Articles
Rootstock evaluation should not only measure yield efficiency but also potential yield and crop value at the optimum projected spacing
Article number
1346_99
Pages
775 – 782
Language
English
Abstract
Rootstock trials usually rank rootstocks based on yield efficiency calculated as cumulative yield per unit of trunk cross-sectional area.
There is usually a positive correlation between dwarfing and yield efficiency.
Using yield efficiency as the primary criteria for selecting superior rootstocks generally results in the most dwarfing rootstocks being judged superior to the more vigorous rootstocks.
To better evaluate the commercial value of rootstocks, we estimated the optimum planting density of any given rootstock based on its trunk cross-sectional area.
We then calculated a projected cumulative yield per hectare at the optimum spacing.
We then calculated a cumulative crop value.
This effort has shown that some of the most dwarfing rootstocks would not produce the highest cumulative crop value even when planted at very high densities.
The economic differences in estimated crop value among rootstocks using the projected yield differences were very large, especially with high priced varieties like Honeycrisp. The difference can be as high as $220,000 per ha over 8 years or $530,000 per ha over 14 years.
Thus, the practical decision of which rootstock to use for a new orchard can have very large economic consequences that growers often do not appreciate.
There is usually a positive correlation between dwarfing and yield efficiency.
Using yield efficiency as the primary criteria for selecting superior rootstocks generally results in the most dwarfing rootstocks being judged superior to the more vigorous rootstocks.
To better evaluate the commercial value of rootstocks, we estimated the optimum planting density of any given rootstock based on its trunk cross-sectional area.
We then calculated a projected cumulative yield per hectare at the optimum spacing.
We then calculated a cumulative crop value.
This effort has shown that some of the most dwarfing rootstocks would not produce the highest cumulative crop value even when planted at very high densities.
The economic differences in estimated crop value among rootstocks using the projected yield differences were very large, especially with high priced varieties like Honeycrisp. The difference can be as high as $220,000 per ha over 8 years or $530,000 per ha over 14 years.
Thus, the practical decision of which rootstock to use for a new orchard can have very large economic consequences that growers often do not appreciate.
Publication
Authors
T.L. Robinson, G. Fazio
Keywords
Malus × domestica, yield efficiency, crop value, optimum spacing, projected yield
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