Last Friday - 13th February industry representatives gathered at Hadlow College for a 'pruning teach in' where Hadlow Students had the opportunity to learn from industry experts - Roger Worraker and Brian Thompsett. In the morning session HE (Higher Education) and in the afternoon FE (Further Education) Students attended the Huxley Orchard Pruning Day.
Theresa Huxley - Senior Produce Technologist at Sainsburys who inspired the planting of a training orchard at Hadlow College gave students an overview of the career opportunities open to young people choosing horticulture as their subject.
The very first Huxley Training Orchard was planted in 2010 - to view click on Huxley Orchard Planted at Hadlow College - April 2010
Below; Hadlow College Lecturer - Stefan Jordan welcomed Hadlow HE Students to the morning session of the Huxley Orchard Pruning Day.
Theresa Huxley - Sainsburys Senior Produce Technologist and inspiration behind the Huxley Training Orchards at Hadlow and Pershore Colleges welcomed students and encourages them to take full advantage of the presence of Roger Worraker and Brian Thompsett.
"Welcome to the 3rd Annual Pruning Day at "The Huxley Orchards"
"I will begin by setting the scene and take a few minutes to remind you about the career opportunities available to skilled Professional Horticulturalists both now and in the future.
I work for Sainsburys and responsible for working with our Sainsburys growers and suppliers to put safe, legal, tasty, good quality Fresh Produce on Sainsburys shelves. Sainsburys sells over £2.2 billion of Fresh produce every year through over 1000 stores nationwide, and we serve over 22 million customers every week !
As a Fresh Produce team of Technologists at Sainsburys we work with thousands of growers in 65 different countries.
Has everyone heard in the Press that the Global population is growing?
The United Nations predicts global population will grow from 7.2 billion currently, to 9.6 billion by 2050
What does this mean?
For Sainsburys (as for other retailers) it means that the demand for fresh produce will increase
For YOU it means you have made an excellent choice by studying Horticulture and that there is and will continue to be strong demand for Skilled Professional Commercial Horticulturalists.
Out of interest, How many of you are members of the Chartered institute of Horticulture?
The Institute was formally awarded its Royal Charter last year by her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, and this is confirmation that a career in Horticulture is equally skilled and as Professional as a career in Law, Medicine and Accountancy.
….So do not let anyone tell you otherwise …...and if you are not currently a member of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture .........do join !.
" A 6 month FREE membership to the Chartered Institute of Horticulture is available at this time so I encourage you to apply on line via the website: Chartered Institute of Horticulture
"I would also recommend you:
1) Keep an eye on the GROW Careers website
2) Follow the @Growcareers twitter address
3) Look out for apprentiship schemes which give a complementary mix of training and practical experience.
Sainsburys for example launched its own Horticultural apprentiship Scheme last year.
The Sainsburys graduate Scheme consists of three 6 month placements with three different leading Sainsburys fresh produce suppliers each specialising in a different crop type.
The Sainsburys Placement Scheme consists of two 6 month placements split between Sainsburys and a leading Sainsburys fresh produce Supplier.
For more information click on Sainsburys Horticultural Apprenticeship Scheme
Finally my thanks to:
1) The Team at Hadlow for organising today's event (Diana Jacques and Alan Harvey)
2) Specific thanks to the Commercial Sponsors of the Huxley orchards here at Hadlow in Kent, but also at Pershore College in Worcestershire and Stockbridge House in Yorkshire.
3) John and Peter breach, Bruno Essner from Pepinieres du Valois, who provided the fruit trees and wood supplier Desindo Wood Supply who provided stakes and prepared the Hadlow Site for planting.
4) The Commercial fruit growers next door - Peter Kedge and Simon Saunders at Victoria farm who have helped with routine maintenance and husbandry of the Huxley Orchards.
We must all remember that without the generosity of all of the above individuals Hadlow College would not have such a valuable teaching resource for practical demonstration of Horticultural Skills
And a BIG Thank you to all our experts who have taken time out of their busy schedules to join us and share their knowledge:
Brian Thompsett
Roger Worraker
John Guest - 'The English Apple Man'
The Top fruit Industry and specifically Sainsburys supply chain (Growers supplying Sainsburys) for supporting the Huxley Orchards and sharing their knowledge and skills with the next generation.
Thank you all, and do make the most of the day!
