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Home and Community
Fruit Growing
Michael Lachance
Virginia Cooperative
Extension
Nelson County Unit
(434) 263-4035
Reasons to
Promote Fruit 1. Local produced food
and beverages
2. Family’s quality of
life / outdoor
recreation
3. Preserve regional
varieties
4. Social interaction
5. Value as landscape
elements
1. Proper site selection
2. Correct training of young plants
3. Neglect and stress in the planting
4. Proper training
5. Accepting the need for plant protection
6. Sustaining people’s interest in fruit
growing
Meeting the challenges of
growing fruit
Site Selection
• Soil Depth
• Elevation
• Slope
• Aspect
(N&E best, S&W
worst)
• Low temperature
history
• Nematodes?
Avoid Wildlife Conflicts with
Netting
BRAMBLES
BRAMBLES
Brambles
• Raspberries:
– red, yellow: summer or fall bearing types
– black: “blackcaps” used for jams, jellies
– purple: red / black raspberry cross
• Blackberries:
– thorny or thornless
– erect or trailing growth
– range of winter hardiness
• Blackberry / raspberry crosses:
– boysenberry, tayberry, marionberry
– not recommended for subzero temps
Best Bramble Varieties
• Summer Red Raspberries: – Titan, Killarney, Latham, Heritage, Ruby
• Fall (Primocane) Raspberries: – Autumn Bliss, Heritage, Fall Gold, Anne
• Black Raspberries: Bristol, Jewel
• Purple Raspberries: Brandywine, Royalty
• Blackberries: – thornless trailing: Chester, Triple Crown, Hull
– thorny trailing: Black Butte
– thornless erect: Navaho, Arapaho, Apache
– thorny erect: Illini Hardy, Shawnee, Chickasaw
Bramble Culture: Planting
• Choose a well drained site and/or build raised beds
• Build or improve the soil fertility
• Remove old plantings, wild blackberries and raspberries from nearby
• Use virus free certified plants from a reputable nursery
• Recommend a spring planting
• Trellis systems and spacing used based on type’s growth habit:
– suckering or not sucker
– single plant “hill” or solid hedgerow
• Mulch new plants and provide good nutrition
• Plant in the spring before soil warms with either root
cuttings or plants. Plants especially for thornless varieties
• Root cuttings should be pencil size and 4-6” long
• Rows should be 10-12 feet apart
• Plant spacing varies
• Cover cuttings with 2-3” soil
Bramble Culture: Planting
Bramble Culture: Seasonal Practices
• Fertilize in spring, add mulch and keep rows weed free
• Growth, bearing habits, pruning differs – laterals encouraged by pinching @3-4’ in PR, BR
– red raspberries, trailing blackberries are not pinched
• Prompt harvest, remove bad berries
• Winter: thin new canes, head tops, trim laterals
Bramble Fertilizer Recommendations
• 5 pounds complete fertilizer first
year per 100 feet of row
• Second year increase to 20
pounds alongside rows in
February
• Side dress with 5 pounds per
100 feet with ammoniumm nitrate
after harvest
• Cultivate to keep weeds out
Bramble Culture: Seasonal Practices
• Growth, bearing habits, pruning differs – laterals encouraged by pinching @3-4’ in PR, BR
– red raspberries, trailing blackberries are not pinched
• Prompt harvest, remove bad berries
• Winter: thin new canes, head tops, trim laterals
Raspberries
Spacing and Trellising of Raspberry
Black raspberry
•Low trellis
•Plants 3-4 feet apart in the row
•Trellis spaced 10-12 feet apart
Red and yellow raspberry
•Low trellis
•Plants 2-3 feet apart in the row
•Trellis spaced 10 feet apart
Purple raspberry
•Vigorous plants do not require trellis
•Plants 3-5 feet apart in the row
•Rows spaced 10 feet apart
Blackberries
Production Considerations
Leave 6 canes per foot in rows kept to 12-18”
wide by removing suckers
Drip irrigate 2-3 gallons per plant per day in dry
weather
Promote laterals by topping ends of canes when
they reach height of 36 to 48 inches
Summer: pinch-head back tips to 30”
Production Considerations
Remove laterals to 8-10” during the winter
Take out old canes after fruiting
Trellis Support
Shift Trellis for Blackberries
Blueberries
Lowbush- mostly processed
Northern Highbush
Rabbiteye
Southern Highbush
Plants can bear fruit for 50 years or more
Choose varieties according to ripening
season using more than one variety in the
same maturity group
A. Early season: “Bluetta”, “Earliblue”,
“Duke”, “Patriot”
B. Midseason “Bluecrop”, “Blueray”,
“Northland”
C. Late season “Jersey”, “Coville”
D. Very Late season “Late Blue” (Aug-
Sept.)
