Sarah McArley
No matter the variety or growing system, the profitability success of a block over its lifetime is driven by the cumulative yield achieved. Early yield is therefore critical to ensure the cumulative yield trajectory enables a good internal rate of return and a profitable outcome for the grower.
Cumulative yield driven by early yield accumulation is an important factor to keep in mind when setting this season’s canopy growth and fruit targets for young blocks on your orchard. However, growers also need to make sure that the chosen crop load isn’t too much of a draw on the carbohydrate resource therefore inhibiting canopy growth.
There are a number of ways to set the crop load target on a young tree, to ensure this balance. Measuring the Trunk cross sectional area (TCA) gives an indication of how many fruit the tree can sustain. Using a 4 fruit per TCA or 5 fruit per TCA target alongside the consideration of the percentage of current canopy fill will help to determine a suitable cropload which won’t hinder the growth and development of the young canopy. In addition, a focus on getting the cropload down to target early alongside maintaining enough vigour in the system and the execution of well timed tree training will help to drive growth and fill the tree’s space.
Therefore, be sure to keep the balance of productivity and canopy in line as you finish pruning your young blocks this winter and begin to set your croploads for spring. Early yield pays dividends over the lifetime of the block, but you must also have the canopy to hold that crop in the first place!
