Intensive gardening allows you to get maximum yield from a limited area. Its main feature is low fruit trees, grafted onto a dwarf rootstock, planted in dense rows. They begin to bear fruit very quickly already at second year after planting, and already in the third year you can get a harvest of 35-40 centners per hectare. This is much faster than in ordinary - classical gardens.

Description of intensive gardening technology:

Intensive gardening allows you to get maximum yield in a limited area.

Its main feature is low fruit trees, grafted onto a dwarf rootstock, planted in dense rows. They begin to bear fruit very quickly already in the second year after planting, and already in the third year you can get a harvest of 35-40 centners per hectare. This is much faster than in ordinary - classical gardens. There you have to wait much longer for the first results.

IN intensive gardens at harvest Fewer workers are required, the productivity of their work is higher. Tree pruning also happens, firstly, faster, and secondly, with less effort. The first truly large industrial harvest - over 100 centners per hectare - will be received by an ordinary grower in 8 years, and an intensive one - in 4.

In intensive gardening Only highly productive zoned varieties of intensive type are used, resistant to various adverse effects, incl. to infectious diseases.

Intensive gardening can be successfully used not only for growing apples, pears, plums, cherries and others fruit trees, but also in relation to berry bushes - raspberries, gooseberries, blackberries, blueberries and honeysuckle.

Benefits of intensive gardening:

– low labor costs for tree care and harvesting,

– high productivity,

– obtaining the first harvest in the second year,

– less cost for treatment with fertilizers.

The technology of intensive gardening is based on the following principles:

– soil preparation. The soil must be fertilized with fertilizers. Fruit trees bear fruit only on fertile soil,

– high quality planting material. All trees should have a small and at the same time the same growth, i.e. Dwarf varieties should be used. Tree varieties must be high-yielding. Their crown must be constantly trimmed, giving the desired shape,

– fruit trees are not planted randomly, but in even rows, like vineyards. The planting density should be very high, the distance between neighboring trees should be small. There must be a distance between the rows so that a tractor can pass or several people can pass,

– Every tree must have a support - it supports the stem. The support can be wooden, metal or plastic. Otherwise, the tree will become heavy from the abundant fruits and simply fall on the ground. land,

– Fruit trees on dwarf rootstocks require constant care and attention. They develop well and bear fruit only on fertile soil, with regular irrigation and protection from pests according to all the rules. Irrigation is carried out throughout the year with the simultaneous application of fertilizers, and in the spring - above the crown so that the trees do not suffer from seasonal frosts,

– a prerequisite for obtaining a high-quality harvest fruit trees- crown formation. The following parameters are considered the most acceptable: standard height 50–80 cm, central conductor, the presence in the lower part of the trunk of four to five semi-main branches, higher along the conductor - fruitful branches of 3–4 years of age, which can be periodically replaced.

Economic indicators of intensive gardens in comparison with conventional ones:

Intensive fruit crops:

TO intensive fruit crops relate.

Seedlings for planting an intensive garden

Which seedlings should experienced gardeners prefer when planting an intensive garden?

The main requirements of any modern intensive garden, according to experts, are:

Early (1-2 years) entry of the garden into fruiting;

Stable and high yield of HIGH quality fruits;

High labor productivity when performing basic technological operations (pruning, pest and disease control, harvesting, etc.);

Varieties that satisfy consumer requirements and are in demand in the market;

The garden has a short lifespan (12-15 years), which makes it possible to quickly replace varieties in accordance with market demands.

Based on the foregoing, modern gardening is dominated by planting designs that provide optimal density greatest number trees per unit area. These are exactly the types of plantings that are found in dwarf gardens (in countries Western Europe, USA, Canada, Ukraine and southern Russia, mainly of the M9 type) on rootstocks with a rounded crown of the slender spindle type or its modifications, using varieties of a high world rating, which ensures the rapid entry of trees into fruiting, a quick return on investment and their subsequent highest productivity and profitability. For our conditions, the M9 rootstock, which has low frost resistance of the root system and low winter hardiness of the above-ground part, is not suitable. The closest replacement for it in our country can be rootstock 57-146, but it has high wood fragility. Worse results can be obtained with rootstocks 134 and 62-396, which produce taller trees with a later fruiting date. The establishment of such gardens requires experienced gardeners to independently grow seedlings, since such seedlings are practically not grown by local nurseries.

Let's look at the modifications of apple tree seedlings that exist today:

Common annuals;

Crowned yearlings;

Two-year-olds with a one-year crown (“knip-baum”);

Two-year-olds are “ordinary” using well-known traditional technology;

Seedlings with a standard-forming insert.

The quality of seedlings significantly affects the condition of the garden and its productivity. Such planting material should be grown on a virus-free basis, on a high agricultural background and with irrigation. Special observations show that this ensures a further increase in yield by 30-40%. True, in Sverdlovsk region, and in the regions neighboring it, there is no guarantee that the queen cells of the indicated dwarf rootstocks available there are virus-free, since they have not been tested for the presence of viruses.

In order to reduce the unproductive period in intensive gardening, non-crowned planting material, as a rule, is not used due to its ineffectiveness, and crowned annuals are most common and two-year-old apple tree seedlings with an annual “knip-baum” crown, which are unknown to our gardeners, are especially valued. Knip-baum seedlings, subject to agricultural technology, ensure a yield of 150-300 kg per hundred square meters on the M9 rootstock in the second year after planting the garden, and its active increase to 400-600 kg per hundred square meters in subsequent years. Experiments have shown that planting crowned seedlings provides a 29% increase in yield in the first 8 years of fruiting compared to uncrowned ones. In our climatic conditions When using the above rootstocks, the fruiting of trees in the first years and subsequently should naturally be lower.

It is possible to evaluate in more detail the effectiveness of using crowned planting material for planting. By planting annual oculants without a crown, the gardener will have big problems with the regulation of growth and the entry of the garden into fruiting. Without crowning, it is possible to form an axial crown and get decent results only in the 4th-5th year, although the quality of such trees in the garden will never reach the level of a similar “knip”. Crowned annuals have significantly fewer fruit buds than “knip” ones, and, as a rule, they do not exist at the ends of branches. Their lateral branches grow intensively in the second half of summer and, as a result, end with growth buds; they also have sharper angles of branching of the lateral branches. Therefore, after planting, such seedlings grow much stronger than the “knip”, and this causes the ovary to fall off, if it has formed. In addition, growth activity inhibits the formation of fruit buds.

Two-year-old seedlings with an annual crown (“knip-baum”), compared to crowned annuals, have a greater load of fruit buds, including at the ends of the branches. The branches extend from the conductor at large angles. Therefore, such a seedling experiences more stress after planting and will have virtually no growth. In general, seedlings of the “knip” type are ready for intensive fruiting immediately after planting, while crowned annuals bear fruit much weaker. Crowned annuals reach the same yield level that the “knip” gives in the second year in the fourth year after planting. Thus, from a “knipa” tree, from 1 to 3 kg of fruits are obtained per year of planting (thinning is no longer allowed). In the second year - 6-8 kg. In the first two years, one tree produces 9-10 kg. Crowned annuals, as a rule, do not produce fruit in the first year. In the second year it produces an average of 3 kg of fruit.

Seedlings of the “knip-baum” type are grown in a two-year cycle, mainly using the methods of winter grafting and summer budding with a dormant eye, obtaining planting material with a root system two years old, which ensures good establishment in the garden.

Winter vaccination. Rootstock material for winter grafting should be selected with a high-quality root system. A two-year-old grown, vegetatively propagated rootstock is especially suitable; grafting is performed at a distance of 40 cm from the base (heel) of the rootstock. The value of budding height deserves more detailed consideration. Numerous studies have established that high grafting or budding enhances the positive effect of a vegetatively propagated rootstock on a fruit tree, induces rapid fruiting, reduces the vigor of tree growth, and promotes higher yields of high-quality fruit. Before planting in the field, winter grafting is stored in a refrigerator or basement at a temperature of 0°C.