Production Considerations
• Crop evolved in low pH conditions, very well
drained soils with high organic matter content
• Requires abundant sunlight
• Has a relatively shallow root system; trickle
irrigation is recommended
• Desired soil pH 4.5-5.0
• Plants grow to 4-8 feet tall
Production Considerations
• Add up to 20% organic matter in the planting
hole
• Can apply up to 4 inches of rotted sawdust as a
surface mulch
• Remove flower blossoms for first two years,
half of buds in the third year
• Practice dormant pruning once established
• Remove crowded small branches and material
in the center of crown
Strawberries
Strawberry Types
• June Bearers – most common and dependable
– early, mid and late season: May-June
– Earliglow, Honeoye, Red Chief, Allstar, Jewell
– Consider: dessert / preserving, disease resistance
• Everbearers – June and fall peaks
– varieties: Quinault, Ozark Beauty
• Day-Neutrals – production through season, smaller fruit
– good for contained space
– varieties: Tribute, Tristar
Planting Strawberries
1. Soil pH @ 6.5 to 6.8
2. Ground must be weed free, prepare one year prior
3. Work soil to 8-12”
4. Include half to one pound 10-10-10/100 sq. ft. (22-44# N/acre)
Planting Strawberries
1. Order from a reputable nursery
2. Keep bundles of young plants together
3. Plant as early as possible in the spring
4. Plan for 14-18 inch matted rows
5. Water in young plants well
6. Proper planting depth very important.
7. Check weeds by cultivating weekly
Matted Row Strawberry
Renovation
• Renovation or Bed Renewal: – done annually or every other year
– stimulates new growth
– removes old, diseased leaves
• Steps of Renovation: – do within 1 week of end of harvest
– mow old leaves above crown, rake off
– thin old crowns, narrow rows
– hoe weeds, apply herbicide (Dacthal)
– fertilize:1-2 lbs. 10-10-10/100 ft2
– irrigate
Other Small Fruit
• Gooseberries, Currants: – tolerate some shade
– organic matter & mulch important
– some pruning to keep productive
• Pawpaws: – difficult to dig in wild
– use shade cover the first year
• Elderberries: – plant a named variety: Johns, York, Adams
– protect from birds
• Hardy Kiwis – choose well drained site, build sturdy trellis
– 1 male : 5 female plants ratio
Tree Fruit Common questions
• Selecting the right rootstock
• Pruning and training young trees
• Proper thinning
• Achieving quality fruit at harvest
• Know reasons trees fail to produce fruit
• Control of insects and diseases
• Renovating older trees
Variety Selection
• Choose varieties adapted to our soil and climatic conditions
• Select varieties with the fewest insect and disease problems
• Several varieties of the same kind of fruit maturing at different times may be planted to prolong the harvest season.
Variety Selection
• Sour cherry, peach, and nectarine varieties listed
are sufficiently self-fruitful to set satisfactory crops with their
own pollen.
• Apricots are not recommended for planting in Virginia. The
buds of currently available varieties respond to the first warm
days of early spring and are usually killed by frost or low
temperature common to most areas. Unless protection can be
provided, a crop can be expected no more frequently than once
every four or five years.
Apple Rootstocks
Tree Spacing
Orchard Management
Cultural Practices
• Young fruit trees should be mulched or cultivated until they begin to bear.
• Weeds must be eliminated so they will not compete for available moisture and fertilizer.
• Cultivation must be shallow to avoid injury to roots near the surface. The cultivated or mulched area should extend a little beyond the spread of the branches.
Orchard Management
• Both organic and inorganic mulch (i.e., black plastic) provide habitats for voles.
• Organic forms of mulch also release nitrogen throughout the season, which affects the grower’s ability to control when and how much nitrogen is available. If trees are mulched, the mulch should be removed in the fall.
Fertilization
• Soil pH between 6.0 and 6.5.
• No fertilizer is recommended or needed at planting time.
• After the young tree becomes established and growth begins, apply nitrate fertilizer in a circle around the tree, about 8 to 10 inches from the trunk.
• Fertilize young trees three times. – Two weeks after planting
– Again six and 10 weeks after planting
Fertilization
• A rule of thumb practiced in many commercial apple orchards is to apply about 1/4 pound of a 16% nitrogen fertilizer, or its equivalent, for each year of the tree’s age from planting
• For peach orchards, the amount of fertilizer should be doubled
• When trees are grown in a lawn area, delay fertilizing the lawn until after trees are dormant to avoid late-summer growth on the trees.
