Reduction of apple tree height (Malus domestica Borkh) cv. Ultra Red Gala/MM111 does not decrease fruit yield and quality

In Chile, like in other countries, a high percentage of apple (Malus domestica Borkh) orchards are grafted on vigorous or semi-vigorous rootstocks. The need to decrease the amount of labor involved and increase efficiency has motivated this study on the effect of reducing the height of cv. Ultra Red Gala/MM111 trees in a commercial orchard in the Maule Region of Chile. Apple trees were planted in 2003, and their tree heights were adjusted to 2.5, 3.0 and 3.6 m prior to blooming in 2006. The reduction of plant height from 3.6 m to 2.5 m determined a significant reduction in canopy volume (26% and 29% in 2007/2008 and 2008/2009, respectively), but no differences were detected in leaf area index (LAI) and the photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) transmitted through the canopy. However, a higher proportion of the canopies of the shorter trees had over 30% of incident PAR, the threshold for the production of good fruit quality and flower-bud differentiation. There were no differences in fruit production among plant heights, accumulating 131 tonnes ha−1 in the three growing seasons. Over the three seasons, the shortest plants (2.5 m) required 19, 57 and 42% less labor time at harvest, respectively, than the plants maintained at a height of 3.6 m. There were no evident differences in fruit quality among the treatments; flesh firmness varied between 73.0 and 74.0 N, soluble solids between 11.6 and 12.6°Brix, mean weight between 180 and 200 g, and the percentage of red coloring exceeded 59% of the Premium fruit in the three growing seasons. Our results suggest that it is possible to manage plants with reduced height on semi-vigorous rootstocks and thus reduce the time necessary for harvesting, without affecting fruit yield and quality.

► In this study we adjusted apple trees of Ultra Red Gala/MM111 to 3.6 m, 3.0 m and 2.5 m of height. ► No differences were detected on leaf area index (LAI) and PAR transmitted through the canopy with the different tree heights. ► Lower trees presented a higher proportion of its canopy over 30% of total incident PAR. ► The shortest plants (2.5 m) required 19, 57 and 42% less labor time at harvest during the three growing seasons, respectively, than the plants maintained at a height of 3.6 m. ► There were no evident differences in yield or fruit quality among the tree heights.