Apple planting procedures and production techniques

The botanical name of Apple is Malus sylvestris; it belongs to the family Rosaceae

Varieties of apple: Warm winter resistant varieties with low chilling requirements alone are suitable to the hills of Tamil Nadu.
Early varieties: Yield : April – May.
Irish Peach and Zouches Pipin.
Mid season varieties: Yield : June – July.
Carrington and Winterstein.
Late varieties: Yield : August – September.
Rome Beauty, Parlin’s Beauty and KKL 1.

Soil and climate: Red lateritic soils with good drainage and high organic matter are more suitable.
The soil pH should be around 5.8 to 6.2. Can be grown from 1200 to 2000 m.

Planting material: One year old grafts on M.778 and M.779 rootstocks during June – July.

Season: June to December.

Spacing: 4 x 4 m in pits of 60 cm x 60 cm x 60 cm.

Irrigation: Water the plants till establishment.

Application of fertilizer: Apply FYM 25 kg. N 500 g and 1 kg in each of P and K per bearing tree.

Training and pruning: The tree is trained to open centre system. Prune the tree every December – January.

Plant Protection against Pests
Wooly aphis: Use resistant rootstalks M 778, 799, MM 104, MM 110, MM 112, MM 113, MM 114 and MM115.
The parasite Aphelinus mali should be conserved in the field. Spray methyl demeton 25 EC at the rate of 4 ml/lit.

Protection against Disease
Apple scab: To control apple scabs follow the spray schedule:
1. Silver tip to green tip : Captafol or Mancozeb or 2 g/lit.
2. Pink bud or after 15 days : Mancozeb 2 g/lit.
3. Petal fall : Carbendazim 0.5 g/lit.
4. 10 days after petal fall : Mancozeb 2 g/lit.
5. 14 days after fruit set : Captafol 2 g/lit.
Add stickers like Triton AE or Teepol at 10 ml/10 lit of spray fluid. Use low volume sprayers.
Lichens: Spray quick lime 1 kg/20 lit of water after pruning to control lichens growth.

Yield: 10 – 20 kg/tree/year. The tree starts bearing from 4th year of planting.

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