For over twelve years, we have been carrying out research in New Zealand to develop narrow orchard systems for cherry, apricot and apple.
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For over twelve years, we have been carrying out research in New Zealand to develop narrow orchard systems for cherry, apricot and apple. The aim was to develop a planting system that would enable orchards to capture 90% of the incoming light while maintaining good light penetration at the base of the canopies. The system’s key innovation was closer row spacing, e.g. 1.5 to 2.5 m, to increase yield/ha. With our cultivars and rootstocks, trees were planted at 3 m within rows in a Planar Cordon system. Two cordons were trained at about a 20 to 30° angle, and 5–6 upright shoots per cordon allowed to develop.