The expert reports - The rules to follow when planting a new cherry orchard

17 Jan 2025
36

Among the main productive problems that we can see in the field in adult and formed orchards, are errors in training management in the first years of the orchard even before planting, such as poor soil preparation, (there are still producers who ask if it is necessary subsoil the soil before planting, just to save this cost), poor quality of plants and no chemical preparation of the soil.

Orchards that present disease and phytosanitary symptoms in the second, third or fourth year of planting are generally associated with poor quality plants from the nursery, which is why we as producers should not receive or plant material that presents disease symptoms or second-hand plants. Third category, this is the number one mistake when establishing a garden, a low-quality plant will hardly be able to express its productive potential and if possible, it will have a high productive cost, so it is important to be clear that one. “GOOD PLANT” IS PRICELESS.

1. Importance of the botanic nursery

When we talk about plant quality, we must always take into consideration the handling carried out in the nursery of the material that we are going to plant in our fields. Therefore, correct selection and supervision by the producers and technical teams of the plants received at the time of planting is of utmost importance. If batches of plants are observed that do not meet quality standards or present symptoms of diseases, injuries, or presence of galls, they should NOT be received or planted. Since achieving productive potential based on a poor-quality plant is very costly, and sometimes leads to project failure.

2. Soil preparation

The key to the success of a plantation and also the durability of the garden over time is correct physical and chemical preparation of the soil. We must provide good condition to the roots from the beginning, conditions that must last over time and depending on the growth of plants. It is important to correctly prepare the subsoil portion (>90cm) where we must maintain the largest population of roots in an adult orchard, which is where they have the best conditions throughout the year. In addition, insufficient levels of mineral elements must be corrected prior to planting; this correction must be made through amendments depending on the needs of each soil. It is very important to carry out this work prior to planting, because making these post-planting corrections is inefficient, expensive and does not help at all to the homogeneous development of the orchard.

We are excited to announce the third episode of our new column"The expert reports", a series of exclusive articles curated by Patricio Morales, a renowned Chilean consultant and internationally recognized agronomist. These in-depth articles will be available only to our most loyal readers.

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