APPLE TREE MANAGEMENT ON DWARF ROOTSTOCKS IN JAPAN

In Japan the first apple trees on M.9 were planted at Morioka Station of Fruit Tree Research Station in 1968. Other experiment stations had projects for experiments on propagation of dwarfing rootstocks, planting systems or management of orchards. At the present there are about 9000 ha of intensive orchards in Japan.

The advantages of high density planting have well been recognised by some progressive growers who started to plant their apple trees with dwarfing rootstocks at high density. During the last 15 years many growers tried to modify their trees to a form better adapted to their needs than the original slender spindle bush tree. Higher yields of apple are produced from the original slender spindle bush form, but new modified tree forms have some problems in many areas. Apple growers in Nagano Prefecture are producing yearly beautiful high quality fruits from apple trees with interstems of dwarfing cultivars on Marubakaido N-1 (M. prunifolia var. ringo) rootstock.