(3) Many orchards will requi ree irrigation because their soils are too 

 shallow and susceptible to drought. Therefore, for the forseeable future 

 most English orchards will probably continue to employ single-row central 

 leader production systems, while only the very specialized producers will 

 adopt the more intensive bed systems. 



Most U.K. planting stock is certified virus-free, true-to-name, and 

 true-to-clone. It is produced under the "Plant Health Protection Scheme" 

 in which virus-free "nuclear stock", or mother trees, are produced at 

 government laboratories and provided at nominal cost to "Special Stock" 

 nurserymen who mass-propagate them for commercial sale. Growers can buy 

 different grades of trees, the grade and price representing how far removed 

 the trees are from the original nuclear stock. These virus-free trees are 

 up to 30% more productive than virus-infected stock. 



Orchard restructuring was boosted in 1QR2 when the British Government 

 introduced its "Orchard Replant Scheme" under which growers can be sub- 

 sidized for orchard replanting. The plan is linked to an EEC prohibition 

 against expanding the area devoted to apple production, since apples are 

 overproduced in EEC countries. fEach year EEC countries dump under subsidy 

 twice as many apples as are produced in the U.K.). 



Under the plan a grower can be subsidized for 22.5% of his capital 

 investment in a new orchard if (1) he can provide evidence that he has 

 first grubbed an area of equal size, (?.) he uses only certi fied-vi rus-free 

 trees, and (3) he plants only eligible varieties: Cox, Rramley, and 

 Spartan apples, and Conference and Cornice pears. (However, 25% of the 

 planting can be of other varieties inserted as pollenizers.) This 

 replanting subsidy can increase the 32.5% of the total capital investment if 

 the entire farm has a development plan acceptable under EEC policies. This 

 plan has provided a big boost to changeover of unprofitable orchards. 



The appropriate soil management system for U.K. orchards has become a 

 matter of controversy. The standard system over the past 20 years has been 

 the use of herbicide strips under the trees, leaving grass alleyways. In 

 recent years pomologists have been advocating application of herbicides to 

 the entire orchard floor, and many orchardists now employ this "overall 

 herbicide" soil management system. Overall herbicide usage can increase 

 soil acidity, lower soil nitrogen level, and produce phosphorus deficiency 

 in apples, which increases storage losses of fruit. It can also cause soil 

 erosion, although this is not a serious problem in most relatively-flat 

 English orchards. The biggest concern is still another effect -- loss of 

 soil structure. Soil compaction from rain and machinery can cause soil 

 structure to collapse and cause a soil cap to form, which reduces water 

 infiltration. Failure to return fresh organic matter can deplete soil 

 organic matter, and reduction of the earthworm population can reduce water 

 infiltration. On the other hand, overall herbicide usage increases yield 

 10 to 20%, and the increase in fruit size is especially welcome for Cox, 

 which are often small. Therefore, considerable effort is being applied to 

 deal with the problems created by overall herbicide usage, rather than 

 abandoning it. 



