Understand fruit trees

Part 1: Sunlight

Sunlight and fruit production
Sunlight and shade
Tree shape and size
Let leaves see sunlight
How to manage sunlight
Too much shade costs you money
Transient shade is good shade
Converting light energy into fruit
Sunlight, photosynthesis & tree nutrition
Sunlight—the fuel for photosynthesis
Leaves are living food factories
Leaves adapt to the ever–changing light
What happens during photosynthesis?
Leaves support other parts of the tree
What is respiration?
Other functions of sunlight
Best tree row orientation
Other special features of leaves
How hard can leaves work?
Not all leaves are the same
Minimise sunburn of fruit
Harvest more sunlight with reflective materials
Build an efficient canopy architecture to minimise sunburn of fruit

Part 2: Roots

Roots: out of sight but not out of mind
Plumbing of the trunk and root shank
Roots—what they do
The root system
New roots under a microscope
When do roots grow?
Root distribution in the soil
Root death and turnover
Orchard practices affect roots
Control and restrict root growth in a high-density planting
Why and how to restrict root growth
What is root pruning ?
What is scion rooting of apple trees?
Mycorrhizal fungus and root health

 Part 3: Soil

Soil is not dirt
Think of soil health
What is soil type?
Millions of microorganisms in soil
Earthworms—Nature’s soil improvers
Importance of organic matter to soil structure
Maintain good soil structure
Prepare your soil the right way
Use winter weeds to improve soil
Benefits of weed mulch + gypsum to surface soil
Mulches and compost
Soil chemistry
Importance of soil CEC
Importance of soil pH
How useful is a soil test?

Part 4: Water

• Water: did you know?
• Water movement in fruit trees
• Which irrigation system?