It really does feel like Spring is here at last...still a bit of ice in the wind, but so much better than wind & rain
On Tuesday, The English Apple Man joined fellow East Kent Fruit Society (EKFS) members at a Tree Planting Workshop at Paramour Farm by kind permission of Mr Sean Finlayson of Farmcare.
Planting new apple & pear trees has changed somewhat over the last 20-30 years. While digging a hole with a spade is still used by growers, the intensification of modern orchards with several thousand trees per hectare has induced some growers to seek a mechanical means of reducing the labour requirement and speeding up the process is especially poignant with 'living wage' expected to impact heavily on apple & pear growers.
EKFS Chairman Alex Cooke decided this would be an ideal forum for the first EKFS meeting of the year. The workshop allowed members an insight into three particular mechanised systems for tree planting.
With Alex Cooke unable to attend, Russell Graydon - EKFS Vice Chairman and Farm Manager for Adrian Scripps Ltd at nearby Wenderton Farm 'stepped up to the plate'
Below: Russell Graydon addresses EKFS Members at Paramour Farm
The three systems on view were:
1) An Agrofer powered system using a PTO driven disc which gouges a channel into which the trees can be planted.
2) A shear which is drawn along the row creating a channel for tree planting.
3) An auger mounted on a small caterpillar tracked digger, which is used to bore a planting hole.
The Agrofer machine is owned by Farmcare and is designed for cultivation beneath trees in intensive systems; by removing some of the disks, the machine can be used to create a furrow for planting and if the disk is reversed can be used to move the soil back around the newly planted trees.
Below: Agrofer machine in factory format as a cultivator Click on Agrofer to visit web site for Agrofer equipment.
Below Agrofer powered disc furrowing system
Below: the furrowing disc sits on an arm which moves around the stake as the attached sensor comes in contact with the stake.
Below: Dragging shear system
This system is used by Adrian Scripps Ltd when they decide to remove a variety and replace with s new variety or clone in an orchard where the support structure is remaining in place; the 'furrowing shear' is fixed to the arm of a machine designed for 'root pruning'
Below: the furrowing shear needs to be pulled in both directions (up one side and back on the other) to create an ideal furrow
Below: Mike Terry
The third system on display was the 'auger' operating on the front arm of a caterpillar digger; the machine belongs to Mike Terry, who with his team has been responsible for transforming the erection of new orchard support systems and planting trees from East Kent as far as the West Midlands.
Mike and his team carry out the complete process when planting a new orchard; using gps they mark out the position of the support framework, which may be stakes positioned where each tree will be planted. But more and more new orchards will be using post (which may be concrete) and wire with bamboo canes where each tree is positioned.
Mike said this machine operating with four men can complete planting of 1,200 - 1,400 trees a day.
Below: Caterpillar digger with auger for drilling planting holes
Below: the auger 'boring' into the soil - and - starting to emerge
Below: the soil conditions were not ideal, but the auger seemed to smear the soil less than with the other systems
The application of Mycorrhizae has become standard to tree planting;
Mycorrhizae fungi are vital in enabling the roots of a tree/plant to fully exploit the nutrients in the soil. It is now becoming commonplace for growers to introduce Mycorrhizas to the soil around the tree roots when planting.
"Mycorrhizae are very common but largely unseen symbioses between plant roots and fungi that are important in plant nutrition, community structure, and nutrient cycling. Throughout the course of their evolution, plants and fungi have formed many different types of mycorrhizal partnerships involving most plant families and thousands of fungal species"
In practical terms the mycorrhizae find their way into the tiny root fissures enabling maximum nutrient uptake by the tree..
In January 2015 at the AGROVISTA Technical Conference - Dr.Louisa Robinson-Boyer of Plantworks Ltd presented the benefits of 'Mycorrhizal Fungi' Mycorrhizae
Below: Dr.Louisa Robinson-Boyer of Plantworks Ltd explaining the benefits of Mycorrhizae
Below: Mycorrhiza - and - Mycorrhizae applied to the roots of an apple tree
Below: applying Mycorrhizae to the roots of the trees at Paramour Farm
Below: Comment on Mycorrhizae
In the English Apple Man Journal of 23rd January 2015 there is an in depth explanation of how the symbiosis between roots and mycorrhizae functions; click on Mycorrhizae to view.....
Mycorrhizae can also be found on BBC YouTube
Back in 2012 The English Apple Man attended the planting of Redlove at East Malling Research - the machine used that day was similar to the one used at Paramour - to read about it click on Planting Redlove at EMR
Below: filling in the soil after planting Redlove at EMR in May 2012
Summarizing the mechanical tree planting options
The 'workshop' gave all present an understanding of the possibilities for mechanical 'assisted' tree planting. Clearly at this time of the year, with the soil still very cold and damp - not the ideal conditions.
The problem is waiting for ideal conditions which may not arise until April; it is a brave grower who will be prepared to wait; most large scale planting operations are still using one of 'man's oldest tools' - the spade - one grower I spoke to who has planted 160,000 trees this winter said "we find spades in the hands of our planters is still the best system"
King Spade...
Adrian Scripps Production Manager Mark Holden, told me the 'drag shear' is only used by them for replanting orchards with young trees of a new variety or clone, where the support structure is still sound; in completely new orchards, the 'spade is still King'
That is all for this week.............but take a look at the PS;
Take care
The English Apple Man
PS
Below: Absolutely nothing to do with apples & pears, but I saw this on a friend's Facebook - quite a thought for swimming in the sea!
As if you needed another reason not to drink sea water! David Liittschwager, an accomplished award-winning photographer who has created numerous marine wildlife photos for National Geographic, has created an image showing the microfauna that exists inside a single drop of seawater! By magnifying the water 25 times, he showed that the salty taste of seawater isn't just salt - there are bacteria, worms, fish eggs, crab larva, diatoms, and a whole host of other creepy crawlies all fighting for a place on your tongue.
