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While orchard fertilizer requirements are usually given regular attention and carefully monitored through leaf and soil analysis, soil physical condition is often taken for granted and not given the attention it needs to maintain a healthy orchard.
Poor growth and fruit sizing is often associated with soil compaction, or impeded drainage affecting root activity.
Soils in the average pipfruit orchard have an incredible amount of weight pass over them in the year. For instance, the tractor and sprayer will make about 15 passes, often when soil is wet and incapable of carrying much weight without risk of damage. A fully laden tractor and sprayer unit weighs in excess of 5 tonne. Then there is probably 6 or so passes of the tractor and mower, a weight of probably 2.5 tonne.
Harvest, which sometimes has to be done when the soil is wet, will mean 50 to 70 tonne per hectare or more of fruit are taken out of the orchard, not to mention the weight of the tractor used to shift the bins around.
If you add all these together, your average apple row has about 120 tonne a year travel alongside it.
Where compaction occurs, deep ripping when the soil is dry so that you can get maximum shattering effect is a good option. Soils are usually driest in the autumn immediately after harvest, so this is the best time of the year for this job.
Drainage should also be checked at the same time. In orchards which have intensive shelter belts of willow, poplar or casuarinas, root invasion of drainage is a common problem.
When this happens your drainage system becomes ineffective and unless fixed can result in root injury and even dead trees or vines.
Some soils are very difficult to manage in regard to drainage and compaction problems, so may need specialist attention to determine the most effective treatments for their particular problems. In these situations it may be necessary to seek advice from an experienced soil drainage consultant.
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