Meadow Orchard Research Articles

Comparison of the Initiation and Development of ‘Redhaven’ Peach Flowers in Standard and Meadow Orchard Trees

Abstract Lateral apical meristems were collected biweekly from 15 July 1982 to 18 Mar. 1983 from 2-year-old ‘Redhaven’ peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] trees grown under standard and meadow orchard cultural practices. Dissected buds were prepared for scanning electron microscope analysis, and representative samples were photographed. Meadow orchard trees were cut 20 cm above the soil immediately after fruit harvest (15 July), and thus, floral initiation and development was delayed until new growth occurred. Floral development in the standard trees began 7 weeks after harvest (late August) but did not begin in the meadow orchard trees until 13 weeks after harvest (early October). The sequence of floral development in both standard and meadow orchard trees began with petals followed by sepals, stamens, and the pistil. Standard trees produced numerous floral apices; however, floral differentiation was poor in the meadow orchard trees with only 5% to 10% of the buds initiating floral apices. The meadow orchard system thus may have limited use in central Oklahoma.

Rooting of peach hardwood cuttings for the meadow orchard

In order to make peach meadow orchard systems feasible, the possibility of propagating peaches by hardwood cuttings and thus reducing the establishment cost of this extremely high-density planting system was examined. A medium temperature of 25°C was harmful to auxin-treated peach cuttings, but excellent rooting could be obtained at a temperature as low as 12°C. Further trials conducted under outdoor conditions in winter in the coastal plain of Israel, with a soil temperature of 12–14°C, did not show any effect of timing on rooting, providing the cutting was taken mature enough (after mid-November) and not later than about 6 weeks prior to bud break. In 30 days root initiation started. Although variations were found between cultivars, 1500 mg/l of indole butyric acid in a 5-second base-dip was found to act well with most cultivars. Good aeration was shown to be critical for good root formation. Leaving the cutting for 1 month in damp sand prior to planting in orchard soil was satisfactory. An area of a few hectares of commercial meadow orchards has already been established with this method.

‘EariiGrande’ Peach1

Abstract ‘EarliGrande’ peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) was released in 1979 for mild winter areas such as the Rio Grande valley of Texas. It is the earliest maturing peach in Texas with commercial potential. ‘EarliGrande’ has been the best adapted cultivar to the meadow orchard system in Israel (A. Erez, Personal communication).

A New Approach to Mechanical Harvesting of Fresh Market Peaches Grown in a Meadow Orchard

ABSTRACT PEACHES grown in a meadow orchard system open new possibilities for mechanical harvesting. The pro-posed innovation is based on cutting the tree canopy and separating the fruit from the branches by means of a horizontal shaking conveyor. The potential of the new .concept was explored by initial experiments related to fruit separation parameters, fruit damage and post harvest studies. Preliminary results indicated that with the cultivars examined by an acceleration of approx-imately 2.5 g rendered very good fruit removal with at least 75 percent of the fruit marketable.

Meadow orchard for the peach

‘Sunred’ nectarine trees were grown in a meadow orchard system of 19,000 plants per hectare. By cutting back all tree top down to the lowest 5 cm of one-year-old wood, immediately after cropping, renewed growth was initiated, flowers differentiated, and the original size of the well-feathered tree was recovered at the end of the growing-season. Thus annual cropping was obtained with a rhythmic change of tree size between two constant levels. Three such consecutive cycles were completed with no sign of tree decline. Bud opening was delayed by about 2 weeks. Fruit bearing was very early, with fruit size smaller and ripening-time later than fruit from conventional mature trees. Yields were about 37, 62 and 94 % of the yield of a conventional adult orchard in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd seasons respectively.

Culture of Malus tissues in vitro. I. multiplication of apple plants from isolated shoot apices

Apple shoot meristems have been cultured aseptically to promote growth and proliferation of shoots. Apices grown in a modified LS medium with cytokinin but in the absence of auxin, gave rise to a shoot mass from which single shoots were subcultured repeatedly. A multiplication rate of 10-fold per month was achieved. Shoots arose both adventitiously from basal callus and from axillary meristems in juvenile cultures, but from axillary meristems only in adult phase material. Regenerated shoots were rooted to produce plants by basal treatment with IBA. The method has potential value in mass production of self-rooted trees for planting high-density “meadow orchard” systems of apple production.

Studies of stomatal distribution on the leaves of four apple varieties

SummaryA scanning electron microscope was used for monthly studies of the stomatal distribution on the leaves of four apple varieties (Cox’s Orange Pippin, Lord Lambourne, Golden Delicious and Egremont Russet) throughout the 1972 growing season. There was considerable variation over the surface of single leaves and between leaves of the same variety, and few definite trends could be discerned apart from an early season increase in the numbers of functional stomata. Cox’s Orange Pippin leaves had significantly more stomata per unit area than Golden Delicious leaves, but other varietal differences were not consistently significant. It was concluded that Golden Delicious leaves may be better adapted to conserve water than Cox leaves because of their stomatal density. The stomata on leaves of meadow orchard trees apparently developed to full maturity more quickly than those of hedgerow orchard trees.

Growth regulators in fruit production reviewed from ISHS symposia at St. Paul and Long Ashton, 1972

The papers of two ISHS symposia, held in 1972, are reviewed. Regarding growth regulators in fruit production, the output of papers on scientific research far exceeds the number of publications on their use in horticultural practice. Only limited information is still available about their mode of action. Hormonal control of fruit growth is best understood in the grape. Gibberellins are widely used to prevent seed formation in grape and to promote fruit set in pears and citrus. One of the most promising chemicals is (2-chloroethyl)phosphonic acid (ethephon) (CEPA). On the other hand, the practical use of abscisic acid (ABA) is nil. A mixture of an auxin, a gibberellin and a cytokinin is used to induce parthenocarpy on apple. Several growth regulators are applied in succesion in a superintensive system of apple growing in Great Britain: the ‘meadow orchard’, a possible breakthrough towards a more mechanised way of fruit growing.