|
| I ran across this statement on University of Missouri publication: "A spur-type cultivar will have a compact growth habit of the tree canopy, while a nonspur-type produces a more open, spreading tree canopy. Because spur-type cultivars are nonvigorous, they should not be used in combination with a very dwarfing rootstock (M.9 or G.16). Over time, a spur-type cultivar on M.9 or G.16 will "runt-out" and produce a small crop of apples." I do not recall any discussion on the forum about the disadvantages of a dwarf rootstock-spur cultivar combination. About all of my apple trees are on dwarf rootstock and I am sure a good number are spur type. They are all 1 and 2 year trees, should I be concerned about "runt-out" as the article states? Any pruning techniques necessary to avoid this potential problem? Thanks, Chris |
Here is a link that might be useful: Missouri publication
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by 2010ChampsBCS 7B St Clair Co (My Page) on Mon, Jun 9, 14 at 21:52
| Chris. This would be a great topic for the people who have actual first hand knowledge about tree size/spur type/rootstock used and if they prune and fertilize these trees differently. |
|
| My plan would be to grow the tree as fast as possible and not crop the tree until it has reached the size desired. But that might still leave one with a weak tree lacking the vigor needed for the long term. A vigorous rootstock would maintain more vigor in the spur scion after full cropping begins. It would be hard to get it right without firsthand experience. |
|
- Posted by spartan-apple (My Page) on Tue, Jun 10, 14 at 11:41
| Many years ago at the orchard I worked at, we had some spur type strains of McIntosh and Red Delicious. The trees were not very dense compared to their non-spur strains of these same varieties. It was neat to see so many apples so close together with all the spurs. However, where the apples touched, they did not color well. While the yield per tree was high, the I do recall we did not have many of them as the orchard owner was not impressed with how slow the trees grew. I too have always heard to use a large vigorous rootstock on spur types to compensate for this. |
|
- Posted by harvestman 6 (My Page) on Tue, Jun 10, 14 at 11:55
| You always balance the two sources of vigor, root and scion. I bet you could avoid having the tree runt out if you managed it very carefully and thinned early, never allowing the tree to over bear or suffer excessive environmental stress (carbo starvation) from pests or drought. But do you need a tree with half the vigor of one on M9 with a more vigorous scion? |
|
- Posted by Chris-7b-GA 10 (My Page) on Tue, Jun 10, 14 at 18:53
| Thanks for the replies, sound like thinning properly is the key to managing spur varieties and that spur types are generally smaller trees. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Fruit & Orchards Forum
Information about Posting
- You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
- Please review our Rules of Play before posting.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
- We have a strict no-advertising policy!
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
Learn more about in-text links on this page here
