EXPERIENCE WITH A HORIZONTAL OVERHEAD CANOPY APPLE ORCHARD

A prototype orchard was used to develop a freestanding horizontal training system. The orchard included M26 and MM106 rootstocks and 17 apple cultivars. After 15 growing seasons, the author concludes that a simple freestanding ground-reach overhead system is achievable and that with minor modifications to the prototype system, it could serve as the foundation for a commercially practicable production system.