Easter is here, its sunny today in East Sussex, but rain is forecast - typical English Easter....
An interesting week, a bit of an eclectic mix........
On Monday my wife and I watched 'The Food Chain' on Channel 4. A fascinating look at products from source to their final destination - the plate.....
It was particularly poignant as Bramley Apples & Sea Salt were the subject of this week's programme. The Bramley apples were grown by a good friend; Peter Checkley at Broadwater Farm at East Malling in West Kent and the Sea salt was collected at Maldon in Essex.
For anyone of my readers who did not see this programme, I would highly recommend finding it on 'catch up' TV.
In addition to Peter Checkley, Philip Ackock MD of Fourayes Farm one of the major processors of apples also featured. Fourayes Farm is still a family owned and run business as well as being the UK's award winning grower of Bramley apples and also an award winning processor of fruit. Click on Fourayes
Maldon and the Essex Salt Makers
The salt trade has been synonymous with Essex for over 2000 years
Head back into history and the Essex coast was alive with salt making. At least 2,000 years ago, seawater was being partially evaporated and then heated in clay pots over open fires. When the water had gone, the pots were broken open to reveal the precious result: salt! Opening a distinctive Maldon box today is somewhat easier.
"The Maldon Crystal Salt works was set up by Mr T Bland in 1882 on the site of the dwindling business founded by Heybridge salt maker, Robert Worraker some 40 years previous."
The Worraker link with Maldon is poignant, as my good friend Roger Worraker told me his family owned the Maldon Sea Salt business from circa 1820 - circa 1890.
Click on Maldon Sea Salt to learn more about collecting sea salt; a practice which is reputed to go back 2,000 years at Maldon in Essex..........
What makes fruit trees so productive? - the science of 'roots talking to shoots'
On Wednesday this week The English Apple Man attended a lecture by Professor Chris Atkinson - Professor of Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change at the Agriculture, Health and Environment Department - Natural Resources Institute (NRI)
The Natural Resources Institute (NRI) became part of the University of Greenwich in May 1996. Since the official opening of the Imperial Institute by Queen Victoria on 10th May 1893, NRI and its predecessors have undertaken research, consultancy and training in the management of natural resources.
The lecture was one of a series of public lectures organised by Martin Snowden - Pro Vice-Chancellor International at the University of Greenwich. The attendees are academics (my observation) rather than fruit industry professionals.
The lecture was at The University of Greenwich Chatham Campus and my journey (relying on Sat Nav) became a bit confusing as I neared Chatham Maritime......somehow I ended up (my Sat Nav's idea) entering The Royal Engineers entrance, where the young guard on duty, took pity on my explanation that I was 'just a country boy' confused by my Sat Nav and unfamiliar territory; "no problem Sir" - "just take a right out of our gate and after 1/2 a mile, take another right, then down to the next roundabout - take last exit into the Medway Campus..
I have known Chris since he moved to Horticulture Research International (HRI), East Malling as a Senior Scientific Officer in Crop Physiology in 1992, however in my role as Technical Director (UK) at Worldwide Fruit Ltd I got to know Chris much better and have drawn on his scientific knowledge on many occasions. Since I retired we have still 'crossed paths' regularly at fruit industry meetings around the County of Kent and beyond!
The lecture was held in The Ward Room in Pembroke Building. This building was once the officers mess and before the lecture Chris pointed out to me a very Royal link. There is a staircase leading straight up into the Pembroke building which is now sealed off and has only ever been 'formally used twice' - first by Queen Victoria when she opened the building and the second by our Queen Elizabeth when she 'officially closed the building.
Below: Pembroke - and - Royal staircase
So, what makes fruit trees so productive? - the science of 'roots talking to shoots'
There are many different ways to manage tree size; the first and most obvious is the use of rootstocks; a dwarfing rootstock like M27 or M9 will produce a smaller more compact tree; more vigorous rootstocks like MM106 will produce a much bigger tree with more growth to fruit ratio.