Fertilization
• Scatter fertilizer evenly under the tree, starting about 2 feet from the trunk and extending to just beyond the tips of the branches
• Mature, bearing trees of peach, nectarine, and sweet cherry should produce an average of 10 to 15 inches of new growth annually
• 8 to 10 inches of terminal growth is considered adequate for mature, bearing apple, pear, quince, plum, and sour cherry trees.
Organic Fertility Management
• One bushel of composted manure per tree each year up to age 5 is adequate.
• After age 5 dwarf trees still only need one bushel but semi dwarf and seedling apples can use up to 3 bushels per tree per year.
• Use only enough to insure 8 to 12 inches of new growth after year 5.
• On many clay and clay loam soils no fertilizer is needed to produce adequate growth for many years.
Fruit Tree Development
• All pruning has a dwarfing effect
• For maximum yield of high-quality fruit, prune only as necessary to establish a tree with a strong framework capable of supporting heavy crops annually without damage
• Maintain the tree sufficiently open to allow penetration of sunlight, air, and spray material for good fruit development and pest control.
Pruning
Pruning
• Most pruning is done during the dormant season, preferably just before active growth begins in the spring.Remove no more than 20% of canopy in any given year.
• Summer pruning may be done to help train young trees to the desired shape, remove water sprouts and other undesirable growth, and maintain smaller tree size.
• All newly planted fruit trees should be pruned in the spring before growth starts to stimulate lateral bud development.
• When pruning, head back to a lateral or a fruit bud
Fruit Tree Pruning
Central Leader Tree Pruning
Open-center tree
Open-center Peach Tree
• It is necessary that the peach be pruned
annually to stimulate new growth and maintain
production near the main body of the tree.
• Moderate thinning and heading back to
outward-growing laterals to keep the tree low
and spreading.
• A height of 8 or 9 feet is usually preferred.
Open-center tree
Pruning Summary
• Pruning invigorates and results in strong
growth close to the pruning cut.
• Pruning reduces the number of shoots, so
remaining shoots are stimulated. However,
total shoot growth and size of the limb is
reduced.
• Pruning always reduces yield.
FRUIT PEST MANAGEMENT
• Correct identification of insects and diseases
• Determine if a need for control exists and proper timing of
treatments
• Learn about appropriate pesticide recommendations and
possible alternatives to conventional fruit sprays
• Learn how to practice integrated pest management (IPM)
options in the home planting
Sanitation
The destruction of places that harbor insects and diseases plays a large part in the control program.
1. Collect and burn debris.
2. Remove and destroy all dropped fruit.
3. Rake and burn apple and cherry leaves.
4. Scrape loose bark from trunks, crotches, and main limbs of apple trees.
5. Prune out and destroy all dead or diseased
6. Conditions that encourage mice should also be eliminated.
Rodent Control
Mid-Atlantic
Orchard
Monitoring Guide
NRAES - 75
Available From Virginia
Cooperative Extension
Distribution Center
361 Pages
Early Season Plant Protection
• Superior Oil or dormant oil are highly refined oils
used in the early spring to smother the eggs of over
wintering pests such as aphids and mites.
• Oils are incompatible with sulfur and cause damage
to apple leaves and fruit. Sulfur should not be used
sooner than 7 to 10 days after an oil spray nor should
oils be used when sulfur residue is present.
Disease Management
• There are many potentially devastating diseases, e.g. Apple Scab, Powdery Mildew and Fireblight
•Effective disease control requires frequent sprays with adequate coverage of all surfaces.
Find the Right Sized Sprayer
Apple Scab
Powdery Mildew on Apples
Different faces of the same
disease
• Sooty Blotch and Fly Speck are
cosmetic problems.
• They do not significantly affect the
health of the tree or the fruit
quality.
Summer Diseases
Other Apple Diseases • Black Rot and Fireblight are
occasional problems.
• They can be reduced by a strict
sanitation program
• Grow varieties and rootstocks that
are not highly susceptible to
fireblight.
• Maintain moderate rather than
vigorous growth is also important.
• Fireblight can quickly kill young
tissue and easily kills wood up to 3
years old but moves slowly in
older wood.
Plum Curculio
The most serious
insect pest to
apples
Common insect pests:
Internal feeders:
Codling Moth
Oriental Fruit Moth
Common insect pests:
Leafrollers
(External feeders)
The Virginia Fruit Page
Extension, Research and Teaching in Fruit Crops
Mid-Atlantic Regional Fruit Loop
http://www.ento.vt.edu/Fruitfiles/VAFS.html