Solaxe and spindle – comparison of two apple training systems

Abstract

High yields and good apple fruit quality depend on the appropriate training system. Long-term monitoring of solaxe and spindle training systems was conducted in western Slovenia. ‘Golden Delicious’, ‘Fuji Kiku 8’, ‘Gala Galaxy’, ‘Braeburn Hillwell’, ‘Fuji Raku Raku’, ‘Rubinola’, ‘Pink Rose’ (‘Pink Kiss’) and ‘Juliet’ (‘Coop 43’) were included in the trial. The yield tree-1 as well as fruit size and weight were recorded from the first full yield beginning from 2005 to 2007 (depending on the cultivar) until the last measurement in 2013. A typical alternate bearing pattern was detected in most apple cultivars. A similar performance of both training systems in terms of yield was determined with slightly better overall results for the solaxe training system in the last years of the experiment. Neither of the training systems could prevent alternate bearing and therefore other measures for avoiding it should be applied.