Key rootstock influences are not just dwarfing - they influence tree (scion) size - create a monoculture because they are genetically the same;
Further influences;
*Alter the ratio of crop (fruit) to wood (tree)
*Precocity (age of fruiting) - (fruit bearing in first year)
*Increases fruit set
*Yield increases
*Improve fruit quality, fruit colour and fruit storage quality
*And others
We can also contain the growth of the tree by using root pruning or root restriction; Bonsai trees are kept small by excessive root restriction. So why does making the tree small increase yield efficiency? 'More per tree' - as trees become (dwarfed) smaller, conversion efficiency (sunlight into fruit) - Partitioning index (dry matter into fruit) - Light interception; more fruit per weight of tree!
Chris questioned what influence the union (graft/bud) between rootstock and scion has on growth of tree; does the union have more control than we have previously thought on tree growth - in conjunction with the rootstock below?
Below: The union between rootstock and scion - and - image of a dissected union showing the critical areas within the union.....
Chris looked at the changes in the production per unit land area; e.g. 'intensification delivers more on the same area of land. Comparing a seedling tree with M9 rootstock;
*Trees per hectare - seedling @ 250 - 400 - M9 @ 1200 - 2800
*Pruning hours per hectare - seedling @ 120 - 180 - M9 @ 60 - 80
*Picking hours per hectare - seedling @ 10 - 13 M9 @ - 5 -6
*Spray volume litres per hectare - seedling @ 600 - 800 - M9 @ 300 - 350
Understanding the rootstock effect
In the picture below, Chris demonstrated a pressurised system where a coloured dye showed how the transportation process carries hormones and nutrients around the tree..........
Chris highlighted the importance of ABA - and the evidence for differences in concentration of drought sensing ABA
* ABA is not constant with sap flow
* ABA delivery changes with sap flow
* ABA concentration is greater above the graft union in M9
ABA an important hormone which controls the 'drought mechanism' where the hormone closes the pores of leaves to protect the plant/tree from drought. The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is the major player in mediating the adaptation of the plant to stress. Some 90% of the water taken up by a plant is lost in transpiration. Most of this leaves the plant through the pores-called stomata-in the leaf. Each stoma is flanked by a pair of guard cells. When the guard cells are turgid, the stoma is open. When turgor is lost, the stoma closes.
ABA can stimulate root growth in plants that need to increase their ability to extract water from the soil.
ABA also promotes abscission of leaves and fruits (in contrast to auxin, which inhibits abscission). It is, in fact, this action that gave rise to the name abscisic acid.
Why do we need to know how rootstocks work?
* Understand how roots influence shoots (vigour, precocity & flowering)
* Cycle of trialing breeding and evaluation
* Are graft unions a vital part of the system?
* Decouple 'root system' from the 'dwarfing response'
* Modify roots to produce the 'dwarfing response'
What can we conclude?
* Rootstock responses - due to differences in anatomy and physiology which alters stem transport processes
* Rootstock roots differ - in uptake/production rates
* Rootstocks have different capacities - transport water, nutrients and plant growth regulators
* Root derived 'chemical signals' influence shoot behaviour and growth
* Identify targets to screen/breed new rootstocks
Chris Atkinson finished his presentation by saying rootstocks have different capacities and chemical signals link to growth - taking the idea forward, the future of breeding rootstocks will be influenced by the ability to project the rootstock potential from seedlings rather than the 'old fashioned' mechanism of planting rootstock wood and assessing it over a longer timescale.
The lecture was well worth the journey and questions for Chris Atkinson afterwards an interesting mix; one which caught my attention - "when I go to Homebase, what sort of a tree should I look for? - 'quietly to myself, I said don't go to Homebase' - Chris smiled and diplomatically asked - is there anyone here from Homebase? - 'silence' - "well I would strongly advise you to go to a tree nursery for your new tree!
That's all for this week.......
Take care
The English Apple Man
Americans throw out 133 billion pounds of food every year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. An estimated 10 percent of wasted food comes from grocery stores.