Managing High-Density Apple Trees for High Yield and Fruit Quality

Terence L. Robinson,
Department of Horticultural Sciences
New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University
Geneva, NY 14456
The successful management of apple trees in any high-density planting system depends
on maintaining a balance between vegetative growth and fruiting (Fig. 1). If vigor is too low,
excessive fruiting results, fruit size declines, biennial bearing increases and trees fail to fill their
allotted space soon enough to make the orchard profitable. If vegetative vigor is excessive then
flowering and fruiting are reduced and containment of the tree to the allotted space becomes
problematic. The successful balance of vegetative vigor and fruiting results in calm trees that
produce heavy annual crops and require only a light annual pruning. Pruning and crop load
management are the primary management tools along with fertilization and irrigation that are
used to achieve a balance between vegetative growth and cropping throughout the orchards life.
These management variables are affected by planting density, tree quality and tree training
strategies.
Planting Density
Planting density is the single most important factor which determines the yield of an
orchard for the first 5 years. However, tree quality also has a large impact on early yield per tree.
We suggest for modern high-density orchards that in-row spacing range from 3-5 feet and
between row spacings from 10-14 ft. (780-1450 trees/acre) Within this range, the decision of
how close to plant a new orchard should be made with consideration of the vigor of the variety,
vigor of the rootstock, and soil strength. With vigorous scion cultivars, growers should use a
more dwarfing clone of M.9 or B.9 rootstock and/or greater planting distances. With weak scion
cultivars, a more vigorous clone of M.9 rootstock should be used and/or closer planting
distances. Despite some latitude in planting distances, growers should remember that to obtain
high early yields high tree densities are essential. For weak and moderate growing cultivars such
as Honeycrisp, Delicious, Braeburn, Empire, Jonamac, Macoun, Idared, Gala, NY674, Golden
Delicious, etc we suggest an in-row spacing of 3'. For vigorous varieties such as McIntosh,
Spartan, Fuji, Jonagold, Mutsu, etc. and tip bearing varieties such as Cortland, Rome, Granny
Smith and Gingergold we suggest an in-row spacing of 4'. Between-row spacing should be 1213' on slopes and 10-11' on level ground.
Tree Quality
Several studies have shown that the greater the number of lateral branches or feathers the greater
the yield in the second and third year. Modern high-density orchards can have significant 2nd
and 3rd year yield if highly-feathered trees are planted and if trees grow well the first year. If
growers use whips or small caliper trees these do not produce significant quantities of fruit until
year 4 or 5. We recommend that nursery trees have 10-15 well positioned feathers with a
maximum length of 1 ft (30cm) and starting at a minimum height to 30 (80cm) on the tree.
Generally nursery trees in North America have not this number of feathers until the last 2 years.
Many nursery trees have 3-5 long feathers instead of 10 short feathers. The tree with few long
feathers requires more branch management than the tree with more short feathers. Fruit growers
should insist that nurseries supply trees with the feathers that are high enough to tie down after
planting.