Summer budding with a sleeping eye. Rootstocks are planted at the beginning spring work according to the scheme 60x8-10 cm with a root collar diameter of 4-6 or 6-8 mm to a depth of 20 cm. At the end of July- at the beginning of August (for us no later than July 20-25), the rootstocks are budded at a height of 20-25 cm above the soil level using the butt method, which ensures the engraftment of the eyes in most cases after three weeks. Whereas budding in the traditional way in a T-shaped incision- in 1.5 months. Rapid engraftment is determined by the better combination of the scion and rootstock cambium, while the occulants grow better. In the fall, rootstocks with established eyes are dug up and stored throughout the winter in a refrigerator, basement or special trench, avoiding drying out the root system, at a temperature of 0°C.

First field.With the beginning of spring work, at the earliest possible date, rootstocks with winter grafting or summer budding are planted according to a pattern of 70-90x40 cm to a depth of 20 cm. Then the rootstocks are cut for grafting or an eye, covering the wound water-based paint When adding fungicides, the soil between the rows is loosened to a depth of 10 cm. If the cultivated shoot grows well after planting, wild shoots on the rootstock are removed several times; if growth is weak, there should be no rush to remove them. During winter grafting, when the cultivated shoots have at least 8 leaves, the best developed shoot is left and the weaker shoots are removed. After this, on the opposite side of the rootstock from the cultivated shoot (scion), a wooden support is installed, to which the scion is tied in at least two places. This prevents the annual plant from bending, damaging the root system and breaking off the above-ground part under the influence of wind. From spring and throughout the growing season, plants must be carefully protected from pests and diseases.

So, with normal care in the first field, a one-year-old grows 1.0-1.4 m high with a trunk diameter of 9-12 mm, and this is enough. You should not strive to have very developed annuals, since they can grow into too strong seedlings of the “KNIP” type, which is not always desirable for the gardener. In addition, shoots may dry out after crowning due to intense “crying” at the cutting site.

Second field.In early spring, annuals are crowned for regrowth. The crown height depends on the growth vigor of the variety: for low-growing - 60-65 cm, for medium-growing- 65-70 cm and for tall people- 80-85 cm from the soil surface. Using traditional technology, cutting off the one-year-old at a height of 75-80 cm and removing the side shoots in the trunk area when they reach 10 cm, a crowned two-year-old was obtained. In contrast, when a seedling of the “knip-baum” type is formed, only one of the strongest cultivated shoots is left below the crowning site, from which the conductor is grown, and all others are gradually removed in three steps, focusing on the growth activity of the conductor, in the direction from above down. For example, if the conductor has reached a length of 15-20 cm, all lateral branches in the upper part of the trunk are removed at the same distance, and so on. When the abandoned conductor has 7-8 leaves, it is necessary to use well-known techniques that actively influence the crown formation of the oculant, since the number of branches- one of the main factors in the value of a seedling.

The formation of shoots from lateral buds located in the axils of leaves is stimulated by cytokinins synthesized by the root system and inhibited by auxins synthesized by newly formed leaves and the growth point of the conductor- apex, and the latter, as a rule, dominate. The activity of growth processes largely determines the tendency of seedlings to form crowns, and under conditions of insufficient agricultural background and lack of moisture in the soil, they will branch poorly. Temperature conditions environment significantly influence the branching of oculants. Research has established that the branching process occurs more intensively at a temperature of 21°C and high air humidity. This also contributes to the formation of fruit buds and the subsequent formation of full-quality inflorescences. Among the methods of actively influencing the process of crown formation abroad, the use of synthetic growth regulators, such as promalin (USA) or paturil (Hungary), has become widespread.

So, when the left conductor has 7-8 leaves, they begin pinching its top by unscrewing and simultaneously tearing off the underdeveloped leaves located around the apical bud (“tuft”) in order to promote branching during the growth process (reducing the level of plant auxins). This special pinching is performed 5-7 times at appropriate intervals, depending on the ambient temperature. If the temperature is close to the optimal temperature (2°C), it is enough to perform pinching once every 10 days. In hot weather, when the temperature is about 30°C, pinching should be done after 4-5 days. If the temperature is too low and the branching of the conductor is delayed, its upper part is additionally sprayed with these or other growth substances. But this provokes the formation of lateral branches with sharper branches from the conductor.

With a good agricultural background, numerous lateral shoots with almost right angles of departure grow on the conductor, thereby promoting the differentiation of fruit buds, including at the ends of the growths. It should be emphasized that the establishment of fruit buds can be achieved only under the condition of a high agricultural background and the use of high-quality, healthy rootstock and scion material.

Studies conducted in Western Europe and North America have shown that for planting modern intensive apple orchards with early fruiting, quick return of funds for their planting, minimal labor costs for care and harvesting, orchards on dwarf rootstock type M9 turned out to be the most effective, planted with two-year-old seedlings with a one-year crown (“knip-baum”) and are significantly inferior to one-year-olds with a crown.

In principle, there is no particular difficulty in growing two-year-old seedlings with a one-year crown (“knip-baum”), and we have experienced gardeners and planting a garden from these seedlings. Of course, the dwarf rootstock M9 is absolutely unsuitable for our conditions, and we will have to use rootstocks 57-146, 62-396, 134 or other more frost-resistant and winter-hardy ones. But even for these rootstocks, it will be necessary to protect (insulate) for the winter not only the root system in the absence of snow, but also the above-ground part to the grafting site, since its length is 20 cm. You can try growing seedlings of the “knip-baum” type and with using a dwarf insert from the indicated rootstocks, making it longer (more than 20 cm), to reduce the size of the future tree. True, this will lengthen the time of growing seedlings. For grafting, the most valuable local, winter-hardy, scab-resistant varieties should be used. I see the greatest difficulty in implementing the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bgrowing seedlings of the “knip-baum” type in our country in finding and acquiring virus-free dwarf uterine rootstock material.

V. N. Shalamov

Other articles by V. Shalamov in the section

Intensive garden on clonal rootstocks

Intensive gardens are an era modern gardens, which have long become common in most European countries, southern regions and the central zone of our country. In other words, in the agricultural sector these are high-tech apple orchards, highly productive, less expensive, with best quality the resulting fruits, both in industrial and home gardening.

Here (in the Urals zone) this direction in gardening has not received development. Our market still provides gardeners with apple seedlings obtained by grafting onto a seed rootstock, i.e. to the wild. An intensive garden is created by planting apple tree seedlings grafted onto special low-growing clonal rootstocks.

The advantages of such rootstocks:

1. They inhibit the growth of fruit trees, as a result: a) they are convenient to care for and harvest; b) small crowns are better illuminated, photosynthesis processes are more active, and the harvest is better formed; c) it is easier for short trees to be covered with snow, and therefore to survive the winter.

2. They force the tree to enter the fruiting phase earlier and increase the yield faster in subsequent years.

3. Improves taste, color and size of fruits.

4. Reduce the frequency of fruiting.

5. Allows trees to be grown where groundwater is close.

6. Allows you to increase the planting density and, accordingly, the number of varieties of apple trees in small garden plots.

Disadvantages of low-growing rootstocks:

1. The winter hardiness of clonal rootstocks is lower, and where there is little snow, there is a danger of freezing of the root system.

2. The absence of a central root reduces the adhesion of the root system to the soil, the stability (anchoring) of the tree, as a result of which, under high loads of crops, under the weight of fruits, the trees may deviate from the vertical position, and therefore require supports. I make a trellis on both sides, because... then I use it to tie up branches loaded with fruits.

3. The period of productive fruiting for intensive type apple trees is shorter, approximately 20-25 years.

4. Prices for seedlings on vegetative rootstocks are still higher due to the shortage of the latter.

It is known from various information sources that specialists and gardeners in our zone tested similar rootstocks, but the conclusions were not encouraging. What prompted me to start creating an intensive garden?

Harsh winter 2009-2010 remained in the memory of many gardeners. This winter took away all my fruit trees, which for the most part were located above the level of the snow cover. These are young (5-7 year old) apple trees on seed rootstocks that have begun to bear fruit. And it’s not surprising, because the temperature at the site, according to the watchmen, dropped to minus 52 degrees. The birds froze in flight. The only fruit trees left alive after that winter were low plantings of annual apple trees and columnar apple trees, most of the above-ground mass of which was under the snow. Burning with the desire to quickly revive the fruit-bearing garden, I began active work on creating an intensive type garden (before that I was keen on testing columnar apple trees). Fortunately, I have my own clonal rootstocks. The mother liquor of such rootstocks was planted for columnar apple trees.

