Hello, I am the editor of a beekeeping magazine, and have following your discussion group for quite a long time, to see what is important to you, and how it may affect beekeepers...who, as you are aware also double as pollinators each spring. My question is have these high density orchards required an increase in the number of colonies rented for pollination each spring, or is the standard still 1/acre. With a significant increase in production per unit area, has the number of blossoms/acre increased, or simply the number of fertilized blossoms/acre? Thank you for any help with this.... Kim Flottum Editor, Bee Culture Magazine 623 W Liberty St Medina, OH 44256 800.289.7668 ext 3214 330.722.2021 cell www.BeeCulture.com <http://www.BeeCulture.com> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Dave Rosenberger Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2011 6:43 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [apple-crop] Vertical Scaffold Spacing Concerning the spacing discussion below, it is worth noting that fertilizer and pesticide costs are not insignificant in the overall cost of orchard management. One can make some adjustments in pesticide rates based on tree size and (with a smart sprayer) by not spraying gaps between trees. Nevertheless, each added acre of orchard will add significant carrying costs. Pesticide/fertilizer costs alone, without the associated costs for labor and equipment, are now approaching $1,000/A for orchards in the northeast. (I'm sure some folks are doing it for less, of course.) Based on pesticide costs alone, I'd much rather grow 10,000 bushels of apples on 5 acres as compared to 5,000 bushels on 10 acres. At $1000/A, pesticide costs will average 50 cents per bushel for the high-yield orchard and $2/bushel on the low-yield orchard. Most NY growers 30 years ago were happy with 5,000 bushels from 10 A, whereas the better NY growers now average 10,000 bushels on 5 acres, and that will become more common in the future as older plantings are phased out. Someone direct-marketing their apples may be able to survive despite spending $2/bushel in pesticide costs. However, the carrying costs of low-density orchards will inevitably strangle producers hoping to compete in the wholesale market. Apple tree spacings recommended for NY orchards may not work in rich soils in the midwest, especially where the growing season is longer than in NY. However, I doubt that anyone can remain competitive in the wholesale apple market if their tree spacing does not allow for the high yields that are becoming common in other regions. The trick may be to move to rootstocks that are even weaker than those used in NY and WA. Besides pesticide costs, other factors may also limit profitability of older orchard systems in the near future. Labor and fuel are both likely to become increasingly scarce (perhaps $10/gal fuel when the current upheavals in Arab countries reach Saudi Arabia??). High-density orchards will require both less fuel and less labor (at least when calculated on a per-bushel basis) than older lower-density systems. It's really hard to prune and harvest trees on 18-ft centers from a moving platform, and I suspect that moving platforms will become essential for improving production efficiency over the next 5 years. Widely spaced trees that get 20 ft tall may still be a great strategy for marketing apples to consumers who will pay you for the experience of walking through a traditional orchard to pluck apples from branches above their heads. Otherwise, I suspect that era is GONE !! _My experience, Spacing has to do with what you have to pay for land and how much you want to reduce labor,how important coloring is,, Wide planted trees are easier to prune,pick,good to color all around the tree,(lower cull rate),less transfer of fire blight and alot easier to get good spray coverage. As long as I have many unplanted acres left on my ground,I will space wide, I have Gala on B-9 and m-9 at 6 foot spacing, should have been 12 feet,Goldens on G11 at 8 feet, should have been 14.Some of my rows were 18 feet,just right, some were 14 feet,disaster, If you have reasonable priced land give yourself plenty of room.Quit thinking X number of bushels per acre,that;s a trap, think bushels per orchard. lee Elliott,, Winchester,IL apple-crop mailing list [email protected] <http://us.mc354.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=apple-crop@virtualorchard. net> http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop -- ************************************************************** Dave Rosenberger Professor of Plant Pathology Office: 845-691-7231 Cornell University's Hudson Valley Lab Fax: 845-691-2719 P.O. Box 727, Highland, NY 12528 Cell: 845-594-3060 http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pp/faculty/rosenberger/
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