The following four articles take a deep dive into the four apple orchards that were featured during the field day. By Anna Mouton
Angelique Pretorius, technical manager at Kromco and coordinator of the field day, explains why De Rust, Elgin Orchards, Glen Fruin and Oak Valley were chosen for the field day. She thinks these orchards illustrate how new genetics require a new approach.
"Growers in the Grabouw area want to plant at higher densities – say 3.5 x 1.25 metres – but I worry that we are going to struggle with vigour by seventh and eighth leaf on G.778," says Pretorius. "I wanted to create awareness of what G.778 can do."
Read MorePretorius chose Cripps Red on G.778 at Elgin Orchards because it has performed brilliantly on a replant site. The trees produced 54 tonnes/ha in the second leaf but continue to grow strongly.
"The uniformity of the trees in that orchard is noticeable," remarked Pretorius. "That is because G.778 tends to even out variation due to replant disease or soil conditions. This shows that G.778 definitely has a place in dealing with replant disease."
Lady in Red on G.778 at De Rust produced 26 tonnes/ha in the second leaf. In hindsight, they could probably have carried a heavier crop. These trees are also proving very vigorous to the extent that fertilisation and nutrition were reduced to slow growth during summer.
"A grower would always rather battle vigorous growth than an absence of growth," said Pretorius, "but at what cost? We need to be careful about increasing input costs because we want to improve profitability."
Her main concern is that excessive vigour on G.778 planted at higher densities may eventually compromise yields and red colour development. The dual-leader trees at Oak Valley could be a solution. These are Granny Smith on G.778 under shade nets. The question is whether the dual leaders will reduce vigour enough – only time will tell.
The fourth orchard was Bigbucks on M.9 at Glen Fruin.. Pretorius included this orchard to show growers an alternative scenario and to demonstrate that M.9 can work well in certain situations in Grabouw. This orchard was one of the first established with containerised trees. It produced 60 tonnes in the fourth leaf.
"Our industry is in a new phase," says Pretorius. "We have new rootstocks and better selections, but higher establishment costs. We must reap the benefits of earlier bearing, but our practices need to adjust as we adopt new genetics."
Featured Image: Angelique Pretorius (right) and Glen Fruin managing director Ross Heyns (third from left) during the Hortgro field day
