Top Fruit Flashcards
Define Top fruit?
Fruit which grows on a tree, which has normally been grafted onto specific root stock and is long lived. Top fruit can be trained/restricted to fit smaller spaces, with most top fruit trees requiring a pollinator as they are generally not self fertile.
Name 5 different types of trained top fruit form?
Standard, half standard, bush.
Step over, cordon, espalier, fan.
Define soft fruit?
Soft fruit is usually short lived, and grows on a bush, cane, vine or low to the ground. Soft fruit is self pollinating and short lived compared to top fruit.
What factors do you need to consider when planting top fruit? Apples, pears, plums, cherries.
Pears need more shelter than apples, and cannot tolerate cold wind.
Pears are more sensitive to frost as they flower earlier. Don’t plant in frost pocket. Culinary apples will tolerate a little shade compared to dessert apples.
Soil - apples can tolerate drought better than pears. Pears can tolerate heavy clay soil better than apples.
Are apples and pears self fertile?
No. Many apples and pears are self infertile.
They mostly need to cross pollinate to initiate fruiting, so there has to be more than one variety and 2 different varieties in the same pollination group. So flowers open at same time, they can cross pollinate each other.
What is a diploid?
An apple tree which requires one different apple to cross pollinate with in order to produce fruit.
What is a triploid?
An apple tree which requires 2 different apple trees in the same pollination group to cross pollinate with in order to produce fruit.
What are the advantages of triploid apple trees?
Usually produce vigorous trees, with large crops.
Apples are often large.
Usually show good resistance to disease.
They can survive difficult conditions.
Name 3 triploid varieties of apples?
Bramley’s seedling
Blenheim orange
Jonagold
Why is a sheltered fruit orchard necessary?
For maximum bee activity. Therefore cross polination.
Storage of fruit?
Early apples do not store well, but late apples do. Apples in general are easier to store than pears. Plums do not store and are best eaten fresh.
How can the size of a fruit tree be controlled?
By choosing the appropriate rootstock.
Apples
M25 for large vigorous standard tree
M27 for dwarf restricted form like a cordon.
What site is best for growing apples?
Sunny, sheltered, PH 6.7. Deep fertile loam. Not in frost pocket.
Name 2 dessert apple varieties?
Jonagold
Winston
Name a culinary apple?
Bramley’s seeding.
When to plant apple trees?
Bare root in the dormant season.
Containerised any time of year as long as ground is not frozen or water logged.
Maintenance of apple trees?
Keep radius of 60cm around base of tree free of weeds and grass.
Remove perenial weeds before planting and hoe regularly.
Apply fertiliser such as growmore in the spring. 100g per square metre or more on grass 140g per sq metre.
Mulch in autumn and late spring to conserve moisture and smother weeds.
Keep well watered in 1st year whilst they establish.
Why do we prune apple and pear trees?
To remove dead, diseased or dying wood (canker/silverwood)
Remove suckers from growing root stock.
To open up the tree to allow light in so fruit will ripen.
To open centre of tree to allow good air flow reducing risk of fungal disease.
To removing crossing/touching branches which may rub and form a pest entry.
To reduce vigour and encourage more fruit.
To thin out fruit (apples thinned in June)
To keep tree in a particular shape - cordon, fan etc.
To encourage a balance of young and old growth to retain the tree’s vigour and fruit yield.
What height should you prune a whip/maiden tree in it’s first year?
75cm. Above 3 to 4 good buds which are to create the canopy. Will remove apical dominance and encourage side branches.
How to prune a fruit tree in it’s second year?
Select the best 3 to 4 branches at the top of the tree and remove all of the others.
Reduce new seasons growth by half, cutting above an outward facing bud.
Remove growth below the canopy and any other weak branches. Should be left with goblet shape.
How to prune a fruit tree in it’s third year?
Reduce new seasons growth by a third, cutting above an outward facing bud to encourage it to branch outwards. Cut out inward growing branches, and remove any growth from trunk below canopy.
How to prune a fruit tree in it’s 4th year?
Reduce new seasons growth by a third.
Cut out inward growing branches.
Remove any growth from trunk below the canopy.
Pest for apples or pears?
Codling moth.
Lay eggs in june/july on or near fruits.
Caterpillars bore into fruits in summer, and eat there way through it. May also see brown excrement.
Control - pathogenic nematode sprayed onto trunk and soil in september. Pheromone traps hung in the tree in May, with sticky traps to catch moths before they can mate.
