Lifting, storage and marketing in nursery Prof.
From nursery to customers Lifting (bareroot products and rootballed plants) Transport (within and outside nursery) Storage (short term and long term storage) Marketing 2
Main points in lifting to be discussed Optimal time of lifting Planning Preparation of products for lifting Equipments for lifting Organization 3
A kitermelés időpontjának meghatározása Biological requirements: close to the natural leaf fall (accumulation of reserve carbohydrates) Marketing requirements: bring tha products to the market as early as possible Compromise: appropriate ripening long enough time for marketing Our recommendation: at deciduous plants after 15th of October! 4
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Planning of lifting Importance of planning: lifting and manipulation of products makes about 40% of total labour efforts! The time window is uncertain (in continental conditions from middle of October to onset of frost period: to end of November middle of December?) Required data: - time window - quantity of products to be lifted - matching transport capacity and temporary storage capacity - requirements of customers 6
Preparatory measures: Grading by trunk and canopy size and quality, color coding Inventory and data processing Phytosanitairy inspection Leaf removal Labelling (plant passport) 7
Grading Based on quality standards or individual agreement with customer Application of color coding: - cultivar and rootstock - size and quality categories 8
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Inventory Counting after grading and color coding By blocks and rows in the field Data processing - by hand on paper - using computer - data processing direct from field 10
Leaf removal At bareroot products essential to keep moisture content! By hand: difficult and time consuming. When cheap labour is available only. Stifling : at young plants only Using machines - rotating straps: at roses (damages plants, disinfection by copper) - drowing machines: efficient after chemical treatments Chemical leaf removal: - desiccants : Ca, K chlorate, iodid - loosener with hormonal effect (ethilen): (Etephon, Roll-Fruct) - Copper: copper-containing fungicide, Cu-EDTA 11
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Equipment for lifting By hand: spade, special spade for cutting rootball Bed - lifter: for lifting young plants Row-lifters - U-blade plough - U-blade plough with sticks or shaking sticks - Oscillating U-blade plough, with shaking sticks - U-blade plough of portal tractors Single tree lifting ploughs : - U-blade plough (bareroot and rootball lifters) - single tree lifters with spades (rootball lifters) 14
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Polybob portal tractor Plantlift Fobro Oscillator 16
Berto lifting plough 17
Organization of lifting Application of row-lifters: only the outside edge row can be lifted, plants should be collected until the machine returns Any row could be lifted when applying portal tractors Any single tree could be lifted: by hand or single tree lifters (bareroot or rootballed) 18
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Transport in nursery Nursery products are spacious and voluminous Formation of transport units requires special equipment. Possibilities of transport unit formation: - boundles (bareroot products) - basket, boxes, bins, etc - special nursery containers 20
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Mechanization of transport and packaging 24
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Storage of nursery products Storage needs: - temporary (from few days to weeks) - long term storage (between two seasons) Storage facilities: - open ground: bareroot plants covered by soil, container grown plants under cover - storage hall: isolated walls but temparature control is limited - cold storage: temperature control by direct cooling or coat cooling 31
Gépi vermelés 1. 2. 3. Kézi vermelés 4. 32
Water content and survival rate of peach trees in different storage facilities (Bene and Körtvély 1983) % 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 kitermelés hűtött terített verm. álló verm. köteges verm. őszi telepítés vesszők víztartalma törzs víztartalma élők aránya 33
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Marketing options of nursery products Wholesale marketing For garden centers Cash and carry Large customers (landscapers) Retail marketing Temporary outlet: bareroot plants in season Garden center: plants and additional products (seed, chemicals, tools, etc) Supermarkets: gardening or garden center department Mail-order firm: storehouse and well organized delivery service 35