Branch Angle Manipulation

An important method of shifting the balance between vegetative growth and cropping in
young trees is tying down of the scaffold branches below horizontal to induce cropping. In the
vertical position, a shoot grows more vigorously than in a horizontal or pendant position and
tends to remain non-fruitful. A horizontal or pendant limb grows less vigorously and then crop
heavily the next year and bend under the weight of the fruit. The fruits are also strong
competitors for resources and limit the growth of the branch even more. If a vertical limb is
manually bent horizontal, lateral buds are released from dormancy. If the vigor of the branch is
excessive, these buds may grow into vigorous upright shoots themselves and remain unfruitful.
However if the branch has more moderate vigor, the lateral buds grow into short shoots which
become fruitful.
At moderate or low tree densities, trees must be grown rapidly to fill the allotted space
while with modern high-density orchards which are spaced 3-5 ft between trees only moderate
growth is desired. If trees are highly feathered at planting almost no lateral growth is needed but
only vertical leader growth to achieve proper tree height. This requires that feathers be managed
by manipulating the angle of the feathers soon after planting to limit extension growth. The
extent which feathers must be managed to limit growth is a function of the in-row plant spacing.
With 3-4 ft in-row spacings (the Tall Spindle), feathers must be tied below horizontal in a
pendant position at planting so that they produce almost no extension growth and begin cropping
in the second year. This also prevents them from developing into substantial lower scaffolds.
The pendant position results in a weak fruiting branch instead of a scaffold branch. In contrast
with 5-6 ft spacings (Vertical Axis), feathers should not be tied down at planting to allow some
extension growth before cropping bends them below horizontal. This allows them to grow into
scaffolds over the first 4 years. However, any original feathers that are not horizontal at the third
year must be tied down or they will become too vigorous for the spacing. Growers who attempt
to plant feathered trees at the Tall Spindle spacing but do not tie the feathers down often end up
with limbs in the lower part of the tree that are too strong which requires severe limb removal
pruning at an early age which invigorates the tree and makes long term canopy containment
problematic. This simple change in tree management allows for long-term cropping of many
feathers and little invasive pruning for the first 5-8 years at the very close spacing of the Tall
Spindle system. In contrast to feathered trees, whips require significant lateral extension growth
even at 3-4 ft spacings. However, in the second year, the new lateral branches should be
managed according to their in-row spacing as described for feathered trees.
After the initial tying or weighting down of feathers at planting, new lateral branches that
arise along the leader do not need to be tied down. In most climates, if moderate vigor shoots are
not pruned, often cropload in the third year will bend branches down below horizontal and a
natural balance between vigor and cropping will be established without additional limb
positioning. Thus with the Tall Spindle, no additional limb tying is needed after the initial tying
or weighting down of the feathers at planting. However, in vigorous and/or warmer climates
where winter chilling is insufficient, often limbs become too large before they set sufficient crop
loads to bend the branches down. In these climates, tying down of all vigorous limbs must be
done annually for the first 3-5 years until the tree settles down and begins to crop heavily.
However, in most traditional apple growing areas, growers often invest too much money in limb

tying which should be limited to only the feathers at planting. Thereafter, the precocity of the
rootstock induces heavy cropping and a natural balance is established.
Irrigation and Fertigation
Large, highly-feathered trees often undergo water stress shortly after planting despite
adequate soil moisture levels. This is due to the damaged root system of a transplanted tree
which cannot adequately support the large top without frequent irrigation. Large, highlyfeathered trees produce much more leaf area shortly after planting than unfeathered trees which
creates a high water demand before the root system can re-grow sufficiently to support the trees.
In-addition during many years, dry weather following planting results in water stress of newly
planted trees which can limit tree growth. Frequent and early trickle irrigation can help these
trees produce good growth in the first year. In humid areas growers are unaccustomed to
installing irrigation immediately after planting and delay its installation until mid summer. We
recommend that growers install trickle irrigation soon after planting with high density orchards
that use feathered trees to prevent water stress and maximize first year tree growth.
Frequent low doses of nitrogen fertilizer delivered at least twice weekly through the trickle
system (fertigation) for the first 12 weeks of the season will greatly improve tree growth during
the first 2 years to speed development of the canopy. Ground fertilization with dry fertilizers is
often ineffective since too much time elapses between applying the fertilizer and uptake by the
tree. With high tree densities as with the Tall Spindle system and highly-feathered trees, almost
no lateral tree growth is required and only vertical extension growth is needed. In this case
fertigation for the first 2 years is essential both for the water to avoid water stress and for the
nitrogen which is rapidly moved to the root zone and is readily available to the tree as soon as it
starts growing. Adoption of immediate fertigation of highly feathered trees, by NY growers will
considerably improve tree growth and vastly improve yield potential in the 2nd and 3rd year. For
moderate tree densities such as with the vertical axis, slender pyramid or Y-trellis, trees must be
grown vigorously for several years to fill the allotted space with canopy and relatively high
nitrogen fertilization is desirable for 2-3 years after planting. However, excessive fertilization,
especially nitrogen, can cause too much growth which results in delayed flowering, reduced
yields, poor fruit quality and greater pruning.
After the first few years, low nitrogen fertilization is desirable to keep the trees calm with a
balance between fruiting and cropping. Many mature high density orchards receive excessive
nitrogen fertilizer rates which cause severe canopy management problems. Soil strength or
fertility must be considered when calculating the amount of nitrogen to apply to mature high
density orchards especially with vigorous and poor coloring varieties. Many soils in New York
produce 30-60 lbs/acre of nitrogen annually through nitrification. This is often close to amount
needed by mature high density orchards. Excess fertility often results in excessive vegetative
growth, delayed cropping and soft and poorly colored, unmarketable fruit.

