REFLECTIONS ON THE WAY THEY GROW APPLES: ITALY AND WASHINGTON
Jon Clements
Extension Tree Fruit Specialist
University of Massachusetts Amherst
UMass Cold Spring Orchard
393 Sabin Street
Belchertown, MA 01007
clements@umext.umass.edu
What follows are my primary thoughts – accompanied by many pictures – regarding horticultural
production of apples in two major apple production areas of the world – South Tyrol in Italy, and
the Columbia Basin in Washington state. I visited South Tyrol in the winter of 2004 and the
Columbia Basin the winter of 2005, both with tours sponsored by the International Dwarf Fruit
Tree Association, www.ifta.org.
ITALY – Apple orchards in the Vinschgau region of Italy’s South Tyrol are commonly planted
at three feet between trees and ten feet between rows. Almost exclusive planting of M.9
rootstock makes tree densities of well over 1,000 trees per acre the norm.
WASHINGTON – Apple orchards in Washington are rapidly transitioning from conventional,
central-leader orchards at 300-400 trees per acre, to higher-density orchards commonly planted
on M.9 or B.9 rootstocks. The transition is nowhere complete, however, younger more
progressive orchardists who have planted any of the newer cultivars over the past 5 to 10 years
are there. The cost of nursery trees is much higher in Washington than Italy, which makes
orchard renovation a more costly venture, easily exceeding $10,000 per acre.
ITALY – Apple trees are typically supported by four wires down the row, and grown ten to
fifteen feet high in a vertical-axis (tall-spindle) tree form. But well-feathered, two-year-old
(relatively cheap) nursery trees are the real secret of high, early yields – growers strive to achieve
yields approaching 1,000 boxes per acre by the orchard’s third or fourth leaf!
WASHINGTON – Is more a hodge-podge of training and support systems, however, wire is
becoming popular vs. single tree stakes. Washington growers are doing more experimenting to
determine the correct tree density and training system for their environment, where sunburn is
more of a problem than in Italy.
ITALY – European apple growers are the true masters of balancing vegetative growth with crop
load. This ‘physiological balance’ (calm tree) is achieved with careful attention to annual
cropping and minimal pruning, using mostly renewal cuts. Most pruning is by the orchard owner,
this made possible by the fact that the average orchard size is just 3-4 acres.
WASHINGTON – The Washington desert climate presents more challenges to obtaining a calm
tree. Pruning is likely to be done by more inexperienced crews on much larger acreages. Still,
tree performance is high, with yields of 1,000 plus boxes per acre expected when the trees are
just 5-6 years old.
ITALY – The apple variety mix in Italy is not dissimilar to North America – Gala, Braeburn, and
Fuji are being heavily planted, although Red and Golden Delicious, and Jonagold, and are still
staples. The South Tyrol is famous for it’s pink-cheeked, baby-skin smooth Goldens. Interest in
new apple varieties by European growers and breeders is intense. Discussion of ‘club’ varieties –
where the entire distribution of a variety from nursery to grower to market is controlled by a
growing and marketing organization – was common, but also controversial and confounding.
(It’s yet to be seen just how successful the club concept will be in improving grower returns.)
Currently, ‘Pink Lady’ (Cripps Pink), ‘Cameo,’ ‘Tentation’ (Delblush), and ‘Honeycrunch’
(Honeycrisp) are club varieties being actively planted by select European Union (E.U.) growers.
And French breeders are poised to introduce one of several new ‘secret’ club varieties that
promise to change the face of apple growing and marketing both regionally and globally.
WASHINGTON – Delicious still rules, but not in younger plantings. Gala was the most heavily
planted variety over the past ten years, but now Fuji, Braeburn, and Honeycrisp are being
planted. As in Europe, interest in club varieties is high, particularly the new apples coming out of
New Zealand such as ‘Jazz.’ Some growers are betting heavily on these club varieties.
ITALY – Disease pressure and markets also foster an interest in scab-resistant apple varieties.
‘Topaz’ is a new scab-resistant apple variety from the Czech Republic that has the quality and
marketability to be actively planted by organic growers who claim “the use of scab-resistant
varieties is the future!”
WASHINGTON – Organic orchards are viable in Washington because of the desert climate and
recent market demand for organic fruit. Still, organic growers face their fair share of problems,
including nutrition, mammals, and reduced yields. More recently, the premium paid for organic
apples has diminished and returns are not that much greater than those in conventional orchards.
ITALY – Trickle or overhead irrigation is common, and the use of hail netting is becoming more
common. While on an earlier visit to South Tyrol, a hailstorm was witnessed first-hand on the
evening of July 15 (2001) dropping golfball-size hail over orchards surrounding the city of
Merano, damaging nearly 10,000 acres of apples to some extent. It’s a very good thing Italian
growers rely on low-cost, government assisted hail insurance. But, the added insurance provided
by hail nets pays for itself when trying to achieve high-quality, fresh market fruit.
WASHINGTON – Irrigation is the norm, but hail is a non-issue. Water rights are a big deal out
there right now, and growers with sound water rights will survive, but growers with marginal
water rights are going to find themselves on the dry end of the spigot.
ITALY – Infrastructure is modern and sophisticated. Nearly all growers are cooperative
members, and significant investment – much government funded – in storage, packing, and
processing facilities was evident. Food safety practices are also sophisticated and clearly a point
of pride in the European Union.
WASHINGTON – Pretty much ditto for Washington, however, all privately funded and less
centralized. Food safety practices are also becoming more obvious and regulated. The transition
to organic orchards has resulted in storage and packing facilities that just deal in organic apples.