CHAPTER - 3
Planning and Establishing Orchards
PLANNING AND ESTABLISHMENT OF ORCHARDS
Orchard:- is a place where different fruit crops are grown relatively
at large scale
It is a long-term investment and needs lot of planning and expertise.
It is a stand of fruit-bearing trees arranged and maintained to yield
crops of maximum size and quality.
Careless decisions on orchard location, orchard layout, or variety
planted trees are not easily corrected.
Establishment of a successful fruit orchard requires careful planning
before the first tree is set in the ground
Conti…
Thus, proper planning before planting,
together with the choice of variety,
planting system selected, and
care given to young trees
are of great importance in a successful and profitable fruit
growing enterprise.
Component of orchards
3.1 Site selection
3. 2 Land Preparation
3.3 Laying out the planting field
3.4 Digging Holes for Planting
3.5 Planting Fruit Tree Seedlings
SITE SELECTION
Climate
Climate is the most important factor in site selection.
It determines what type of crops can be grown
Careful assessment of
minimum and maximum temperatures,
rainfall level and distribution,
wind speed and direction
For tropical varieties, frosts or freezes are detrimental.
Conti…
In tropical areas temperature below the freezing point are critical
frequency, severity and duration
Some fruit crops require chilling temperatures for flowering and
can’t be grown in low land tropics unless there are tropical varieties
(e.g. apple, peach, grape etc.)
Thus fruit grown under high temperature will result
Sun burned peel,
dried flesh,
reduced fruit size and
increased granulation
Conti….
Rainfall quantity and distribution is important to determine whether
irrigation is important or not.
e.g. Mangos don’t fruit well when flowering coincides with rain
Light (quality, duration and intensity)
Long day (passion fruit)
Short day (strawberry, Pineapple, )
Day neutral (most fruits like papaya, banana…)
Strong and frequent wind damage plants and increase water
consumption of the orchard.
Wind breaks should be established that have fast growing trees
Water
Water requirement of plant is dependent on soil type and evapo-
transpiration rate.
Sufficient quantity and acceptable quality water source for irrigation
The orchard should be located near the water source for spraying,
irrigation and washing of fruits
Chemical analysis should be made to determine if toxic salts or ions
are present in injurious amounts.
Soil
Study the chemical and physical property of the soil
The soil should have good internal drainage
Orchard crops are deep rooted and require deep soil
Soil of recent alluvial origin, uniform, and free from injurious salts
Dig 1-2 m deep holes randomly throughout the orchard site to detect layer
Take top soil from 30-45 cm depth and analyze pH and micronutrient level
Test the presence of plant parasitic nematodes
If there were vegetables or fruits on the land previously grown
take moist sample containing some plant roots.
Topography:
Is important from the stand point of
drainage,
frost protection,
orchard layout,
type of irrigation system and
erosion and flood control.
Flat or gently sloping sites are preferred than steep slopes.
A slope of 5-10% is manageable and it can be mechanized
Small orchards can be established up to 25% slope
On slopes 30-35 percent land may be terraced
At higher elevations (where frosts occur) a gentle slope is preferable since
frost hazard is reduced by downward flow of cold air.
V) Varieties:
The variety selected must be compatible with the environment
It should have a reasonable chance of marketing
A grower should know whether his/her variety is grown for
local consumption,
export or
processing.
The root stock must be compatible with the soil and water conditions
The scion variety and rootstock should be tolerant to
soil-borne fungi and
virus diseases
E.g. Sour orange (C. aurantium L.) a rootstock with good tolerance to
gummosis (Phytophtora spp.) is not suitable for areas where tristeza virus is
present.
3. 2 Land Preparation
Land preparation prior to planting of horticultural crops consists of
clearing,
terracing (if needed),
installation of irrigation pipes or ditches (if needed)
fencing,
planting of wind breaks, and
digging planting holes.
Site clearing
If the land has been recently cropped; level furrows or ridges, slash
down annual weeds and dig out perennial weeds
If the orchard site has not been cultivated all trees and shrubs with
Terracing and irrigation
Terracing or ridging should be done on slope to control erosion
Combination of ridging, terracing and cover crops are
necessary in tropical orchards
if severe erosion is to be prevented.
Installation of pipes or digging of ditches is done prior to
planting
The irrigation system must be considered is conjunction with
layout planning and soil conservation practices
3.3 Laying out the planting field
Counter planting if the area is sloppy
Square, triangular, hexagonal, rectangular …planting if the area is flat or
slightly sloppy.
Prior to ordering and planting trees,
an orchard plan should be drawn on paper.
Location and cultivar name of each tree,
Irrigation fixtures (if applicable)
Trellises or tree supports
Orchard roads and paths,
Packing shed and other permanent features of the orchard.
This allows to know the number of plants and stakes needed.
Rectangular
Square planting planting system
system
Triangular
Hexagonal planting system
planting system
3.4 Digging Holes for Planting
Large holes 0.6-1m in both width and depth are dug prior to
planting.
Pile top and subsoil separately.
Leave the soil for one month.
Refill the hole with a mixture of 50 percent top soil and 50
percent well rotted manure.
In soils where phosphorous is lacking add superphosphate.
Pile the soil a bit above the ground level.
When soil settles (after one month) excavate the soil so that it
can accumulate the seedlings
3.5 Planting Fruit Tree Seedlings
In planting, some of the soil is removed from the previously prepared
hole.
Planting Bare Root Seedling
Keep the plants cool and the roots moist and protect them from the sun
Wrap the seedlings with banana leave, plastic, or some other moisture
conserving material
After unwrapping, immerse the roots in water for a few hours before
planting
Trim the root to remove damaged or diseased roots and spread in the hole
Refill the soil around the roots and firm the soil at regular interval
Plant the tree at same level as it was growing
Prune off half to a third of the top shoots to compensate for the lost roots
Container grown Plants
remove container grown plants from their pots
cut off any circling roots
cover the seedlings to the same depth that they were growing in a
container
Plants grown in easily decomposing material can be planted as it is