Fumigation and Weed Control

In many cases, tree growth of new orchards planted on old orchard land can be improved
significantly with soil fumigation. However, the apple replant problem with apples is variable
with some sites showing no benefit from fumigation and other sites showing significant benefits.
Ideally, growers should conduct a bioassay before replanting an old orchard site to assess the
severity of replant problem and determine the value of soil fumigation. Even with fumigation
almost all old orchard sites produce less tree growth than virgin sites. Thus, tree planting density
should be increased on old orchard sites compared to virgin sites by 20-30%.
Weed competition can drastically reduce tree growth during the first few years and can
cause a failure of the orchard to fill its allotted space which always results in diminished yield
and profitability. Good weed control during the first 3-4 months of a growing season is the most
critical time period of the season. In later summer months if weed control is poorer it is not
detrimental to the trees. Thus we recommend that growers provide excellent weed control for
the first 4 months of the season for the development years of the orchard.
Cropload Management
Management of cropping with high-density orchards during the first 4 years to avoid
biennial bearing is critical to maintaining a proper balance between vegetative growth and
cropping as the trees begin to bear. With precocious dwarfing rootstocks, young apple trees can
often overset in the 2nd or 3rd year resulting in biennial bearing as early as the 4th year. This then
results in increased vigor in the 4th year just when the trees have filled their allotted space and
when reduced vigor is needed. Varieties differ in their biennial bearing tendency and this must
be incorporated into the croploads allowed on young trees. For annual cropping varieties like
Gala, we recommend croploads of 6 fruits/cm2 TCA (25-40 apples/tree in the second year, 40-60
apples/tree in the third year, and 100-120 apples/tree in the fourth year). For slow growing and
biennial bearing varieties like Honeycrisp we recommend croploads of 4 fruits/cm2 TCA (15-20
apples/tree in the second year, 25-40 apples/tree in the third year, and 50-70 apples per tree in the
fourth year). Within each year, the low end of the range should be used for low vigor trees and
the high end of the range for high vigor trees.
Pruning During The Early Years
During the developmental years of an orchards life the trees have a juvenile character and
the balance between vegetative growth and cropping is shifted toward vegetative growth (Figure
1). With high density systems such as the Tall Spindle the goal is to get the trees into cropping
as soon as possible. This is best accomplished by minimizing pruning during the first 4 years.
No heading cuts should be done to the leader or lateral branches at planting or for the next 4
years since the maximum growth and earliest cropping is achieved with no pruning. For the first
4 years pruning should be limited to the complete removal of unsuitable branches such as those
lateral branches that larger than 2/3 the diameter of the leader. Of much greater importance
during the first 4 years is limb angle manipulation to change a young vigorous tree from a
vegetative state into a reproductive state. With the Tall Spindle and Vertical Axis systems the
artificial limb bending is limited to the 1st tier of branches while with the Solaxe even upper
branches tied down. With the Tall Spindle and the Vertical Axis systems the bending of upper
branches is achieved naturally by cropload.

