Fruit trees are grown in a variety of shapes, sometimes for aesthetic appeal but mainly to encourage fruit production. The form or shape of
fruit trees can be manipulated by
pruning and training. Shaping and promoting a particular tree form is undertaken to establish the plant in a particular situation under certain environmental conditions, to increase fruit yield, and to enhance fruit quality. For example, pruning a tree to a
pyramid
A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...
shape enables trees to be planted closer together. An open bowl or cup form helps sunlight penetrate the canopy, thus encouraging a high fruit yield whilst keeping the tree short and accessible for harvesting. Other shapes such as
cordons,
espaliers and fans provide opportunities for growing trees two dimensionally against walls or fences, or they can be trained to function as barriers.
Forms
Some of the following fruit tree forms require training by tying the branches to the required form. Most also require pruning to retain the desired structure. However, not all types of fruit tree are suitable for all forms;
apples
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
and
pear
Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...
s do well as cordons and espaliers, for example, whereas cherries are better suited to the fan form.
Bush
An open-centred crown on a short trunk of less than . This is a traditional and popular form for apple trees. Bush trees are easy to maintain and bear fruit at a young age. Final height is between and , depending on which
rootstock is used.
[ Hessayon, Dr D. G., ''The Fruit Expert'', Transworld Publishers Ltd, 1997, p10]
Standard
Larger than the bush form, with trunks of or more. Standard trees can reach a total height of . They eventually produce high yields but, being large trees, are not easy to maintain.
[
]
Pyramid
Similar to the bush form, although the main leader shoot is allowed to maintain its dominance, resulting in a pyramidal shape.
Spindlebush
A variant of the pyramid form in which the lateral branches are tied down to a horizontal position.
Designed for dense orchards by Otto Schmitz-Hübsch and Heinrichs in Germany in 1936, this is currently the most popular training system for dwarf apple and pear trees.
Cordon
Single-stemmed trees planted at an angle (usually 45°), with fruiting spurs encouraged to form along the stem. Any side branches are removed by pruning. Cordons take less space and crop earlier than most other forms, so more varieties can be grown in a given space, but yields are smaller per tree.
Espalier
A central vertical trunk with three or four horizontal branches on each side. A special espalier in this group is the LePage-system.
Fan
A short central trunk with several radiating branches growing from the crown.
Step-over espalier
Espaliers with just one tier of horizontal branches above the ground. These make a novel and productive border for a vegetable plot.
A study on orchard mango trees in Nelspruit, South Africa, compared the open vase, closed vase, central leader, palmette and standard pruning systems and recommended a modified pyramid, somewhere between a central leader and a closed vase system, for high-density mango orchards. The study also evaluated both post-fruit-set and post-harvest pruning, indicating that late mango cultivars benefit from pruning while bearing fruit in late fall, while early cultivars may be best pruned immediately after harvest.[
]
Yield and spacing
Images
Image:Orchard3.jpg, A community apple orchard originally planted for productive use
Image:BoucheThomas fruittreeformdescription.JPG, Description of the Bouché-Thomas fruit tree form
Image:Lepage fruittreeform.JPG, Photo of the LePage fruit tree form
Image:Lepage fruittreeform description.JPG, Description of LePage fruit tree form
Image:Singlerow fruittree system.JPG, Description of the single row fruit tree form setup
Image:Spindlebush description.JPG, Description of the spindlebush fruit tree form
Image:Spindlebush fruittreeform.JPG, Photo of the spindlebush fruit tree form
Image:JeukseHaagDescription.JPG, Description of the "Jeukse Haag" fruit tree form
Image:Standard fruittreeform.JPG, Photo of the standard fruit tree form
Image:Dubblerow fruitttree system.JPG, Description of the double row fruit tree form setup
Image:Triplerow fruittree system.JPG, Description of the triple row fruit tree form setup
See also
* Fruit tree pollination
* Fruit tree propagation
* Orchard
An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...
s
* Pruning fruit trees
* Tree shaping
References
{{Reflist
Books and publications
* Burvenich, Frederik (1879). ''Snoei der Fruitbomen''.
Forms
Horticultural techniques
Agronomy