Roger Worraker and Brian Thompsett
Roger Worraker has a lifetime of experience in the top fruit industry and was one of the 'highly respected' Hadlow College Fruit Lecturers when today's growers and managers were studying fruit growing at Hadlow circa 35-40 years ago.
Brian Thompsett opened the theory of pruning session, explaining how growing apples has changed over the years, from large open centre trees on a strong rootstock to today when many growers are planting high intensity 'fruit wall' systems; Brian is one of the leading exponents of fruit walls.
Roger Worraker followed Brian demonstrating the characteristics of different varieties with branches of Cox, Bramley and Gala. Explaining the difference between spur fruiting and tip bearing types, varieties that crop on one year or two year wood; e.g. Gala & Cox.
Below: a chart showing the range of popular rootsocks; M27 - M9 - M26 - M116 - MM106 - MM111 - M25. M27 is a very dwarfing rootstock and only suitable for very good soils. M9 is a dwarfing rootstock and the most widely used commercial rootstock today.
Below: Tree systems - Standards would have been the chosen format 100 years ago; Half Standards also in that period and Bush trees gaining popularity between the World Wars before becoming the common system after WW2 until Free Spindle and Spindle Bush became the common format up until around the 1990's when the transition to a Slender Spindle and more intensive planting became the norm; Today most modern varieties; e.g. Gala & Braeburn are grown as an intensive Slender Spindle in a Hedgerow System and in recent years this is being Modified into the Fruit Wall System.
Moving from the 'Classroom' into the Huxley Training Orchard, Brian and Roger split the students into two groups; using Cheerfull Gold apple trees as the practical working model. The English Apple Man joined Brian as he explained the objectives and demonstrated the practical aspects of keeping the trees in shape while removing unwanted branches from the tree.
Below: Brian addressing Hadlow HE Students prior to practical pruning in The Huxley Training Orchard.
Pruning Apple & Pear Trees
The same basic principles of pruning should be followed whichever system of production is being used. The main aim being to maximise production of the required quality and fruit size consistently year after year.
The pruner should assess each tree before it is pruned and decide the approach needed to achieve this aim, and the following principles should then be considered consistent with maximising yield:
1) Prune to allow maximum light interception
2) Correct branch spacing
3) Allow good spray penetration
4) Allow access into the tree for harvesting
5) Remove any wood which is either over vigorous or under vigorous
6) Remove any diseased wood
7) Encourage the production of new wood to replace old poor quality wood
8) Make the pruning cut in the correct place, consistent with the tree type/variety
9) Maintain the desired tree profile.
Subject to vagaries of the weather, this should produce a well balanced tree with the right range of wood and new growth points to achieve its potential yield.
It is important that the management has made the correct choice of tree spacing consistent with the variety, rootstock, site and soil type, and will enable the pruner to allow the tree to fill the space available.
The English Apple Man adds comment:
Light is critical to the success of the tree; balancing the height and width of the tree is important; hence Brian & Roger's starting point (1) Branch spacing is part of the strategic plan and the variety is influential; Cox flowers on two year wood, unlike Gala and many modern varieties, so tree spacing cannot be as intensive as Gala. Cox therefore needs to grow one year wood, followed by two year wood, then three year wood and it is not until the fourth year's growth that removal of the fruiting lateral is removed. In the meantime a succession of replacement wood must be grown to follow the succession of fruiting laterals.
It is of course possible to establish a 'spur pruning' system on Cox with more permanent branches supporting spurs; this labour intensive system was popular 50 - 75 years ago when labour costs were low in comparison to fruit values + Mildew was more difficult to control (efficacy of Mildew sprays was poor) and spur pruning removed much of the (otherwise) overwintering infected wood.
The modern varieties: Gala, Braeburn, Jazz etc. produce flower on one year old wood, allowing more intensive spacing and the ability to cut back into younger wood (unlike Cox) when required to keep the tree compact and Mildew sprays are more efficient.
Below: Brian shows the students which cuts to make and explains the reason for each cut!
The 3rd Huxley- Training Orchard Pruning Day proved a great success; the enthusiasm for top fruit as a career is rising and much of this is due to the commitment of individuals like Theresa Huxley, and the support of industry professional who give up their time to enthuse and educate the next generation of fruit growers. Hadlow College has been THE place to learn fruit growing skills in generations past and the seeds of a new alliance between Hadlow and the Top Fruit Industry are beginning to producing 'new green shoots'
Next week.........a look at Canker and its challenge to top fruit production!
Take care
The English Apple Man