Specialities in nursery marketing Collection and processing of market informations: - analysis of partners offers, - analysis of own turnover, - watching homepages, catalogues, etc. Influencing market: - creative formation of own product list - special nursery tools: catalogues, printed matter, exhibitions - using the web: homepage, special offers - promotion for targeted groups - sale, open days, field-visit days, image formation. 36
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Classification of fruit trees by ENA standards One year grafted trees (maidens) Feathered fruit tree (2-3 years) - minimum two years cultivation at wide spacing, - side branches may have been pruned appropriate to species/cvs Pyramid fruit tree - pyramidal appearance, straight leading shoot - regularly distributed main branches not lower than 30 cm from graft Bush fruit tree: same as pyramid but no leading shoot Branched fruit tree (Knipboom) - one year graft cut back at min. 40 cm from soil level - well distributed 3-4 shoots on the new growth between 50-100 cm from soil level Standard trees: dwarf, short, half, full standard Trained forms: horizontal cordons (one or two arms), oblique palmet (single or two stage), single or double U, two stage U, horizontal espalier, fan. 43
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Species Rootstock Ø mm (10 cm above graft union) Top fruit any 10 100 Exceptions: One year grafted trees Height cm Apple M.7, M.9, M.26, MM. 106, A.2 (M.27) 10 80 (70) Pear Quince 10 80 Cherry Others than mahaleb, mazzard seedling 10 80 Peach Almond, plum 10 80 Almond Plum 10 80 Plum Myrobalan 8 100 Any dwarf, St. Julien 8 80 Walnut, chestnut Bench graft 10 20 Plate or tongue graft 20 100 45
Two three years feathered trees Height in cm from collar - 100-125 (only walnut!) - 125-150 - 150-200 - 200-250 - 250-300 Above 300 cm girth measured at 100 cm: 6-8 cm, 8-10 cm,10-12 cm, 12-14 cm etc. 46
Standard trees Height of the stem in cm, measured from the collar to the lowest branch - dwarf standard 50 cm - short standard 80 cm - half standard 130 cm - full standard 180 cm Girth in cm, measured at 100 cm above soil level (30 cm for dwarf standard, 60 cm for short standard) - 5 cm minimum - 6-8 cm - 8-10 cm, - 10-12 cm, - 12-14 cm etc. 47
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Pyramid and bush trees Straight leading shoot, regularly distributed branches, lowest at 30-45 cm from the graft. Bush fruit tree: no leading shoot. Number of laterals in addition to leader: - two years: 4 - three years: 6 - four years: 8 - five years: 10 - six years: 12. 49
Branched fruit tree (Knipboom) Minimum length of the shoots - with 3 shoots 30 cm - with 4 shoots 15 cm Minimum leader length 50 cm from its base Minimum leader diameter 9 mm measured at 10 cm from its base Minimum stem diameter measured at 10 cm above grafting point : 12 mm 50
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Container grown trees Each above tree classes may be container grown - one year graft - branched - standard - etc. Minimum volume of container 7.5 litres, except one year grafted plants Knipboom in container 52
One year graft Half standard tree in container 53
Tree quality requirements of professional fruit growers are different! Budded understock sold with dormant eyes - high density orchards (5000 trees/ha <) - special aftercare is required! One year grafted trees with sylleptic branches - spontaneous branching depends on species and cultivar, typical to stone fruit cultivars especially in South-South- East-Europe - application of branching agent (Promalin, Accel, Arbolin, Paturyl) recommended Branched fruit tree (Knipboom) Bibaum, Y tree for special training systems 54
Practices improving branching One year old fruit trees: - pinching or pruning of terminal shoot, - pinching or pruning of terminal leaves, - using branching agents (Promalin, Accel, Arbolin, BA solution) Two years fruit trees: - heading the leader in spring - trunk renewal (knipp-boom) - canopy renewal (trees with feathers from previous years) - using branching agents (Promalin, Accel, Arbolin, BA solution) 55
Leaf removal Shoot tip removal Leaf removal combined with branching agent (BA) 56
Crotch angle of sylleptic shoots depending on position 57
Crotch angle of secondary shoots left on the tree depending on budding height Height 58
Trunk renewal in orchard and in nursery (Knipboom) 59
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Branching after shoot tip removal Branching after benzyladenin (BA) application 63
No pruning after planting on feathered trees 64
One year grafts with sylleptic shoots 65
Budded understock with dormant eyes 66