Orchard Management


Thinning programand watermanagement are key factors influencing crop outcome.


By Peter Waterman


Fruit quality – the final push begins I


through the growing season. How heavy your


have talked about the ongoing production practices required to produce high-quality fruit that eats


well, has eye appeal and stores well. That visual and eating experience is what brings the consumer back again and again to your brand, OR NOT! The effort a grower puts into his


product during that last push in June, July and August prior to picking is the culmination ofmore than a year’s effort. The quality of fruit bud, the size of spur leaves, and the ability of light to penetrate the canopy to the developing fruit has been enabled by the efforts of the previous season and the one before that. Those efforts provide all the base elements that can only be redirected inmodest ways during the current season. The last fewmonths are critical,


though. Pest control that starts with the current season can have a huge impact on cullage – leafroller and codlingmoth control are only two very obvious ones. The pruning efforts of this past winter and spring determine light penetration, which has amajor impact on colour and grade, as well as the quality of next year’s fruit buds. Those same efforts help determine


fruit load. Fruit load capacity of any apple tree will have amajor impact on fruit size and the ability of the tree to produce a shoot and leaf growth that balances the fruit load. The final push to harvest in terms of


what a grower can do to influence quality and size other than pest control is largely controlled by the thinning program, thereby influencing fruit load and the impact of shoot leaf and spur leaves on fruit quality. These various factors are a complex


weave ofmanagement expertise. Water availability, which includes daily to weekly stress ormoisture abundance, is also a critical factor. Watermanagement; the use of the shovel and hand feel of soil, plus other soil watermeasuring tools, are key to avoiding daily, weekly andmonthly stress that impacts fruit growth


winter pruning was, coupled with levels of nitrogen fertilizer and water supply, influences fruit quality. Excessive shoot


growth and high evapotranspiration


levels (caused by high temperatures in July and August)moves calciumto leaves, leaving a deficit in fruit. Excessive leaf and shoot growthmakes the fruit calcium levels worse. Despite these


efforts it is very difficult tomanage fruit calciumlevels through pruning, nitrogen levels or managing fruit load alone.Moving these efforts in a direction to enhance fruit calciumis important. To enhance these management efforts, the tree fruit industry has formany years recommended repeated foliar applications of various calcium


products to reduce the incidence of bitter pit. Work on fruit calciumlevels and


other critical nutrients,much of it led by researchers at the Pacific Agri-food Research Centre in Summerland has been very helpful. In particular, work by key tree fruit industry researcher Dr. BillWolk fromthe 1990s to the present has involved large numbers of orchard-level preharvest fruitlet and harvest fruit samplings. This has been coupled with the determination of timing of fruit ethylene production to assist in block by block accurate harvest dates. This has led our industry in the ability to separate fruit lots by quality levels for optimumstorage and timing of release of fruit to themarket. If all the grower’s


Apple fruitlets removed during thinning.


efforts throughout the year are well done, (pruning, fruit load, nutrition, and water management, etc.,) fruit colour develops at the same time as ethylene


production initiates. — Retired orchardist and horticulturist Peter Waterman can be reached at peter@omedia.ca


FUNDING IS AVAILABLE


Producers who have a valid Environmental Farm Plan are eligible to apply for cost-shared incentives to reduce environmental risks, become a better steward of the land and improve farm vitality!


 ARDCorp recognized Planning Advisors.


Phone 604-854-4483 Toll Free 1-866-522-3447 www.bcefp.ca


Projects must be completed by December 31, 2013 SO DON’T DELAY!


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Summer 2013


23


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