The place for testing fruit plants of the intensive type was the outskirts of the city of Perm, which is north of Yekaterinburg by 1, Chelyabinsk by 2 degrees north latitude. My main plot of 12 acres is located in a lowland, on the bank of a river, with an open field to the north-west and not protected from cold winds. The temperature is 5-7 degrees lower than reported by Perm. Two other plots of three acres each have more favorable conditions.

The starting material for obtaining intensive apple tree seedlings are clonal rootstocks: dwarf 62-396 and P-60; medium height 57-545 and 54-118. Such rootstocks for apple trees grow well for me and are propagated using intensive technology using an organic substrate.

The year 2010 can be considered the beginning of active work on testing standard apple trees grafted onto clonal rootstocks. Many of the annuals planted in 2010 produced their first fruits within a year. These are Papiroyantarnoye, Cosmonaut, Altynay, Sinap Minusinsky, Rodnikovaya, Sokolovskoye, Tolunay, Mountain Sinap, Dachnaya. Two years after planting, the following varieties produced a harvest: VEM yellow (Danila), Pervouralskaya, Mamrovskoye, Osennye Polosatoye, Uralskoye Bolshoye, Anis Sverdlovsky, Aromat Uktusa, VEM pink, Seman, DL-34-104.

There were also those that bore fruit in the year of planting: Toropyzhka, Aksyona, Otslitnik, DL-11-12-120, DL 22-105, hybrid 25, but the next year they, as a rule, rest. Therefore, it is better to remove the first flowers so that the seedling gets stronger and forms a good root system, crown, and leaf apparatus. Every year new varieties come into fruition and delight us with their characteristic, valuable and interesting traits.

Leading varieties appear based on valuable economic traits. Trying the fruits of each new variety is an interesting event, like a small holiday. All the troubles and worries about compact trees are justified when we enjoy the winter by consuming our juicy, tasty, beautiful, healthy apples.

Currently, more than 75 varieties of standard apple trees are being tested, not counting columnar ones. I had to buy two more small plots, somewhat with better microclimatic conditions. As for the vegetative rootstocks I use, in six years they have not failed even once. There were no cases of freezing either in the queen cell or in the fruit trees. The snow cover on my plots is at least 40-50 cm, this is enough for the temperature in the top layer of soil to drop at least -7...-10°C in our frosts, and root system According to the description, my rootstocks can withstand up to -16°C.

Beklemyshev S. I.

Tel. 8-902-646-64-61

[email protected]

If you are looking for planting material: seedlings, cuttings, seeds and more, carefully look at all the addresses in the section

One of the priority areas for the development of the agricultural sector of Kuban is currently the introduction of intensive horticulture. An intensive garden is considered innovative technology, although for the first time in the world they tried to introduce it in 1964 in Canada. IN Krasnodar region Today there are only up to 30 farms that have established intensive gardens. Surely many agricultural producers do not yet have answers to questions about how to make it truly profitable. Although the high costs of initial stage. But what business does not require investment? Let's try to consider an intensive garden as an investment object.

How much money needs to be invested in it, in what time frame and for what purpose? financial result can it be achieved? is a special type of standard business, consisting of a number of factors. The absence or insufficiently reliable functioning of one of them can lead to a significant decrease in economic efficiency. That is, an intensive garden without irrigation or without tree supports resembles good car without wheels or a supermarket without goods. In both cases the absence individual element negates the normal functioning of the system as a whole.

From a seedling...

The first component of this business is seedlings. They provide about 80% of commercial success. As Russian and foreign experience shows, it is optimal to use healthy two-year-old seedlings with a one-year crown - “knip-baum” - “blooming branch”. In the world gene pools of apple trees today there are more than 20 thousand varieties. The main difference between varieties of the intensive type, in addition to the high marketability and content of the fruit, is the property of intensive formation of flower buds on annual shoots. Now breeders are trying to combine this property with immunity to fungal diseases and some pests in order to reduce pesticide pollution of fruits and the environment. Of course, regional selection is important to obtain varieties well adapted to a specific area. But on this moment, according to experts who planted intensive gardens, it is better to give preference to imported seedlings - for example, Italian ones. Although problems may arise here: not all varieties are allowed to be imported into our country by Rosreestr, even those that are optimally suited to our geoclimatic conditions.

However, there is a choice for gardeners, and high-quality planting material, subject to a number of requirements, can ensure a harvest in the year of planting and, accordingly, provide a quick return on the money invested. A seedling – “knip” – is specially formed in a nursery and from the very first year of planting it “works” to bear fruit, that is, there is practically no need to work with such a tree in the garden.

At the same time, the tree bears fruit every year. The fact that “knip” bears fruit already in the year of planting opens up the possibility for the gardener to maneuver in the market with pomological varieties. This means it allows you to conquer the market as quickly as possible and ensure the highest profits. Despite the fact that its cost is 2.5 times higher than a regular one-year-old, such a seedling can pay for itself very quickly. In addition to careful selection of seedlings, supports are extremely important. A modern intensive garden is unthinkable without reliable supports for trees loaded with harvest. You can choose from three options for supports - a stake near each of the trees, impregnated with creosote or copper sulfate, and two types of trellis - from 1-2 rows of wire and a bamboo support near each tree, or from three to four rows of wire to which the trees are tied.

It should also be taken into account that a drip irrigation system is applicable for an intensive garden - it cannot be cheap, but other irrigation systems are not suitable in this case. The fertilizer system is developed and adjusted annually taking into account the content of nutrients in the soil, vegetative growth activity, yield, precipitation level, temperature, leaf diagnostics and other conditions.

And it should be remembered that it is better to “underfeed” trees than to “overfeed”. The next component of the “garden” business is a system of protection against pests and diseases. These are not only chemicals, but also a reliable tractor and sprayer. Unfortunately, existing domestic sprayers do not meet the requirements for working in intensive gardening. Close to optimal option is any imported sprayer. Working with a working fluid flow rate of about 260 liters per hectare, it allows you to reduce the consumption rate of the drug by 25%, and this covers the additional costs of purchasing an imported sprayer over four years. A garden is impossible without fencing, which also costs some money. Anti-hail installations are also required.

...to the refrigerator

Storage is one of the essential elements, which allows you to achieve maximum profit from the garden, and an essential component of success in this type of business. You need to take care of the presence of a refrigerator from the time you decide to start gardening, because “knip” allows you to get a significant mass of apples in the second or third year - approximately 50 t/ha. Without storage, the meaning of such a business is lost, because in the fall the market is overflowing with apples that have a low price. The container needed to store apples is also a very solid investment. Renting a refrigerator can be more expensive than building your own. In the Krasnodar Territory, there are horticultural farms that, even before laying the garden, installed their own modern refrigerators - from 2 to 5, for 5 thousand tons each.

People

Well, as they say, everything is still decided by the personnel. Although an intensive garden requires a minimum of staff - because modern technologies provide for the automation of many processes, including pruning trees in an intensive garden. Despite this, competent personnel are needed at all stages of the operation of an intensive garden. As a rule, with rational technical support for a garden of 10 hectares, one manager is enough - a specialist fruit grower, one machine operator and two permanent workers. During busy periods, such as harvesting, temporary workers from the local population can be used.

Shall we count?

So, planting an intensive garden and maintaining it requires considerable investment. From the above it follows that the exclusion of even one of the elements of such a garden will reduce all the work to zero. So how much money do you need to start a garden, say, with an area of ​​5 hectares, with 2500 trees per hectare? We count. Returning to what was said, you will need high-quality healthy seedlings of the “knip-baum” type: 12,500 pieces for 3 dollars - a total of 37,500 dollars. Next - supports, for example, a single-wire trellis with bamboo near each tree, costing 16,615 dollars. The third is drip irrigation: if there is a source of water and electricity, the cost can be about $10,000. Fourth - fencing: a chain-link mesh 1.5 m high and reinforced concrete pillars for fastening it every 4 m will cost $1,444. Don’t forget about the equipment: you need a tractor (can be domestic), a sprayer (must be imported), a rotary mower for mowing grass between the rows, a herbicide sprayer and a transport cart - about $9,300 will be required.

In total, the approximate amount of investments and fixed assets will be about 75 thousand dollars. The work to establish the garden also includes planting trees, installing supports, installing a drip irrigation system and installing fencing and is estimated at approximately $2,000. It is worth adding annual operating expenses, which are the sum of the costs of chemical protection from pests and diseases, fertilizer, irrigation, facility security, fuels and lubricants, refrigerator rental, wages for specialists and hired workers.

They can reach $22,470. Such an impressive amount of annual overhead costs involves renting a refrigerator and purchasing disposable containers. The sum of these costs takes up to 40% of the above annual costs. By using the option with your own refrigerator and reusable containers, these costs can be significantly reduced. In terms of one tree, the total costs over 15 years of existence of the plantings will be only about 30 dollars. Over the entire fruiting period, one tree provides up to 90–100 dollars. net profit. Large investments in creating a garden pay off with the harvest of the third year, after which the annual profit will exceed $100. Thus, for every dollar invested in an intensive apple orchard, we get 2.7 dollars. net profit. Of course, this example is exaggerated. It does not take into account payment of taxes and force majeure circumstances. But it allows us to see what the actual potential of a strategically important segment of the agricultural business for the south of Russia is - intensive horticulture.

Domestic apples are confidently displacing Polish imports from the Ukrainian market. The last bastion of the Polish product is late spring, when Ukrainian apples practically disappear from sale due to worse quality indicators and storage conditions. Home driving force The key to Ukraine's apple progress is not even the financial resources that are invested in intensive apple orchards, but experienced agronomist practitioners who ensure high-quality apple harvests. One of these agronomists is Vasily Antonovich Shvets. He has experience in planting and growing not only 8 large apple plantations in Ukraine, but also two orchards in Poland.

I come from the Buchach district of the Ternopil region, graduated from the Uman Agricultural Institute, Faculty of Horticulture and Viticulture in 1994. I was very lucky that back in 1993, thanks to the efforts of the head. Department of Professor G.K. Karpenchuk and (then) Associate Professor Candidate of Agricultural Sciences. A.V. Melnik (now professor, doctor of agricultural sciences, head of the department of fruit growing), I attended an internship in Poland. Our teachers wanted Ukrainian students to see the most progressive European practices and technologies. Therefore, we ended up in the most advanced farms in Poland - intensive pilot gardens, established using Dutch technology. It was there that I made the final decision to completely connect my life with gardening.

Upon returning to Ukraine, I was offered a job at the horticulture research station in the village. Bear's Ear, Vinnytsia region. At that time, a new garden was planted there, which was considered the most intensive, on the MM-106 rootstock according to the 4x2 m pattern. When I said at the interview that in Poland this has long been considered an anachronism, and that 40-60 tons are already harvested in Poland apples per hectare, the station employee asked me: “Aren’t you confusing anything? Maybe centners, not tons?”

After all, in Soviet time The apple harvest on the state farm ranged from 5 to 15 t/ha. Moreover, 10–15 t/ha was collected in a few state farms in the Vinnitsa region.

Now the usual apple yield in Ukraine is 40–60 t/ha. True, there are records of 80–100 t/ha. But the gardeners who received such results claim that they will no longer set such records: it’s a pity for the trees. It is better to have 60 t/ha every year than 100 once, and then spend 3 years restoring trees.

Then, in the 90s, many farm managers offered me to plant these very “Polish” gardens for them, but there were no resources at that time. However, by the end of the 90s, the economic crisis had reached such an extent that planting gardens in Ukraine was no longer out of the question. And I went to Poland to plant gardens and earn a living for my family.

During my work in Poland I was very lucky to make great relationship with Polish gardeners, and also work with Dutch specialists, who became my best teachers. First of all, with Jan Holter, now, unfortunately, deceased. He was a "star" of gardening, and was known from Belgium to Italy. And even now, when meeting with Dutch, German, Belgian, Italian gardeners, Holter’s name sounds like a password, like a pass to the elite world of European gardening.

Vinnytsia - a nest of apple conservatism

He returned to Ukraine in 2002 and began working at the Sadivnik farm in the Bar district of Vinnytsia region. Much has been achieved, but I must note the extreme conservatism of local gardeners, which is still evident today. In Soviet times, the fruit trust included 30 horticultural state farms in the region. Now at least 20 of them have survived, having changed only the form of ownership.

As a result, despite the presence of enormous potential in horticulture, the Vinnytsia region is now perhaps the last in the use of modern technologies: Soviet gardens are still being “squeezed out” there.

And the locomotive of progress now is Bukovina. Back in Soviet times, local resourceful guys made money by supplying dried plums and fresh apples to Moscow. And now this is where they are laying best gardens intensive type, and in general there are no frankly weak projects. The Vinnytsia region dominates not in the apples themselves, but in the volume of apple concentrate - more than half of the total national production.

There is still one in Vinnytsia region negative trait in work, like complete secrecy. They looked at me like I was an idiot when I told absolutely everything I knew. Jan Holter always told me: “Vasya, information is like a fresh bun. And for it to sell well, it must always be the freshest. And then people will come to you, and not you to people, to find out something.”

- What varieties do you work with and which ones do you recommend planting?

- There are varieties for the supermarket, “money” ones: Golden Delicious, Fuji, Gala, clones of Red Delicious (RedCap, Top Red, Sandige, Early Red Van), the Jonagold line, the most effective of which is Red John Prince. There is a local variety, Renet Simirenko, but it is losing ground due to its specific taste.

The next group is immune or resistant varieties. Their advantage is that they do not suffer from scab and require less chemical treatment. This is the so-called. “re-varieties”: Reanda, Recolor, Reglindis, Remo, Renora, Revena, Rebella. Their main drawback- sour taste. These are technical grades for processing.

However, from immune varieties it was possible to develop dessert varieties: Topaz and his clone Red Topaz, Sirus, Luna, Orion. These are varieties of Czech selection. In addition, there is the Rubinola variety, and Florina, a variety that has already gained a strong position in Ukraine. The newest varieties, still little known, but very promising varieties Italian selection Modi, Smeralda,.

I would like to separately emphasize that these varieties are probably the last ones obtained through traditional selection. Everything new that will appear will definitely be genetically modified products. This is especially true for such a novelty as red-fleshed apples. Humanity has been cultivating apple trees since biblical times, targeted selection has been carried out for the last 250 years, but not once during all this time has a mutation been observed that gives a red color to the pulp - with the exception of individual reddish nets on the pulp from the skin of the fruit of the Gypsy variety. But as soon as genetic engineering appeared, as many as 5 varieties with red flesh immediately appeared! And the second generation has already appeared, with different skin colors, but with the same red flesh!

- Most effective method- under the planter. But besides planting the apple trees themselves, first of all you need to think about the supports. IN Lately I watch how hurricanes and storms completely break, like matches, concrete pillars for anti-hail nets - they mow down the entire area at once, like dominoes. Therefore, even before planting, you should think about purchasing reliable, proven concrete pillars or acacia stakes. Foresters should also think about this in order to plant acacia trees on stakes for gardens. After all, acacia is a Ukrainian “iron” tree.

First of all, you should organize an irrigation system. For existing gardens, even on strong and medium-growing rootstocks - MM-106, M-54-118, M-26, and even M-7 and A-2. Apple seedlings also react very positively to watering: both the quality and quantity of fruits improve.

If we plant an intensive garden on rootstocks M-9, M-7, or MM-106, the root system is located in the surface layer of soil at a depth of 40–80 cm. There is no need to perform plantation plowing to a depth of 80 cm. All soils on where the gardens were planted were loosened to a depth of 40–50 cm. Then - the usual plowing at 30 cm, cultivation, leveling. And then plant as convenient: under a shovel, planter or hydraulic drill.

Green manure is simply ideal if sown a year before planting, for example, mustard, lupine or vetch. Green manure yields up to 60 t/ha organic matter, and this is a very serious feeding for trees in the first years.

You can plant one-year-olds or two-year-olds - crowned knipbaums. Three-year-old seedlings are already overgrown, illiquid stock of the nursery, and they require special, more expensive care.

You can plant in both spring and fall, but in our area I strongly recommend only spring planting.

The row spacing is determined only by the equipment that will work in an intensive garden. With maximum intensification, it is possible to compact row spacing up to 2.8 m, but this is only if there are special tractors and equipment for this width. Therefore, the most common width is 3.2 and 3.5 m. Personally, I successfully “crammed” apple trees onto the MM-106 at 3.5 m. But this works on low-growing varieties such as Champion, Topaz, Eliza, Modi.

In an intensive apple orchard, the trellises are stretched either before planting trees or after. Before planting, it is recommended to lay a system of anti-hail nets. And the trellises themselves can be installed after planting. The distance between the posts is no more than 6–7 m. We tried to save some money and placed it every 11 m, but in the 4th year the wire sagged under the weight of 40–50 t/ha of fruit. We had to install additional supports. We use Belgian-made wire with a thickness of 2.8 mm; it can withstand tensile strength up to 900 kg.

Chemical treatments in an intensive garden are carried out at least 15 times per season, and these are mandatory, insurance treatments. Fungicidal treatments - 22–25 times, against scab and powdery mildew. Immune varieties are treated up to 7 times - against powdery mildew and wood diseases. Insecticides for all varieties are applied up to 7 times.

Fertilizers are applied immediately in the tank mixture. In addition to calcium chloride, which is added before harvesting to improve the storage of apples.

Root feeding is carried out with nitroammophos, and, if necessary, with saltpeter and urea. It is better to apply nitroammofoska in the spring, at the start of the growing season. The tree first takes up nitrogen, and after 4–6 months. - phosphorus and potassium. When applying fertilizers in the fall, we lose nitrogen, and the plant does not yet need phosphorus and potassium.

- Are underground irrigation systems suitable?

Such systems are not used in Ukraine. I saw such a system in Poland, and then as an experimental one on one hectare. Its main enemy is rodents. And in terms of efficiency, it has no advantage over surface irrigation.

- What is the lifespan of an intensive garden?

On average - 15–25 years. The intensive type garden achieves working harvest volumes and the first profit from the 5th year. Harvests continue to increase until the 7th–10th year. Then, for 10–15 years, the yields are stable. And after 22–25 years they decline. But the garden can be used for 30–40 years. So, in Italy I saw an intensive orchard on M-9, 36 years old, and they harvest 60 t/ha of apples. But in our conditions, after 25 years, the yield drops sharply to 15–25 t/ha. In Holland and Belgium, the question of uprooting the orchard is being raised when the yield drops to 40 t/ha.

After uprooting the garden, reclamation is carried out over a period of 3-5 years, and a new intensive type garden is established, preferably a stone fruit garden. It is not advisable to plant apple trees after apple trees or other pome trees.

In Ukraine, seedlings and nurseries have already appeared that meet modern standards. First of all, the seedlings of the Bakhmut station should be noted.

Abroad the best varieties, seedlings and nurseries - in Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy. And there is no need to be afraid of either Italian seedlings or varieties. Yes, in Italy the growing season is a month longer, but even in our conditions they perform well and winter well. The main caveat: Italian varieties and seedlings, like others, should be planted only in the spring to give the trees a year to adapt. If he survives the first winter, then there are no further problems. But autumn planting is an unnecessary lottery. In one very famous farm after autumn plantings there were from 5 to 30% losses: the seedlings did not grow back after winter.

- What can you say about cherries? I see outside your window not only apple trees, but also cherries.

Cherry is a wonderful crop. But it should initially be used for processing and harvesting. In Gorodok, Lviv region, 600 hectares of cherries were planted at once. But they have freezing, juice production, and a pitting machine.

- What is your view on the overall further development of the apple industry in Ukraine?

Honestly speaking, I have a feeling that Ukraine will have the last time good price for fruits and berries. And that’s only because frosts in May wiped out crops throughout Europe.

- So what should we do? To plant intensive gardens or not to plant?

First, you should take proper care of what you already have. Secondly, only those who have sufficient financial resources and experience in gardening should start gardens.

We must not repeat the situation of 2002, 2005 or 2010, when gardens were formally established under the state program to support horticulture. But in fact, money was laundered and stolen. Under this program, instead of gardens, they planted all the trash from nurseries that they could find. First, we cleaned out and buried all the rotten brushwood from Ukrainian nurseries. Then - from Moldavian ones, then from Polish ones, and now they have even reached Italian ones.

In practice, it looks like this: the first truck brings perfect material, the second already raises questions, and in the third there are indeed bundles of moldy brushwood that were once seedlings. Moreover, this happens not at the suggestion of a hired manager, but rather the owner, who takes it cheaper. Of course, as an agronomist, I refuse to work with such material. A high-quality seedling in Italy costs 4.5 euros/piece, but they manage to bring it for 1.2 euros. But this is the kind of garbage that cannot be found in Ukraine. So this is either money laundering or some other scheme.

But for those who are planning to actually engage in apple breeding as a long-term business, I want to give some advice:

The most important thing in this enterprise: choosing a location for intensive gardens! A lot is said and written about this in all the literature on gardening. Slope exposure, wind rose, presence of natural or artificial protective plantings, etc. But for some reason, the majority of those who want to have gardens neglect these rules, forgetting that we can improve the quality of the soil, but never the location of the garden!

1. Initially plan the entire financial resource so that it is enough for the entire volume of work at once. And assume that planting 1 hectare of intensive garden costs about 30 thousand euros.
2. Don't be afraid of competition. I have been hearing the same argument for 25 years: there is no point in planting, because everyone around is planting apple trees. This was said in the 90s, in the 2000s, and now. Remember that even if everyone plants apple trees, not everyone will grow an apple, and not everyone will have the patience to do it. And in the end, you will have enough space in the market.
3. You should start an apple orchard only if you are ahead of your competitors from the very beginning: plant only the newest and best, but already proven varieties. There is no point in trying to compete in the market with old varieties: there is already an overabundance of them.
4. Follow the principle of my Dutch teacher Jan Holter: “There is no place for greed and pity in the garden.” Don't be greedy and give the trees what they need here and now: supports, water, fertilizers, treatments, and so on. And in the same way, don’t let your uprooting hand tremble when the time comes to change the garden.

Vadim Naninets

Snyatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region

Establishment optimal designs plantings in relation to certain natural and economic characteristics of the economy is one of the solutions to the problem of increasing gross fruit production.

According to N. M. Kurennoy, the design (type) of a garden is determined by a combination of the following factors: the characteristics of the placement of trees, the formation and pruning of the crown, the growth strength of the rootstock and the productivity of the variety-rootstock combination, the agricultural technology used, the system of machines, tools, the economic efficiency of fruit production and etc. For southern zone N. M. Kurennoy identifies the following designs (types) of gardens.

Gardens on seed and medium-sized vegetatively propagated rootstocks with compacted row placement of trees in rows and wide row spacing (300 - 600 trees per 1 ha), formed according to the type of round (spherical, volumetric) or semi-flat small-sized crown with a height of up to 3.5 - 4 m. with 5 – 8 main branches. When fully mature, the plantings form continuous crowns in a row more than 2.5 - 3.0 m wide.

Orchards on seed (medium- and low-growing varieties), semi-dwarf and medium-growing clonal rootstocks with 500 - 800 trees per 1 hectare, formed according to the type of flat crowns (palmettes) with the predominant development of lower branches, up to 3.5 m in height and the width of the fruit wall 1.5 – 2.5 m.

Gardens of spur-type varieties grown under irrigation or in areas with increased moisture on medium- and low-growing rootstocks (500 - 666 and 1000 - 1666 trees per 1 hectare, respectively, with the formation of a freely growing rounded crown and 833 - 1000 and 1250 - 2000 trees - with formation of flat crowns).

Gardens on dwarf rootstocks, grown under irrigated conditions or in areas with high humidity.

Gardens on low-growing rootstocks (M9, M26, M7) with rounded, low-volume crowns that form a solid wall in the planting undergo extensive production testing. This is a free-growing spindle-shaped bush with a plant placement of 3 x 1 - 1.5 m and a crown diameter (row crown width) of 2 - 2.5 m, a slender spindle and columnar formation (pillar) with a placement of 3.5 - 4 x 1 and 3, 5 x 1 m (2500 - 5000 trees per 1 hectare) and a crown width of about 1 m.

According to Z. A. Metlitsky, more than half of the total height and width of the crown of fruit trees in orchards of the first two types with large crowns falls on part of the branches, bare of overgrowing twigs and leaves and performing only the functions of connection between the roots and the top of the crown. A sparse tree placement system does not contribute to the creation of highly productive plantings, since the crown projection area in such gardens is only 20–50% total area garden instead of the normal 60 - 80%. The creation of powerful trees capable of producing record yields when placed sparsely in the garden has not justified itself. Russian biologist and fruit grower P. G. Schitt put forward and substantiated a proposal for dense (row) planting of fruit trees, combining the advantages of dense and sparse placement of trees and devoid of their inherent disadvantages.

This can be achieved by using varieties and rootstocks suitable for planting dense apple orchards.

Varieties and rootstocks for intensive apple orchards

In terms of biological characteristics and the nature of production, dwarf and semi-dwarf trees are among the most intensive crops. They begin to bear fruit in the 2nd – 5th year after planting, and relatively small sizes Such trees allow them to be placed on a unit area several times larger than vigorous ones.

According to Ya. S. Nesterov, promising varieties for planting intensive-type apple orchards are spurts Yellowspur, Wellspur, Rabispur, Cherryred and varieties with restrained growth Wagner, Low Red, Rum Beauty, Lambourne, Granny Smith, Williams, Annie Elizabeth, Farside.

The zoned apple tree varieties bred by SKZNIISiV are very promising for intensive plantings in the southern horticultural zone: Kuban spur, Delicious spur, Luch..

The apple tree varieties Grieve Rouge and Red Melba on the weak-growing M9 rootstock are also suitable for cultivation using intensive technologies. In addition, when planting intensive gardens, the previously zoned varieties Idared and Starkrimson on a similar rootstock should also be used.

Winter ripening apple tree varieties: Western European Gloucester and American Jonagold on weak-growing M9 rootstock also meet the requirements of intensive fruit growing. To the characteristics of these varieties it is necessary to add high commercial quality and the special attractiveness of their fruits.

It should be noted that the Gloucester and Jonagold varieties are affected by fungal diseases. However, they have become widespread in intensive gardens in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Hungary and other countries. Currently, these varieties are undergoing extensive production testing in the south of the European part of the CIS.

According to experts (N.I. Kondratenko), in apple orchards in the south of Russia it is advisable to cultivate the early-fruiting, highly productive variety Golden Delicious, for a long time retaining “leadership” in intensive plantings in many European countries and the USA.

Currently, the attention of practitioners is attracted to the new variety Golden Delicious (Clone B), which is more resistant to sunburn. The feasibility of its cultivation on alluvial-meadow soils of the Kuban horticultural zone has already been proven in terms of productivity, consumer and commercial qualities of the fruit.

Very promising for use in these natural conditions variety Red Jonagold - a colored mutant of the Jonagold variety. As the experiment showed, when the crown of trees of this variety is formed on the M9 rootstock of the “spindle” type and placed according to the 4 x 1.5 m pattern, already in the 3rd year after planting the garden, the beginning of marketable fruiting is noted with a yield of 9.7 tons per 1 ha. At the same time, the yield of premium fruit is 94%.

IN last years In industrial fruit growing, apple trees on weak-growing rootstocks began to be widely introduced. The dwarf culture has become so widespread due to a number of advantages hidden in the biological characteristics of growth and fruiting. Their essence is as follows:

1. Weak-growing apple tree rootstocks give grafted varieties greater uniformity in crown size than vigorous-growing ones. This facilitates the unification of agricultural practices that increase labor productivity.

2. Dwarf trees are significantly smaller in size than the same varieties on seed rootstocks. They make caring for them much easier and reduce labor costs in such work as crown formation and pruning, pest and disease control. Fruit picking is faster, more accurate, and the amount of available carrion is reduced.

3. In gardens on weak-growing rootstocks, especially when grown on a trellis, the yield grows much faster over the years than on the same varieties grafted on vigorous rootstocks.

4. Productivity though dwarf trees during the period of full fruiting and below vigorous-growing ones, but when placing a larger number of them on one hectare (666 - 2000), the total yield per unit area of ​​​​the garden is greater.

5. The commercial quality of fruits with good care is higher, the fruits are larger, better colored, and contain more dry matter.

6. The frequency of fruiting in dwarf trees is less pronounced than in vigorous trees. The results of vegetation experiments indicate the prospects of using the semi-dwarf rootstock M26 for the fullest manifestation of the potential capabilities of some apple tree varieties recommended for intensive orchards. For example, the productivity coefficient Q of the Idared / M26 combination is 1.32. The new clonal apple rootstocks bred by SKZNIISiV, the dwarf SK-3, SK-4 and semi-dwarf SK-2, are quite suitable for use in intensive gardens in the southern regions.

Formation of tree crowns in high-density apple tree plantations

The task of formation comes down to building productionally viable crowns of fruit trees, which, regardless of the adopted systems, must provide:

· construction of small-sized (compact) crowns, corresponding accepted system placing plants in plantings that are simple in design and technology of formation;

· high strength, stability and flexibility of the skeletal part, capable of withstanding a large load of crops, etc.;

· intensive increase in leaf surface area, early entry of trees into fruiting and rapid increase in industrial yields;

· good lighting of all areas of the tree and crown of the compacted row;

· formation of trees with a limited amount of skeletal wood (main branches), which do not require complex and expensive pruning throughout the entire productive period of life;

· stable preservation of the position of first-order branches, intensive growth, regular abundant fruiting and high quality fruits;

· mechanization of work in the garden (pruning, soil and tree care, harvesting), increasing labor productivity and efficiency of fruit production.

Due to compacted placement by reducing the distance between plants in rows special meaning acquires a formation that provides sufficient illumination and, accordingly, productivity.

Such formations, according to V.I. Cherepakhin, R.P. Kudryavets, A.S. Devyatov include a spindle-shaped bush (spindlebush), spindle (spindle), slender spindle (weightback), French axis (piller), free-growing spindle ( free spindle, Russian spindle).

The spindle-shaped bush (spindlebush), according to V. Velkov, was developed and introduced in the garden of Hungary by Sandor Fejes and recommended for apple trees grafted on M9 and M4. Planting scheme for apple trees on M4 – 7 – 7.5 x 4 – 4.5 m; on M9 – 5 – 5.5 x 2.5 – 3m.

The spindle-shaped bush is characterized by a tiered arrangement of horizontally directed branches on the trunk in a spiral and has a pyramidal shape with a wider base. Its final dimensions are as follows: height 2 - 2.5 m, crown diameter 4.0 - 4.5 m.

The advantage of a spindle-shaped bush is its ease of formation with successful selection of varieties, early fruiting, and cultivation without support. Such a crown is not suitable for varieties that begin to bear fruit late and have branches with sharp branching angles.

The spindle (spindle) was created by gardeners in Western Europe and, according to A. S. Devyatov, differs little from the spindle bush. It is smaller in size: crown height 1.8 - 2.2 m, diameter 1.5 - 2.0 m, and apple trees are formed according to this type, grafted on rootstocks M9, M26, M27, P22, B146, 63 - 396, planted according to the scheme 2.5 - 3.0 x 1.5 - 2.0 m. Recommended varieties are low-growing, early-fruiting and with good branching (Idared, Golden Delicious, Jonared, Lambourne, Ionica, Champion). Trees require supports 2.5 - 3.0 m high from spruce, oak, acacia, bamboo, which do not rot for up to 20 years.

Further improvement of the spindle crown (spindle) led to the emergence of two new forms of crown - a slender spindle (weightback) with constantly overgrowing branches and a French axis (pillar) with cyclically renewed overgrowing branches.

The slender spindle (weightback) was developed in the late 60s of the twentieth century. for low-growing apple tree plantings on rootstock M9, B9, 62 – 396, B146, P22. Its authors, according to A.S. Devyatov, were fruit growing inspector J. Smith and the manager of the company in Gruzbek V. Zhan. In 1978 it was described by S. Wertheim. It has become widespread in the Netherlands and Belgium with single-line placement of trees according to the scheme 3 - 4 x 1 - 2 m. Unlike other spindle-shaped crowns, a slender spindle is formed from annual seedlings with branches. In addition, in the third year, the continuation branch is shortened to a weak lateral branch (translation), and the branch itself is shortened to 30–40 cm. Subsequently, the central conductor is shortened as in the third year. This helps to weaken its growth and improve fouling.

In its final form, the slender spindle (weightback) on the M9 rootstock has a height of 2 - 2.5 m and a diameter of 1.0 - 1.5 m.

The French axis (piller) was developed in England by G. A. McLean and is recommended for spur apple trees with a spreading crown on weak-growing rootstocks. According to R.N. Kudryavets, the piller consists of a central conductor up to 2 m high, on which 20–25 overgrowing branches (fruit links) are evenly placed (every 10–12 cm). One, two and three year old shoots and twigs are formed in each link. Three-year-old branches that bear fruit are cut out into a stump, leaving two or three buds. Tree planting scheme 4–5 x 1–1.5 m. A. S. Derevyatov clarifies that initially this crown was called “Piller” and was introduced into practice in France by J. Lespinasse and called the “French Axis”. It resembles a slender spindle and has a height of 3 - 4 m and with shorter, periodically renewed overgrowing and fruiting branches with a ratio of trunk diameter to branches of no less than 3:1. For the southern fruit growing zone, rootstocks M9 and M26 are recommended.

The advantage of the piller is early fruiting, ease of care, and good commercial quality of the fruit. Disadvantage: rapid aging of the lower links.

A freely growing spindle (free spindle), according to V.I. Cherepakhin, is a modification of a slender spindle and is distinguished by stronger growth at the base of the crown of branches 100 - 150 cm long. This crown is intended primarily for apple tree varieties with a spreading crown (Golden Delicious, Mantuan , Renet Simirenko, Glory to the winners, etc.), grafted on low-growing rootstocks M9, M26, P22 with a planting pattern of 4 - 4.5 x 1.5 - 2 m. Design features crowns, principles, techniques for forming and pruning trees are basically the same as those described previously for spindle-shaped crowns. The crown consists of a trunk and first-order branches 1 - 1.5 m long. The lower branches are positioned elevated (inclination angle 55 - 60°), the upper ones - horizontally.

In the fifth year after planting, pruning of overgrown branches begins with a three- to four-year replacement cycle. Fruit-bearing branches are shortened by 3-4 year old wood and transferred to a shortened branch with two to three buds, a replacement knot or fruit formations from which new shoots grow. Two- and three-year-old fruiting branches, if necessary, are shortened in order to regulate their load with fruit formations, especially in the varieties Golden Delicious, Starkrimson, Mantuanskoe, in order to prevent crushing of fruits from overload. In the future, they try to limit the size of the crowns by pruning so that the height is within 2 - 2.5 m, diameter up to 1.5 m.

Unlike other spindle-shaped crowns, the free-growing spindle eliminates one drawback - sagging branches, which makes it easier to care for the soil in the row.

Tree placement

Previously, it was customary to plant large gardens with plants arranged in such a way that the distances between trees in the rows were small or did not differ at all from the row spacing, for example, for apple trees on vigorous rootstocks 12 x 10, 10 x 10, 10 x 8 m. This made it possible to place 83–125 trees on one hectare. At the same time, each tree in the garden was provided with a large area and a significant volume of air and light environment, significantly exceeding the needs and possibilities of their effective use, especially by young trees.

The use of apple tree varieties created for intensive fruit growing, together with dwarf rootstocks and spindle-shaped crowns, made it possible to create dense plantings with 2 to 5 thousand trees per hectare. This made it possible to eliminate all the above-mentioned shortcomings and increase the yield in a mature garden to 30 - 40 tons per 1 hectare.

The development of fruit growing along this route is also more preferable because the amount of arable land per capita is constantly decreasing, and tens of thousands of hectares are withdrawn from annual circulation for various reasons.

New thickened structures of fruit plantings are one of the most important achievements of science and practice in the field of horticulture. Thickened plantings are the starting element new system gardening, including a new structure and technology for forming crowns, which makes it possible to make full use of the advantages of compacted gardens and get rid of their disadvantages.

At the same time, with excessively dense placement of trees in rows and a reduction in row spacing, as well as with rational placement, but lack of care for the crowns, which grow and thicken, the radiation regime worsens, which negatively affects the yield and quality of fruits, making it difficult to use machines and etc..

Crown formation.

Slender spindle. This spindle-shaped crown was developed in the Netherlands in the late 60s of the twentieth century. for a very dense apple garden on a dwarf rootstock M9. Its authors were fruit growing inspector J. Smith and farm manager in Gruzbek V. Zhane. It was first described by S. Wertheim in 1978. Initially, this crown was called “weightback”, but later the name “slender spindle” was assigned to it. This crown has become widespread in the Netherlands and Belgium with single-row planting with row spacing of 3-4 m and row distances of 1-2 m.

Apple orchard: modern technologies

The placement according to the scheme 3-3.25x1.25 m is considered more optimal.

A slender spindle is characterized by a central trunk, several strong branches below and rather weak branches along the entire trunk to the top at a height of 2.5 m. At the end of formation, the crown has a cone-shaped shape.

The slender spindle arose on the basis of the “spindle”. Externally, it differs from it in its smaller crown diameter and shorter length of overgrowing branches. It is necessary to install a stake, which must stand until the garden is uprooted.

For the formation of a “slender spindle”, crowned annuals are preferred. To do this, proceed as follows. One-year-olds are not dug up in the nursery, but are left for another year. They are cut back at a height of 40–45 cm from the ground and a new trunk is grown, essentially a two-year tree, but with summer branches. Their peculiarity is that they always have a wide angle of deviation, up to 60–90 degrees, and do not require deviation.

The seedling stem is cleared of branches to a height of 40–50 cm. The trunk is pruned at a height of about 1 m to ensure the branches grow in length. At a height of 70–90 cm there should be 3–5 branches. The lateral branches are not shortened. If among the upper branches there are one or two directed upwards, they are removed leaving a stump 5–10 mm long or tilted to a horizontal position, secured with twine. Always ensure that the barrel is securely fastened to the support.

Skeletal branches are not allowed in the "slender spindle". The thickness of the overgrowing can reach 2–2.5 cm. For their formation, sloping branches of medium growth strength, formed in the middle part of last year's growth, are valued, since they do not require bending.

To ensure sufficiently strong growth of overgrowing branches, the trunk conductor is annually transferred to a weak upper branch or competitor. This achieves the goal of restraining the growth of the tree in height. The transfer of the central conductor must be done annually, and each time in the opposite direction. As a result, the trunk takes on a zigzag shape and does not deviate away from the vertical to the grafting site.

It is not customary to shorten the lateral branches on the trunk in the first 4 years of formation of the “slender spindle”, with the exception of the uppermost ones that are formed annually, if they are directed upward and grow strongly. They must be cut out leaving a short spine.

Formed trees are pruned annually. At the same time, strong growths oriented upward are cut out and sloping branches are shortened if they reach the neighboring tree.

The total height of the formed tree is 2–2.5 m, the diameter of the cone-shaped crown is 1.5–2 m. After reaching a given height, further growth of the trunk is completely cut off every year.

The control version is formed according to the “spindle” type. This crown was created by gardeners in Western Europe. Apple trees are formed according to this type, grafted on rootstocks M9, M26, M27, P22, B146, 63 -396, planted according to the scheme 2.5-3.0 x 1.5 -2.0 m. Low-growing, early-fruiting and with good branching (Idared, Red Jonagold, Jonared, Lambourne, Ionica, Champion).

After planting in a permanent place, annual seedlings without branching are pruned at a height of 75–85 cm from the ground surface.

In the spring of the first year of growing season, after the buds awaken, inspecting the trees, they select a standard with a height of 40–60 cm. Stamping is carried out in this zone, and when the increments reach a length of 50–60 cm, they are tilted to 69–70° from the vertical and secured with twine. If the lateral growths cannot be bent, they are cut out in the spring of the second year of vegetation, leaving a stump 5-10 mm long. In the spring of the second year, the central conductor is tied to a stake and cut at a height of 30–40 cm from the top growth.

In the summer of the second year, green operations are carried out (pinching and breaking off vertical shoots on first-order branches).

In the spring of the third and fourth years of vegetation, branches continue to form on the trunk. For this purpose, every spring the continuation branch of the central conductor is shortened at a distance of 30–40 cm from the upper branch. The main task is to ensure that the conductor is trimmed good coverage the trunk with overgrowing branches, avoid gaps of more than 15–20 cm. The length of the first order branches depends on the distance between the trees and reaches 75–100 cm. The diameter of the lower branches at the base reaches 2–3 cm, in the middle zone of the trunk – 1.5–2 cm. On branches of the first order, only overgrowing branches with growth and fruit buds are placed.

Vertical growths on first-order branches are not allowed; they are cut out in the spring (if they were not bent or pinched in the summer). The crown height is adjusted to 1.8–2.2 m. In subsequent years, the crown is thinned out annually, cutting out all strong growths with a vertical or close to it orientation, if they were not rejected in the second half of summer during green operations.

One of the priority areas for the development of the agricultural sector of Kuban is currently the introduction of intensive horticulture. Intensive gardening is considered an innovative technology, although it was first tried in the world in 1964 in Canada. In the Krasnodar Territory today there are only up to 30 farms that have established intensive gardens. Surely many agricultural producers do not yet have answers to questions about how to make it truly profitable. Although, perhaps, the high costs at the initial stage are frightening. But what business does not require investment? Let's try to consider an intensive garden as an investment object.

How much money needs to be invested in it, in what time frame and what financial result can be achieved? Intensive gardening is a special type of standard business consisting of a number of factors. The absence or insufficiently reliable functioning of one of them can lead to a significant decrease in economic efficiency. That is, an intensive garden without irrigation or without tree supports is like a good car without wheels or a supermarket without goods. In both cases, the absence of an individual element negates the normal functioning of the system as a whole.

From a seedling...

The first component of this business is seedlings. They provide about 80% of commercial success. As Russian and foreign experience shows, it is optimal to use healthy two-year-old seedlings with a one-year crown - “knip-baum” - “blooming branch”. In the world gene pools of apple trees today there are more than 20 thousand varieties. The main difference between varieties of the intensive type, in addition to the high marketability and content of the fruit, is the property of intensive formation of flower buds on annual shoots. Now breeders are trying to combine this property with immunity to fungal diseases and some pests in order to reduce pesticide pollution of fruits and the environment. Of course, regional selection is important to obtain varieties well adapted to a specific area. But at the moment, according to the experts who planted intensive gardens, it is better to give preference to imported seedlings - for example, Italian ones. Although problems may arise here: not all varieties are allowed to be imported into our country by Rosreestr, even those that are optimally suited to our geoclimatic conditions.

However, there is a choice for gardeners, and high-quality planting material, subject to a number of requirements, can ensure a harvest in the year of planting and, accordingly, provide a quick return on the money invested. A seedling – “knip” – is specially formed in a nursery and from the very first year of planting it “works” to bear fruit, that is, there is practically no need to work with such a tree in the garden.

At the same time, the tree bears fruit every year. The fact that “knip” bears fruit already in the year of planting opens up the possibility for the gardener to maneuver in the market with pomological varieties. This means it allows you to conquer the market as quickly as possible and ensure the highest profits. Despite the fact that its cost is 2.5 times higher than a regular one-year-old, such a seedling can pay for itself very quickly. In addition to careful selection of seedlings, supports are extremely important. A modern intensive garden is unthinkable without reliable supports for trees loaded with harvest. You can choose from three options for supports - a stake near each tree, impregnated with creosote or copper sulfate, and two types of trellis - from 1-2 rows of wire and a bamboo support near each tree, or from three to four rows of wire to which the trees are tied.

It should also be taken into account that a drip irrigation system is applicable for an intensive garden - it cannot be cheap, but other irrigation systems are not suitable in this case. The fertilizer system is developed and adjusted annually taking into account the content of nutrients in the soil, vegetative growth activity, yield, precipitation level, temperature, leaf diagnostics and other conditions.

And it should be remembered that it is better to “underfeed” trees than to “overfeed”. The next component of the “garden” business is a system of protection against pests and diseases. These are not only chemicals, but also a reliable tractor and sprayer. Unfortunately, existing domestic sprayers do not meet the requirements for working in intensive gardening. Any imported sprayer is close to the optimal option. Working with a working fluid flow rate of about 260 liters per hectare, it allows you to reduce the consumption rate of the drug by 25%, and this covers the additional costs of purchasing an imported sprayer over four years. A garden is impossible without fencing, which also costs some money. Anti-hail installations are also required.

...to the refrigerator

Storage is one of the most important elements that allows you to achieve maximum profit from the garden, and an essential component of success in this type of business. You need to take care of the presence of a refrigerator from the time you decide to start gardening, because “knip” allows you to get a significant mass of apples in the second or third year - approximately 50 t/ha. Without storage, the meaning of such a business is lost, because in the fall the market is overflowing with apples that have a low price. The container needed to store apples is also a very solid investment. Renting a refrigerator can be more expensive than building your own.

Apple orchard business on apples

In the Krasnodar Territory, there are horticultural farms that, even before laying the garden, installed their own modern refrigerators - from 2 to 5, for 5 thousand tons each.

People

Well, as they say, everything is still decided by the personnel. Although an intensive garden requires a minimum of staff - because modern technologies provide for the automation of many processes, including pruning trees in an intensive garden. Despite this, competent personnel are needed at all stages of the operation of an intensive garden. As a rule, with rational technical support for a garden of 10 hectares, one manager is enough - a specialist fruit grower, one machine operator and two permanent workers. During busy periods, such as harvesting, temporary workers from the local population can be used.

Shall we count?

So, planting an intensive garden and maintaining it requires considerable investment. From the above it follows that the exclusion of even one of the elements of such a garden will reduce all the work to zero. So how much money do you need to start a garden, say, with an area of ​​5 hectares, with 2500 trees per hectare? We count. Returning to what was said, you will need high-quality healthy seedlings of the “knip-baum” type: 12,500 pieces for 3 dollars - a total of 37,500 dollars. Next - supports, for example, a single-wire trellis with bamboo near each tree, costing 16,615 dollars. The third is drip irrigation: if there is a source of water and electricity, the cost can be about $10,000. Fourth - fencing: a chain-link mesh 1.5 m high and reinforced concrete pillars for fastening it every 4 m will cost $1,444. Don’t forget about the equipment: you need a tractor (can be domestic), a sprayer (must be imported), a rotary mower for mowing grass between the rows, a herbicide sprayer and a transport cart - about $9,300 will be required.

In total, the approximate amount of investments and fixed assets will be about 75 thousand dollars. The work to establish the garden also includes planting trees, installing supports, installing a drip irrigation system and installing fencing and is estimated at approximately $2,000. It is worth adding annual operating expenses, which are the sum of the costs of chemical protection from pests and diseases, fertilizer, irrigation, facility security, fuels and lubricants, refrigerator rental, wages for specialists and hired workers.

They can reach $22,470. Such an impressive amount of annual overhead costs involves renting a refrigerator and purchasing disposable containers. The sum of these costs takes up to 40% of the above annual costs. By using the option with your own refrigerator and reusable containers, these costs can be significantly reduced. In terms of one tree, the total costs over 15 years of existence of the plantings will be only about 30 dollars. Over the entire fruiting period, one tree provides up to 90–100 dollars.

net profit. Large investments in creating a garden pay off with the harvest of the third year, after which the annual profit will exceed $100. Thus, for every dollar invested in an intensive apple orchard, we get 2.7 dollars. net profit. Of course, this example is exaggerated. It does not take into account payment of taxes and force majeure circumstances. But it allows us to see what the actual potential of a strategically important segment of the agricultural business for the south of Russia is - intensive horticulture.