DIFFERENT PLANTING SYSTEMS FOR 'CONFERENCE' PEAR

J. Vercammen
An orchard trial with 7 different planting systems for ‘Conference’ pear on Quince Adams rootstock was planted in the spring of 2002. The planting systems included were: the bush-spindle system, hedge of Tienen system, long pruning system, candlestick system (trees with 3 leaders), all planted at a distance of 3.50×1.50 m; intensive V-system at 3.2×1.0 m, super spindle system at 3.2×0.5 m and the Drapeau system where the trees were planted under an angle of 45° at 3.5×1.7 m. At planting the Drapeau system, the hedge of Tienen and the long pruning were less expensive to plant than the bush-spindle shape and the candlestick system. With the candlestick system, the installation of the bamboos demanded extra labour. The intensive V-system and the super spindle system were the highest in cost and labour. From the third year of growth on, the costs were more or less the same for all the systems, except for the Drapeau system. The high costs of this system from the second till the sixth growing year and were the result of placing extra wires to complete the system. The long pruning system and the hedge of Tienen had the lowest total costs after 6 years of growth. The highest yields were obtained with the intensive V-system, followed by the long pruning and the Drapeau system. All other planting systems had comparable yields that were 50 to 60% smaller than with the V-system. Over six years the largest pears were produced by the candlestick system, while the smallest were produced on the long pruning and the super spindle trees. After 6 years the best financial result was obtained by the long pruning, followed by the candlestick system and the Drapeau system. The financial result was calculated using the real costs and the real labour. The calculation of the total costs after 6 years did not consider depreciation of investment costs, but investment costs of trees and supporting materials were fully included.
Vercammen, J. (2011). DIFFERENT PLANTING SYSTEMS FOR 'CONFERENCE' PEAR. Acta Hortic. 903, 701-706
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2011.903.97
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2011.903.97
Pyrus communis, hedge of Tienen, long pruning system, bush-spindle system, candlestick system, V-system, super spindle trees, Drapeau system
English

Acta Horticulturae