Mature Tree Pruning

As the orchard reaches maturity, containment pruning of the canopy is essential to
maintaining trees within the allotted space and to improve the light distribution to the lower
portion of the tree. Good light distribution and good fruit quality can be maintained as trees age
if the top of the tree is kept more narrow than the bottom of the tree and if there is a good balance
between vegetative growth and cropping. Pruning strategies based on shortening or stubbing
back permanent branches that outgrow their allotted space generally are not as successful as limb
renewal pruning strategies. This is partially because the most productive fruiting wood is cut off
when a branch is shortened. In addition, stubbing cuts stimulate localized vigor on the affected
branches which results in shading of the lower canopy. In our studies on how to manage the
canopies of high-density systems, treatments where branches were shortened to maintain the
conic shape to the tree, resulted in unacceptable yield reductions, a dense canopy resulting in
interior canopy shading, excessive vigor compared to an unpruned control and poor fruit quality.
A more successful approach has been to annually remove 1-2 large upper branches
completely and develop younger replacement branches. The removal of entire branches in the
upper portion of high-density apple trees helps to open channels for light penetration which
maintains fruit production and quality in the bottom of the canopy. This "limb renewal" pruning
is the single most important pruning concept for mature high-density orchards to contain the
canopy and maintain a conic tree shape. To assure the development of a replacement branch, the
large branch should be removed with an angled or beveled cut so that a small stub of the lower
portion of the branch remains. From this stub a flat weak replacement branch often grows. If
these are left unheaded they will naturally bend down with crop. They are naturally shorter than
the bottom branches thus maintaining the conic shape of the tree without stubbing cuts. This
type of pruning does not stimulate vigorous regrowth. Our recommendation is to begin removing
1-2 whole limbs in the top of the tree once the tree is mature (year 6-7). This allows moderate
pruning each year and a method to contain tree size. It also maintains good light distribution in
the canopy without inducing excessive vigor. On trees with overgrown tops that need to be
restructured, moderate renewal pruning (1-2 large upper branches annually) for a 4-5 year period
can eliminate all of the large branches in the top of the tree.
Once branches have become horizontal or pendant under the weight of crop, they can be
shortened by heading cuts without adverse effects since the terminal bud no longer exerts
significant control over the branch. However, if the overall vigor of the mature tree remains
high, leaving the pendant branches long will help increase cropping and reduce the vigor of the
tree. After a number of years, if the pendant branches begin to shade the bottom half of the tree
they should be removed with a renewal cut and a replacement branch developed.
The natural bending of branches under the weight of fruit without heading can be used to
great horticultural advantage in the tops of vigorous trees when it is desired to limit tree height.
Often growers want to limit tree height by heading the leader in the top of the tree. If heading
cuts are made on vertical shoots in the top of trees, vigorous regrowth results. If lateral shoots or
limbs are manually bent horizontal or allowed to bend naturally under the weight of the crop they
set heavy crops the next year. The crop will also act as a strong sink for resources thereby
further reducing the vegetative vigor in the top of the tree. Once the top of the tree is fruitful and

the leader has bent under the weight of the crop it can be shortened to a weak side branch
without an vigorous response.
Conclusions
High yield and high fruit quality can be achieved with a high-density orchard when the
orchard has good light distribution throughout the tree canopy and there is a balance between
vegetative growth and cropping ("calm trees"). This can best be accomplished by maintaining a
narrow canopy shape and through regular limb renewal pruning and the development of pendant
fruiting branches. Successful growers will maintain a balance between vegetative growth and
cropping by regularly renewing the fruiting wood on the tree, moderate levels of nitrogen and
proper cropload management. Growers should try to obtain 50cm of leader shoot growth in the
first year, 75-100cm of leader shoot growth in the second and third years and 50cm of leader
shoot growth in the fourth year. If this is combined with minimal pruning and a precocious
rootstock, significant production should be obtained in the second-fourth years which will limit
vegetative growth in future years resulting in a calm tree.

The Balance Between Vegetative Growth and Fruiting

Vegetative
Growth

Pruning
Nitrogen

Vigorous, Unfruitful
Trees with Large
Fruit Size

No
Pruning
Heavy
Croploads

Flowering and Fruiting

Weak, Fruitful
Trees with
Small Fruit Size

Figure 1. The balance between vegetative growth and cropping is heavily influenced by pruning,
nitrogen and cropload.