INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT CENTRAL LEADER TRAINING TREATMENTS ON APPLE TREE GROWTH AND PRODUCTIVITY

The experiment was conducted in a commercial apple orchard planted in 2001, with ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Hapke Delicious’ on M.9 rootstock and ‘Red Chief Delicious’ on MM.106 rootstock. The central leader was cut back to 40 or 50 cm length or tied down without cutting at the beginning of the season and subsequently placed in an upright position in a later part of season. Results show the highest yields with the tying down treatment with all cultivars. Additionally, growth was more balanced with the tying down treatment than with the cutting back treatment resulting in a higher number of good quality fruiting branches for next season and less intense pruning. New growth was too vigorous with the cutting back treatment and part of it had to be removed.