicates that 

 this rootstock is of questionable value even in orchards of growers who 

 are willing to devote extra time to these plantings . 



There is little interest in a planting system with off -set rows 



Interplants set to one side and between the trees in the row as means 



for obtaining larger tree numbers per acre. Therefore, plantings with 

 close spacing in the row and between the rows are being established by 

 some growers 6' x 14', 10' x 18', 15' x 21' and so forth. 



What May Happen in the Near Future 



With a few exceptions, growers will devote only part of their acre- 

 age to close tree spacings, and it is doubtful that many plantings with 

 spacing closer than 12' x 18' will be established. Unless something un- 

 foreseen happens, it also is doubtful that tree walls will become a 

 reality, except on a very limited scale, because the bending and pruning 

 techniques necessary for the development of the tree wall appear to be 

 too laborious. Instead, the trees in these close plantings will be kept 

 as individual units. 



Trees in some of our older blocks will be gradually lowered to 12' 

 to 14', and past experience indicates that this can be accomplished 

 without too much difficulty. 



Most growers, regardless of whether or not they have plantings with 

 close tree spacing, will mulch and/or fertilize heavily the first 5 to 

 6 years to obtain a large bearing surface. The trees may be scored, 

 particularly Delicious, to induce flower bud differentiation. Once the 

 tree starts bearing, the rate of fertilization will be reduced to help 

 red color development on fruit and to hold back tree size. Restriction 

 of tree size by pruning will receive major emphasis, since trees of 14 

 feet or lower are desired. Restricting size and maintaining productiv- 

 ity of trees spaced 7' to 12' apart in the row will challenge the horti- 

 cultural ability of the grower, however. 



Summary 



Plantings with close tree spacings will prove successful only if 

 growers are willing to pay attention to details. A grower's ability as 

 a horticulturist may play an increasingly Important role in his success 

 in the future. The ultimate answer as to the planting distance, height 

 and spread of our trees is not known. Many of the answers may be found 

 by the industry itself and probably no one system of culture will be 



prevalent. 



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