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Pears Open Tatura 07 2021

130 pages of information, photos and illustrations
File download: 5.5 Mb

This manual outlines how best to manage pear trees on Open Tatura, and get the outcomes in terms of fruit production.

It emphasises how to:

  • Achieve a full and efficient tree canopy at an early tree age
  • Sustain optimum fruit production over the projected life of the orchard
  • Produce fruit of high quality and good size.

The Open Tatura, where the trees alternate left and right, differs from the Tatura Trellis.
The Open Tatura is open because a narrow strip about 0.50 m wide separates the diagonally planted trees within each row.
Costs and supply of labour are critical concerns. Eliminating ladders boosts workers’ productivity—the more work people can do from the ground, the more efficient they are.
The Open Tatura combines early production of high quality fruit with efficient management of labour.

 

Topics in this manual

A pear is not an apple

Methods explained: scoring; plucking; notching; spraying ethrel 

Prune for more and better quality pears

Maintain a balanced tree structure

1,2,3 method of renewal pruning

10 rules for growing quality pears

  • prune weakest trees first
  • remove big wood
  • make thinning cuts
  • make pruning cuts on the underside of branches
  • maintain tree height
  • postpone topping the heads
  • contain the length of scaffold by pruning back in 2-year old, or older wood
  • keep fruiting wood young
  • delay-heading
  • get rid of tired spurs

Plant quality nursery trees

Rootstocks

  • Winter Nelis
  • BP1
  • Quince
  • BM2000
  • others
  • D6 for high-density plantings

Contain root growth

  • Root pruning
    • claims
    • best time to root prune
    • potential problems
    • root pruning would not be necessary if you...

Transplant shock

  • how to prevent or minimise transplant shock

Pollination and the honey bee

  • you should this about bees, their behaviour and pollination

Hand-thin pears

Fruit russet

  • prevent russet

Calcium in the soil, tree and fruit

  • what to do to ensure adequate amounts of calcium reach your fruit
  • cultural practices
  • pre-harvest calcium and post-harvest dips

If you can't measure it, you can't manage it

  • diagnostic tools
  • calculate per canopy hectare

Measure fruit maturity

  • starch content
  • firmness
  • sugar content

Tree nutrition

  • sample leaves for analysis
  • leaf vs soil analysis
  • nitrogen
  • young trees
  • mature trees (5 years and older)
  • other nutrients

Can nitrogen fertiliser boost pear size?

  • what happens to nitrogen fertiliser when it is applied to the soil
  • why does niitrogen not directly affect fruit size

Soil organic matter

  • why is organic matter imortant
  • what is organic matter and where does it come from
  • amount of organic matter in the soil
  • organic matter and supply of nutrients; soil stability
  • how to increase organic matter in the soil

Tree water requirements

  • drip vs microjet
  • tree water requirements
  • calculating how much water trees need and how long to irrigate to deliver that water

What is RDI (regulated deficit irrigation)

Hail net

  • Net—positives and negatives
  • Bee activity
  • Type of net, structure, shape
  • Net colour

What is pear blossom blast

  • what to do to prevent attack

What is pear decline

What you should know about fire blight

Crown Gall

  • facts
  • control

Winter chill for breaking dormancy

  • chilling requirement
  • minimise the risk
  • tree response to chilling

Tree training systems:

Open Tatura with two leaders

  • first year - promote growth of two leaders
  • second year - promote growth of lateral shoots
  • third year - complete tree structure, set small crop, promote development of fruit bud, keep heads under control
  • fourth year - set a crop, keep trees calm
  • fifth year - set a crop, keep trees calm, renew fruiting wood

Open Tatura with four leaders

  • the branchless four-leader concept
  • subdue the two inner shoots
  • first year - promote growth of the four leaders
  • second year - promotegrowth of the four leaders with short side shoots
  • third year - complete leader development, promote fruiting wood
  • fifth year and beyond - det crop, keep trees calm, keep spur wood young and productive

Open Tatura with cordon

  • First year - growing fruiting units
  • second year - complete growing the fruiting units
  • third year - allow fruiting units to bud up
  • fourth year - set a crop, keep trees calm
  • fifth year and beyond - set a crop, keep trees calm, keep spur wood young and productive

Varieties:

  • Packham's Triumph - training system to use
    • flowering, pollination and fruit set
    • correlation between pruning and packout
  • Williams' Bon Chretien - suitable training system
    • pollination and parthenocarpy
    • training and pruning
  • Beurre Bosc - suitable training method
  • Corella (Forelle) - suitable training method
    • hints to achieve good size, shape, colour and taste 
$55.00
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