Tree training & trellis

• High density
• Open Tatura
• Tree shape and size
• V-shaped canopy
• Open Tatura with four leaders
• Orchard specifications
• Efficient tree structure
• Branchless four-leader concept
• First year—establish four dominant leaders, Second year plus—tree training
• The leader-renewable method
• Extinction of spurs
• Sequence of renewal after six years

Grow large apricots

• Adequate nitrogen reserves
• Thin fruit early
• Trim spurs in autumn
• Plant good quality nursery trees
• Varieties and rootstocks

Crop protection

• Bacterial gummosis—canker, infection, prevention
• Crown Gall
• Frost
• Hail net—types, colour, bee activity 

Nutrition

• Calcium in the soil, tree and fruit
• Pre-harvest Ca sprays, post-harvest dip
• Nitrogen fertiliser: young trees—first year, bearing trees, second year & beyond
• Nutrients
• Importance of roots
• Spring growth
• Storing nitrogen
• Soil test, leaf and sap analysis
• Soil organic matter—importance

Management

• Winter chill—cold units
• Minimise risk of delayed foliation
• Pollination and fruit set—understand; bees, hive numbers, quality
• Keep trees thirsty after harvest