1. Emma Maxwell Ash & Elm Horticulture
Tree fruit
Emma Maxwell
Ash & Elm Horticulture

2. Apples

3. Orchards
Emma Maxwell

4. Apple facts Fruit for 20 -60 yrs Different rootstock Frost
Late fruiting varieties
Best not East facing
Full sun is best
Pollination
Need pollinators
Self fertile, cross pollination, triploid

5. Site selection SW facing slope Avoid frost pockets Avoid windy site
Avoid morning sun in spring
Free draining
Avoid frost pockets
Avoid windy site
Plant wind breaks
Wind-rock increases the risk of crown rot or ‘wet feet’

6. Site & Soil Dislike Salt laden sea air Windy sites Thin alkali soils
Rainfall over 1m per annum
Site over 500ft
Shade
Badly drained soil

7. Effects of Water
Slight drought at flowering stimulates flower production
Prolonged drought
Flower
fruit drop
Need plenty of water in 2 months before harvest
Drought spot on fruit
Too much water
Nutrient deficiency
Increased lodging in windy weather
Phytophthora – root / crown / collar rot

8. Buying trees Maiden – 1 year Feathered maiden Bare root containerised
container grown

9. Rootstock M27 –Extremely dwarfing M9 –Very dwarfing M26 – Dwarfing
MM106 – Semi dwarfing
MM111 - Vigorous
M & MM developed at
East Malling (M)
Merton(MM)

10. Root stock size M25 - 6m/ 20ft – 5-6yrs till fruit
1. Stronger - less prone to fungus
2. Deep roots better anchorage in flooding
3. Deep roots search out moisture in drought seasons
4. Standard trees that can be grazed under
5. Embercombe & Welsh mountain fruit tree nursery

11. Interstems TWO rootstocks
one grafted on top of the other.
The scion variety is then grafted on top of the second rootstock.
MM111 for vigour and tolerance, 2nd for size
M9 will give a MM106 size tree.

12. Root stock choice "MM" - Malling-Merton stocks early 1950s.
developed primarily to provide resistance to Woolly Apple Aphid(Eriosomatinae) infestation
MM111 most drought resistant
M9 – Malling dwarfing stock
relatively resistant to flood and phytopthora
"Bud 9 & 118" bred in the Soviet Union
Winter hardy early bearing
"Bud 9 " resistant to crown rot and less susceptible to drought than most other dwarfing stocks
"CG" or "G" - Cornell-Geneva stocks
Resistant to Phytopthora and fire blight
Winter hardy
MM-developed from joint breeding program by John Innes Institute, in Merton, England, & East Malling Research Station
G- series- The Geneva series of rootstocks are developed at Cornell University's agricultural experiment station based at Geneva, New York state, beginning in the 1970s, specifically to provide better rootstocks for North American conditions. (Orange pippin, 2013)
1. Resistance to fireblight, tolerance of phytophthora (which causes crown and collar rot in wet conditions) and winter hardiness were the main objectives.
2. All the G-series rootstocks exhibit these qualities to a greater or lesser extent.

13. Hugh Ermen, formerly of Brogdale Horticultural Experimental Station
Own-root fruit trees
Likely to have local resilience
Typical sizes of Own Root trees
Spur-type is similar to a tree on M9, i.e. 2-3 metres tall;
Non-spur types are typically between M26 and MM106
Vigorous triploids giving trees between MM106 and MM111.
Self set trees grown from seed along roadsides, railway embankments, footpaths etc.. are often quite small, and even when large seldom exceed the height of accompanying hawthorns/ hedge.
Cropping more regular
Size and quality of fruit same or better
Double the lifespan
better storage life. Fruit flavour could well be more intense and with generally more seeds per fruit, better fruit shape
when observing
Hugh Ermen, formerly of Brogdale Horticultural Experimental Station 

14. Pruning
The selective removal of parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots.

15. Why prune? Remove dead diseased dying wood To allow air circulation
To allow sun to ripen fruits
To increase fruit production
To control size
Shape
Formative pruning

16. Training Bush - 45cm half standard – 1m Standard – 1.75m
Pyramids & Spindle bush
Supported types
Cordon
Espalier
Fan
Step over

18. Formative pruning
Winter pruning
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4

19. Pruning

20. Varieties Choose what you like to eat
Choose disease and pest resistance
Flowering time to suit climate
Pollination groups – ABCD
Family trees
Varieties

21. Variety choice Nearly 1000 different varieties available
Varieties that are pest and disease resistant may cope with stress better
Different resistance to humid conditions
Flowering time to avoid late frost
Low dormancy requirement
Silva, O. ‘Water Required for a Gala Apple Tree’ (2013) Demand Media

22. Pears Sheltered spot Conference, Beth & Concorde most suitable
Doyenne du Comice & Williams Bon Chretien

24. Prunus Plums Damsons Green gage Cherries
Nectarines
Peaches
Prune during summer if needed after flowering

25. Varieties Plum Cherries Victory – eating Czar – cooking
Stella on Colt rootstock
Culinary -Morello
(can grow in shade)

26. Other fruit trees
Mulberry
Figs
Medlar
Quince

27. Mulberries Statement/ specimen tree Black mulberry
Height & spread 30ft (6m)
7 yrs before first fruit
Little pruning
 135 Year Old Mulberry Tree

28. Mulberry (Morus nigra)
Prune during dormant season
It will bleed at other times
Prune Dead, diseased, dying
Shape

29. Figs (Ficus carica) Same family as mulberries Formative pruning
Maintenance pruning
Immediately after harvest, not in winter

30. Medlar (Mespilus germanica)
Need annual pruning to encourage fruit
Prune as apples and pears

31. Quince (Cydonia oblonga)
Confused with Chaenomeles (Japanese quince)
fruit of which is also edible.
Fruit on tips
Prune in dormant season
Formative pruning
Maintenance pruning
to increase air circulation
Light penertration

32. Fruit bushes Black currents Red & white currents Gooseberries
Summer raspberries
Autumn raspberries

33. Nut Trees Hazel / cob nuts Little pruning needed once established
Walnut
Chestnut
Beech nuts

34. Site management Weed free for first 3 years Mulching
‘Green’ mulches (e.g. clover) are unsuitably competitive for use with young trees
Organic material to aid water retention
after rain has reached the root zone.
Under planting to reduce losses
of water, soil and nutrients
Comfrey to brake up compaction an aid drainage
Green manures