INTENSIVE SYSTEMS OF INDUSTRIAL FRUIT PRODUCTION IN THE GDR, PRESENT STAGE AND TRENDS

Industrial fruit production is facing the task of introducing mechanical harvesting.
Therefore planting systems should even now make allowance for this necessity.
In the case of the GDR, the planting of new orchards takes place according to standardised measurements.
Studies of apple planting systems with 960 to 2 260 trees/ha in single, two and three row beds, done from the viewpoint of economy and labour economics, showed optium proceeds at 1 800 trees/ha in single rows.

Since the use of harvesting machines requires a reduction of crown volume per hectare it is desirable to increase the varieties’ yields per m₃ crown volume.
Attempts to change crown morphology through breeding have this aim for intensive planting systems.
The first results as to variability and heredity of morphological characteristics have shown that it is feasible to adapt the varieties’ crowns to the requirements of mechanical pruning and harvesting through breeding.

Symposium on High Density Planting

W. Fehrmann, M. Fischer

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1978.65.40