It's probably taller than you would like, however, your between-row spacing is probably wider than it should be. There is not a problem growing the trees shorter (except the negative implications of trying to keep a tree shorter than it wants to be), however, yield per acre will suffer. You need to farm all the sunlight available to maximize yield. (Within reason.)
I suspect the 0.9 factor came from research. I usually just say 1:1 because it is simpler and easier to 'mind' calculate. Jon 2011/3/26 Arthur Kelly <[email protected]>: > You're probably right Jon. It's taller than I would have thought. Where > does the .9 come from? > > > 2011/3/26 Jon Clements <[email protected]> >> >> 0.9 X 18 feet = 16.2 feet, if you want to maximize production. >> :-) >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> On Mar 26, 2011, at 3:21 PM, Arthur Kelly <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Generally (NNW/SSE) North/South rows, M26 Mac, 8X18, slender pyramid >> form. What tree height? >> >> Art Kelly >> Kelly Orchards >> Acton, Me >> >> 2011/3/26 maurice tougas <[email protected]> >>> >>> I would agree with Jon, but add a couple of other considerations that I'd >>> use to fine tune your "rule". >>> The first would be row orientation. North / South oriented rows will >>> receive more uniform light exposure than trees East / West, and so perhaps >>> an extra percentage of height could be added. >>> Second, training system results in differing depth or density of canopy, >>> and so a system with wider row spacing may result in longer branches which >>> may result in greater shading in the interior of the tree. Systems such as >>> tall spindle, super spindle and maybe fruiting wall systems result in >>> narrower canopies and so there is less depth to the canopy resulting in less >>> distance sunlight must travel to trunk. That said, these systems may well >>> have a more dense canopy than more open, widely spaced trees when pruned >>> properly. >>> The narrower canopies I believe have the advantage, and so the ratio of >>> height to row spacing may again allow for a slightly taller tree. >>> Thirdly, consider hours of sunlight per growing season. I've never seen a >>> "zone chart" for this. Might be an interesting project for some statistician >>> (Wes!), but developing some sort of sunlight zone similar to traditional >>> hardiness zones should influence height/width ratio. >>> Certainly the number of hours of sunlight, and, it's intensity on >>> average, received in Pasco,WA or Hastings, NZ is appreciably higher than >>> Northborough,MA or Acton,ME and has an influence on ideal height/row width >>> ratio. >>> Mo Tougas >>> Tougas Family Farm >>> Northborough, MA >>> >>> On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 11:50 PM, Jon Clements <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>>> >>>> If you are growing hi-density apples, then tree height should be no >>>> greater than between-row width. Slightly less (0.9) is even better. >>>> >>>> Jon >>>> >>>> 2011/3/25 Arthur Kelly <[email protected]>: >>>> > What do you all think about required row spacing for various tree >>>> > heights? >>>> > Should row width be 1.1, 1.3 or 1.5 X tree height? >>>> > Art Kelly >>>> > Kelly Orchards >>>> > Acton, ME >>>> > _______________________________________________ >>>> > apple-crop mailing list >>>> > [email protected] >>>> > http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop >>>> > >>>> > >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> JMCEXTMAN >>>> Jon Clements >>>> [email protected] >>>> aka 'Mr Liberty' >>>> aka 'Mr Honeycrisp' >>>> IM mrhoneycrisp >>>> 413.478.7219 >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> apple-crop mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Maurice Tougas >>> Tougas Family Farm >>> Northborough,MA 01532 >>> 508-450-0844 >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> apple-crop mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> apple-crop mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop >> >> _______________________________________________ >> apple-crop mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop >> > > > _______________________________________________ > apple-crop mailing list > [email protected] > http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop > > -- JMCEXTMAN Jon Clements [email protected] aka 'Mr Liberty' aka 'Mr Honeycrisp' IM mrhoneycrisp 413.478.7219 _______________________________________________ apple-crop mailing list [email protected] http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop
