Peach Systems: Training and Production

Stephen Miller

USDA-ARS, AFRS, Kearneysville, WV

Objectives in Tree Training:

Promote favorable growth patterns

Bring trees into early production

Develop a strong framework

Promote sunlight penetration

Improve ease of management

Promote favorable growth patterns

Naturally -

Round, bush-like

Somevariation

Bring trees into early production

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

2000 2001 2002Year (Trees planted, 1999)

Yie

ld -

bush

els/

acre

OC (156 t/ac)

Quad - V (218)

Tri - V (366)

Perp.- V (641)

CL (444)

Fusetto (748)

After Hoying, Robinson, and Anderson. NY Fruit Quart. 15(4):13-18, 2007

Develop a strong framework

Promote

penetration of

sunlight

Light –

• 15% FS or less shoot loss

• 40% FS @ 40-60 DAFB

• 45% FS 3 wks before harvest

• light = productivity

Improve ease of management

Training is accomplished by:

Training aids Tying

Support systems - trellisPruning

Pruning Objectives

Remove poor, unproductive woodEncourage new growthRemove broken and pest damaged

woodPromote light penetration throughout

the canopyMaintain the tree within the allotted

space

To direct growth

Pruning Cuts – the basic concepts

To produce new growth

Pruning technique can affect Cytospora infection

% CytosporaTreatment infection

Pruning timeJanuary 35.4 aMarch 20.0 aAugust 21.3 a

Type cutStub 26.5 abFlush 31.0 aCollar 19.3 b

Flush cut

Collar cut

Stub cut

the collar

Prune to retain “quality bearing wood”:¼” to 3/8” diam., 12 to 24”long (and no longer than 30”), reddish-brown color

FruitShoot length Diameter (cm) Weight (g)Less than 1” 6.44 143 1” to 12” 6.54 148 18” to 24” 6.80 165

p – value 0.0214 0.0462

Effect of retaining long (> 12”) or short (< 12”) shoots on yield, average fruit weight (FW) and crop value of ‘Redhaven’ peaches. Fruit Yield Avg. Crop value Treatment per tree (lbs/tree) FW (g) ($/tree)

Short shoots 1593 404 106 20 Long shoots 1813 416 111 30 From R. Marini, 2004, Fruit Grower News 43(4)17-20

Pruning should be used to direct growth and with the goal of retaining a select number of “quality bearing shoots”. Remember -

Vertical limbs produce growth near the top

Horizontal limbs produce upright growth

Directing growth through training and pruning -

Starts at planting with a quality nursery tree

Classic systems

High-density systems

20° to 30°from vertical

45° to 60°from vertical

¼” to ½” caliper tree best; 5/8”OK; 3/4” too large

Pruning at planting – the classic approach

Begin by heading at 18”- 28” to force laterals At planting ≈ 2 mo after planting

Pinch or tip the more upright shoots to force growth into desired permanent branches and help spread.

Factors to consider when pruning:

“Bench cuts” produce strong vertical growth at the cut

A variation of classic open center –the Italian Delayed Vase

• requires a high quality feathered tree or an additional year in the orchard

• maintaining a weak leader for several years is the key to this system

Pruning at planting – the upright forms

Whip Feathered

Head tree at planting to 18” to 20”

Shorten all laterals to ≈ 2”or at least 2 buds≈ 30-45

days after planting

Removing unwanted narrow angled shoots and pinching can be done during summer

First dormant pruning

2nd leaf and

beyond

Training and pruning upright forms

Second leaf peach tree AFTER major pruning to the perpendicular V system

Maintain young bearing wood on the primary scaffolds

Excessive structural wood reduces yields

At planting 1st dormant pruning

2nd dormant pruning3rd year and beyond

Pruning central leader forms Head

at ≈40” & stub

Establish lower scaffolds & leader

Select fruiting wood & remove competition

Stub some shoots for new wood

In central leader tree avoid structural wood in upper leader

Upright growth habit Standard growth habit

Goal of pruning and training as trees begin to crop -

maintain bearing wood throughout canopy

produce high quality fruits

SUMMER PRUNING – essential, especially in HD plantings

0

10

20

30

40

50

Perc

ent o

f ful

l sun

light

Pillar Upright StandardBefore SP After SP

Light level in 3rd leaf 24 hours after summer pruning

6th leaf

40% greater light levels

1 wk before harvest

SP NSP

Summer pruning at pit hardening to improve flowering

Light (PPF) 16 June to 4 July to 31 July to 16 June to(%) 4-Jul 31-Jul 30 Sept. 30 Sept.

100 50 43 41 7345 47 51 37 3023 37 41 42 2017 34 44 44 259 28 31 40 4

Signif. L Q n.s. Q

FD (flowers/m of shoot length)

Shade period

Flower density (FD) in ‘Redhaven’ peach* as influenced by photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) one

year after shade treatments during four periods.

From R. Marini and D. Sowers, 1990. HortSciince 25:331-334.

* Mature open center trees; whole tree shade treatments.

4- year-old

7- year-old

Vigor coupled with no summer pruning results in low canopy void and pushes quality bearing wood higher in the tree

Multi-leader peach at 5 ft. spacing

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100

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300

400

500

Dor

man

t pru

ning

tim

e - s

ec/tr

ee

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Summer pruned Not summer pruned

Summer pruning reduced dormant pruning time an average of 34% over 5 seasons

Summer pruning and training system affect fruit color - ???? -

Shearing HD ‘Redskin’ ≈ 2 wks before harvest increased red color from 36 to 49% (MD)

Shearing tops of LD ‘Loring’ in June and/or July increased red color on fruit from tops vs. interior (61% vs 44%) but tree’s avg. color was not affected (NJ)

Peach Production SystemsOpen center (Open vase)Delayed vaseQuad – VTri – VPerpendicular – V (Kearney – V)Central leaderFusettoSupported systems – Tatura, Palmette

Open Center Delayed vase

Quad - V Tri - V

Peach Training Systems

Perpendicular - V Central leader

Fusetto(Slender spindle)

Peach Training Systems

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1991 1992 1993 1995 1996Year

Yiel

d - b

ushe

ls/a

cre

(48

lb/b

u) HIGH (299)

HIGH - LOWLOW (150)

From Marini and Sowers, 2000, HortSci 35:837-842; crop loss from freeze in 1994

'Norman' peach, planted 1988

Annual yield for ‘Norman’ peaches as influenced by tree density

Trees trained to central leader and open vase; yield not affected by training form; HIGH –LOW treatment reduced from 299 t/ac to 150 t/ac in 1994.

From R. Marini and D. Sowers. 2000. HortSci. 35:837-842.

a abc

c

b

a

b

a

ab

0

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250

300

350

Yie

ld -

lbs/

tree

or

bush

els/

acre

2001 2002 2001 2002

Yield per tree Yield per acre

OC - (134)Quad - V - (269)Perp. - V - (403)

From Taylor, K. 2003 PA Fruit New s 83(6):19-24

'Redglobe'/Lovell, planted 1999

Yield for ‘Redglobe’ peaches planted in three training systems in Georgia

Average tree Total pruning and Gross NetTraining costs thinning costs/acre income income system ($) ($) ($) ($) Open center 278 825 4526 3425 b Quad – V 558 1815 9112 6699 a Perp. – V 836 1405 8392 6151 a Pruning and thinning costs over 3 year period; income costs over 2 years. Open center = 134 trees/ac, Quad – V = 269 t/ac, and Perp.- V = 403 t/ac. From K. Taylor, PA Fruit News 83(6):19-24, 2003

Average tree, pruning, and thinning costs and gross/net income for ‘Redglobe’ peaches grown in three training systems

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500

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2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Year

Cum

ulat

ive

Yiel

d -

bush

els/

acre

Open CneterQuad - VTri - VPerpendicular VCentral LeaderFusetto

From S. Hoying, T. Robinson, and R. Anderson. 2007. NY Fruit Quart 15(4):13-18

Average yield for three varieties in six training systems in New York

‘Allstar’ and ‘Blushingstar’ peach and ‘Flavortop’ nectarine

Fruit red CumulativeTree Av. Fruit color (%) farm gate crop

System density size (g) 2004 value/acre ($)

Open Center 156 182 a 46 b 6,057 dQuad - V 218 179 a 62 a 9,987 cTri - V 366 172 b 57 a 11,572 bPerpendicular V 641 161 c 61 a 15,667 aCentral Leader 444 170 b 62 a 11,568 bFusetto 748 168 b 60 a 14,658 a

Effect of six planting systems on fruit size, color and farm gate value for two peaches and a nectarine grown

in New York over 6 years

From S. Hoying, T. Robinson, and R. Anderson. 2007. NY Fruit Quart 15(4):13-18

Farm gate vlaue does not include picking, storage and packing costs

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Yiel

d - b

ushe

ls/a

cre

Pillar (622)

Upright (419)

Standard (109)

Yield per Acre for Three Peach Tree Growth Habits Planted at a Recommended Spacing in West Virginia (AFRS)

Frost damage 2002

Yields based on mean yields over 4 in-row spacings and 2 training forms

First leaf- 1999 Spacing: P = 5’ x 14’; UP = 6.5’ x 16’; S = 20’ x 20’

Performance in the 5th, 6th, and 7th seasons:

Pillar UP Standard

Number of trees per acre 622 419 109

Avg. yield, bus./ac (48 lb bu) 736 721 406

Fruit diameter (in) 2.7 2.8 2.5

Dormant pruning (hrs./ac) 41.1 36.6 22.1

*spacing - Pillar = 5’ x 14’, UP = 6.5’ x 16’, ST = 20’ x 20’

Yields based on actual yields for designated in-row spacing for each growth habit; dormant pruning time based on 2003 & 2004 seasons only.

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6.5

7

7.5

2002 2003 2004 2005

Mea

n fru

it di

amet

er -

cm

56.51320

In-row tree spacing in ft.

Mean fruit size (diameter) for three peach tree growth habits planted at four in-row spacings over four harvest seasons at AFRS

‘Crimson Rocket’, ‘Sweet-N-UP’, and ‘Harrow Beauty’ planted in 1999

QUESTIONS ?

Thank You