HIGH DENSITY ORCHARD SYSTEM OF COMPACT ‘BRAMLEY’S SEEDLING’ APPLE CLONES ON M.9 AND M.27 ROOTSTOCKS

The traditional system for growing ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ apple has been as single staked trees with high density trellis systems rejected on the grounds that vigour control would be too difficult.
The compact ‘Bramley’ clones produced by gamma radiation in 1968 had been rejected by the industry as being unsuitable for the traditional growing systems in Ireland.
However, the compactness of the clones combined with the high density trellis systems, potentially could be very useful to the Irish apple industry.
Thus, a replicated field trial of compact ‘Bramley’ clones (numbers 20, 36, 58, 68 and 91) on M.27 and M.9 rootstocks was established at Loughgall, Northern Ireland with the trees tied to a wire trellis.
Standard ‘Bramley’s’ were used as controls.
All but one clone (58) yielded more fruit than the control under the trellis system.
Significant differences were found in yield quality and mineral concentration between the controls and the mutants and there is definite potential in combining some of the clones with a trellis system for ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ apple under Irish conditions.

IX International Symposium on Integrating Canopy, Rootstock and Environmental Physiology in Orchard Systems

S. Mac an tSaoir, J. Mansfield, F. Ward, J. Archer

Malus × domestica, tree nutrition, fruit wall, radiation

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2011.903.88