Fruit tree forms
Template:Short description Template:More citations needed
Fruit trees are grown in a variety of shapes, sometimes for aesthetic appeal but mainly to encourage fruit production. The form or shape of fruit trees can be manipulated by pruning and training. Shaping and promoting a particular tree form is undertaken to establish the plant in a particular situation under certain environmental conditions, to increase fruit yield, and to enhance fruit quality. For example, pruning a tree to a pyramid shape enables trees to be planted closer together.Template:Citation needed An open bowl or cup form helps sunlight penetrate the canopy, thus encouraging a high fruit yield whilst keeping the tree short and accessible for harvesting.Template:Citation needed Other shapes such as cordons, espaliers and fans provide opportunities for growing trees two dimensionally against walls or fences, or they can be trained to function as barriers.
FormsEdit
Some of the following fruit tree forms require training by tying the branches to the required form. Most also require pruning to retain the desired structure. However, not all types of fruit tree are suitable for all forms; apples and pears do well as cordons and espaliers, for example, whereas cherries are better suited to the fan form.
BushEdit
An open-centred crown on a short trunk of less than Template:Convert. This is a traditional and popular form for apple trees. Bush trees are easy to maintain and bear fruit at a young age. Final height is between Template:Convert and Template:Convert, depending on which rootstock is used.<ref name=Hessayon>Hessayon, Dr D. G., The Fruit Expert, Transworld Publishers Ltd, 1997, p10</ref>
StandardEdit
Larger than the bush form, with trunks of Template:Convert or more. Standard trees can reach a total height of Template:Convert. They eventually produce high yields but, being large trees, are not easy to maintain.<ref name=Hessayon/>
PyramidEdit
Similar to the bush form, although the main leader shoot is allowed to maintain its dominance, resulting in a pyramidal shape.
SpindlebushEdit
A variant of the pyramid form in which the lateral branches are tied down to a horizontal position. Designed for dense orchards by Otto Schmitz-Hübsch and Heinrichs in Germany in 1936, this is currently the most popular training system for dwarf apple and pear trees.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
CordonEdit
Single-stemmed trees planted at an angle (usually 45°), with fruiting spurs encouraged to form along the stem. Any side branches are removed by pruning. Cordons take less space and crop earlier than most other forms, so more varieties can be grown in a given space, but yields are smaller per tree.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A special cordon set-up is the Bouché-Thomas system.
EspalierEdit
A central vertical trunk with three or four horizontal branches on each side. A special espalier in this group is the LePage-system.
FanEdit
A short central trunk with several radiating branches growing from the crown.
Step-over espalierEdit
Espaliers with just one tier of horizontal branches Template:Cvt above the ground. These make a novel and productive border for a vegetable plot.
A study on orchard mango trees in Nelspruit, South Africa, compared the open vase, closed vase, central leader, palmette and standard pruning systems and recommended a modified pyramid, somewhere between a central leader and a closed vase system, for high-density mango orchards. The study also evaluated both post-fruit-set and post-harvest pruning, indicating that late mango cultivars benefit from pruning while bearing fruit in late fall, while early cultivars may be best pruned immediately after harvest.<ref name=Stassen> Template:Citation </ref>
Yield and spacingEdit
| Apples and pears | Yield | Spacing | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apples | Pears | In rows | Rows apart | |
| Bush | 25–50 kg | 20–45 kg | 4–5 m | 4–5 m |
| Dwarf bush | 15–25 kg | 10–20 kg | 2.5–5 m | 2.5–5 m |
| Dwarf pyramid | 5–7 kg | 3–5 kg | 1.5–2 m | 2 m |
| Espalier (two tier) | 10–12 kg | 7–10 kg | 3–6 m | 2 m |
| Fan | 5–15 kg | 5–15 kg | 4–5 m | - |
| Single cordon | 2–4 kg | 2–3 kg | 0.5–1 m | 2 m |
| Standard | 50–200 kg | 40–100 kg | 6–10 m | 6–10 m |
| Other tree fruits | Yield | Spacing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| In rows | Rows apart | ||
| Bush (sour cherry) | 15–20 kg | 4–5 m | 4–5 m |
| Bush (plum and peach) | 15–30 kg | 4–5 m | 4–5 m |
| Bush, standard (sweet cherry) | 15–50 kg | 5–12 m | 5–12 m |
| Fan (all stone fruits) | 7–15 kg | 4–5 m | - |
| Fan (sweet cherry) | 6–15 kg | 5–7.5 m | - |
| Pyramid (plum) | 15–25 kg | 3–4 m | 3–4 m |
| Standard (plum, peach and apricot) | 15–50 kg | 5–7.5 m | 5–7.5 m |
ImagesEdit
- Orchard3.jpg
A community apple orchard originally planted for productive use
- BoucheThomas fruittreeformdescription.JPG
Description of the Bouché-Thomas fruit tree form
- Lepage fruittreeform.JPG
Photo of the LePage fruit tree form
- Lepage fruittreeform description.JPG
Description of LePage fruit tree form
- Singlerow fruittree system.JPG
Description of the single row fruit tree form setup
- Spindlebush description.JPG
Description of the spindlebush fruit tree form
- Spindlebush fruittreeform.JPG
Photo of the spindlebush fruit tree form
- JeukseHaagDescription.JPG
Description of the "Jeukse Haag" fruit tree form
- Standard fruittreeform.JPG
Photo of the standard fruit tree form
- Dubblerow fruitttree system.JPG
Description of the double row fruit tree form setup
- Triplerow fruittree system.JPG
Description of the triple row fruit tree form setup
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Books and publicationsEdit
- Burvenich, Frederik (1879). Snoei der Fruitbomen.