10 - 



In 1970, New England Tree Fruit Survey indicated that only II 

 of the trees in Massachusetts were on M.9 rootstocks. Interest in 

 this rootstock has increased only slightly in the last 4 years. 

 To the contrary, interest in spur trees, the M.26 rootstock, limb 

 spreading, and summer pruning have increased greatly. 



Where Do We Go From Here? 



General Comments . We need to increase the yield of high quality 

 fruit per acre and per man-hour in Massachusetts and few will argue 

 against orchard intensification as being an essential step toward 

 fulfilling this goal. However, making the right decisions on de- 

 gree of intensification, rootstock/variety combinations, training 

 systems and planting systems is difficult, to say the least. 



Trees on size control rootstocks produce earlier, and are eas- 

 ier to prune, spray, pick and should produce better quality fruit 

 if the trees are managed properly. Furthermore, research has shown 

 that yield in pounds per square foot of space occupied by the tree 

 is greater for trees on size control rootstocks than those on seed- 

 ling roots. But, small trees will not produce high yields per acre 

 at an early age nor high life-time yields per acre unless correctly 

 pruned and spaced. In Massachusetts and other fruit-growing areas 

 in the United States, tree crowding has become a serious problem 

 in some intensive orchards because increased tree numbers per acre 

 has not been associated with a comparable decrease in tree size. 

 Furthermore, high yields per acre at early tree ages frequently 

 have not been realized. 



Orchard land in Massachusetts is less expensive and more avail- 

 able than in the Netherlands. Many Massachusetts growers have been 

 satisfied with low density plantings and thereby have avoided errors 

 that result in tree crowding. They may continue to follow this al- 

 ternative in the future! However, all growers should be concerned 

 with earlier returns on their investment and increased production 

 of high quality fruit per man-hour and this need has become increas- 

 ingly essential with our present economy. However, whatever is 

 done, it is well to keep in mind that our industry is based on red 

 apples for fresh fruit market, and that we cannot sacrifice red 

 color and good keepability for high yields per acre. 



Vigorous size-control rootstocks . The Dutch apple industry, at 

 present, is geared to M.9*s supported by posts, and the Massachu- 

 setts industry to the more vigorous rootstocks and the free-standing 

 tree. We certainly will not abandon our present orchard management 

 practices until we are satisfied that weaker rootstocks, including 

 M.9's, are suitable alternatives to M.7 or MM 106 in Massachusetts. 

 The question then arises, how can we control the size of our trees 

 on M.7 or MM 106 and plant them closer without encountering serious 

 overcrowding problems. Perhaps pruning techniques, other than what 

 we have used in the past, will enable us to do this and to obtain 

 profitable yields earlier. 



