KVH field day stump care 16 December 2011

Transcription

1 KVH field day stump care 16 December 2011 Presentation notes from stump-care field day, Te Puke, Friday 16 December 10am 11.30am Re-developing plants in a Psa-V environment stump maintenance and care Location Haywood Ltd Orchard, 162 Waimea Drive, Te Puke Presenters Mike Muller, John Cook and Peter Crawford A practical session to discuss stump and sucker care through until grafting in Growers viewed a range of stumps of different ages and history in terms of the timing of cut decisions. The field day assisted growers with their own re-establishment planning. KVH wishes to thank the presenters for their excellent presentation and support of our work. Messages Orchard assets Stumps Canopy structures Shelter Yourself and family Staff Management knowledge Enthusiasm Field day objective To explore the question of how to optimise plant structure and health in preparation for 2012 grafting. The pathway of establishing four strong, rootstock (Bruno) suckers free of Psa-V per stump was discussed. Building blocks A well-structured plant Water Weed control Shelter Nutrition Psa-V protection programme Mulch. Well-structured plant Grow four strong, well-positioned Bruno suckers off the stump. String these separately, train to the leader wire and then lay North, South (for whip and tongue grafting in winter) and East, West (to provide leaf to feed/drive the re-developing plant). Laying the canes horizontally along the wire will promote thickening of the stems for grafting purposes. Giving the suckers space and light will provide mature, strong cane for grafting. Choose best positioned (in line with posts) suckers for North, South positions. Flush cut additional suckers that are not needed and apply wound protectants. Do not recut the stump (presents an infection risk). Do not grow a flax bush (excess suckers promote clutter, reduce light and hinder spray cover). Do not plan to graft onto the stump (higher cost and infection risk and history has shown best responses come from young grafts). Grow a strong plant with four grafting options. 1 Kiwifruit Vine Health Inc KVH stump care field day, 16 December 2011

2 Water the highest priority The plants we are re-establishing are very fragile. Plant root mass is already compromised and must be managed optimally. Recommendation: take a spade and determine the extent of the stump root-mass in each block. Many blocks requiring re-establishment have poor water supply plants starve in hot and windy conditions. Recent rain-fall will not have covered the seasonal shortfall (dry Spring) to date, but provides a good starting point for a summer-watering programme. Without water, fertility held in the top mm of soil is unavailable to the vines (the feeder roots are primarily located in the top 150 mm of soil). Hand watering from a tanker or temporary dripper irrigation system is essential. Drippers are preferred to keep water off the rootstock foliage. Water all sides of the plant two square metres in area. Water to a depth of 60cm. Water is the highest priority two square metres around plant, 60cm depth. Weed control Keep the sward short to preserve moisture. Remove all grass and weeds from around the stumps. Hand weed/push hoe around plants as a first preference. Also remove shallow rooting suckers. Knap-sack the spray strip with Buster or Preglone (least preferred). Use a flat-fan nozzle to avoid drift (TK7.5 or TK5.0 nozzles achieve this). Alternatively, cross-mow with a ride-on or zero-turn mower. Avoid trunk damage. Do not use Roundup drift will badly affect the recovering vine/suckers. Do not use spray-guards on the stumps or suckers. These hinder coverage with protectant sprays and harbour snails and other pests. Weed control is important remove the competition. Shelter Plants, and in particular new grafts, are damaged by twisting, chaffing, drying out, and wounding through movement. Many blocks requiring re-establishment are poorly sheltered. Shelter should be re-introduced to speed up the recovery pathway and avoid set-backs. Optimally under-vine shelter should be placed every three four rows, one metre out from the trunks. More practically under-vine shelter can be fixed at ground level and again at canopy height, two wires out from the leader on the up-wind side of the row to avoid plant damage. Shelter speeds recovery and reduces set-backs establish under-vine shelter every three to four rows. Nutrition Water comes first. Simple foliar feeds add value without much extra cost. Nutrition must match orchard needs. One recommendation could be: broadcast application of 200 kg/ha of Yara Mila Complex or Nitrophoska Blue 12:5:14; then banded directly under the vines monthly, kg/ha Yara Mila Complex or Nitrophoska Blue. If post-peel mulch is used, monitor vines for any signs of nitrogen deficiency. Immediately band 125 kg/ha CAN if this is seen. Avoid high nitrogen programs as these predispose new growth to Psa-V. Nutrition means water first then match nutrition to individual orchard needs. 2 Kiwifruit Vine Health Inc KVH stump care field day, 16 December 2011

3 Psa-V protectant programme Complete vine management in dry conditions. Give absolute priority to hygiene clean tools and avoid transfer of plant material. Monitor cut hard and early on secondary symptoms. Maintain protectant cover on all leaf surfaces at all times and protect all wounds. Apply spray protectants before and after infection periods infection periods being periods of prolonged (48 hours) leaf wetness. Observe sound spraying practice correct rates, safety and notification requirements observed and ensure good drying conditions. Check application rates to avoid phytotoxic effects and particularly when using knapsack sprayers. Kocide Opti at 65gms/100l (or 50gms/100l to keep the maths easy) provides a backbone protective program. Re-apply at approximately 10-day intervals or in response to weather events. Dry weather activities Hygiene Coverage is King Mulching a discretionary extra Apply 100mm deep doughnuts of composts around each stump. One square metre of mulch (eg post peel) per vine provides a small dam to contain water applied by hand watering. This requires 40 cubic metres/ha at 400 vines/ha. Approximate cost is $800 plus spreading. (Taylor Brothers supply a suitable product.) Two to four square metres of mulch per vine provides full mulching to conserve soil moisture. Cost is $1,600 $3,200 plus spreading. Good quality compost feeds and develops surface roots and stimulates soil micro-organisms. Optimally, banded at 10T/ha along a one metre wide strip under the vines costs approximately $1120/ha. (Revital/Daltons supply a suitable product.) If the compost is overlaid with mulch, costs rise to $2000/Ha. Mulching conserves water and promotes root growth and health discretionary spend Summary Grow a strong plant with four grafting options. Water is the highest priority two square metres around the plant, 60cm depth. Weed control is important remove the competition. Shelter speeds recovery and reduces set-backs establish under-vine shelter every three to four rows. Nutrition means water first then match nutrition to individual orchard needs. Psa-V protection = dry weather activities, hygiene, protectants and coverage is king. Mulching conserves water and promotes root growth and health a discretionary spend. 3 Kiwifruit Vine Health Inc KVH stump care field day, 16 December 2011

4 Multiple sucker growth Training tools 4 Kiwifruit Vine Health Inc KVH stump care field day, 16 December 2011

5 Well-structured plant Stretch ties for positioning suckers 5 Kiwifruit Vine Health Inc KVH stump care field day, 16 December 2011

6 Water tanker Water young plants regularly Additional suckers require removal 6 Kiwifruit Vine Health Inc KVH stump care field day, 16 December 2011

7 Use a flat-fan nozzle to avoid drift Roundup-damaged seedlings 7 Kiwifruit Vine Health Inc KVH stump care field day, 16 December 2011

8 Provide good shelter Avoid chaffing close to shelter Kiwifruit Vine Health Incorporated (KVH) makes no warranty or representation as to the accuracy or completeness of the information, photographs or other published material in this publication. KVH shall not be liable to any person for loss, injury or damages arising from a person s reliance on the published material. Published material authored by a person other than KVH reflects the view of the author and not necessarily the view of KVH. The published material may be subject to copyright and shall not be reproduced in any manner without first obtaining the permission of KVH. 8 Kiwifruit Vine Health Inc KVH stump care field day, 16 December 2011