TRAINING SEMI-DWARF APPLE TREES FOR OVER-THE-ROW MECHANICAL HARVESTING OF FRESH MARKET QUALITY FRUIT

Freestanding apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) trees on M.7a rootstock planted at densities of 459 and 558 trees/ha were trained to various forms and maintained at 3.1 m or less high. Training system, cultivar, and growth habit (spur or non-spur) affected growth, shoot and spur development, and yield. Trees were mechanically harvested beginning in the 5th leaf with an over-the-row (OTR) continuously-moving shake-catch harvester using impact or inertia removal techniques. Cultivar, training system, growth habit, fruit position in the canopy, and method of fruit removal affected the extent of damage on mechanically harvested fruit. Training techniques to adapt freestanding apple trees to OTR harvest equipment are discussed.