RESEARCH & EVENTS
Informing decision making on rootstocks
From page 37 The best way to determine your level of risk is by testing and understanding the history of your site . In a replant situation , if there was a prunus species such as almonds or stonefruit planted there previously it is likely that these nematodes will be present . Therefore , requiring a rootstock that is resistant is a key decision to make .
Rootstock characteristics and traits Once you have determined the characteristics of your site , you can narrow down your search by comparing against the characteristic summary . This will help to analyse your options , where you can then review the potential rootstock selections based on their characteristics and traits .
Management objectives One of the traits that is affected by rootstock is the canopy size . Larger canopies come with several management challenges . Generally , peach-almond hybrid rootstocks grow bigger trees and therefore are seen to have the potential to produce larger crops . It is therefore important to know how soil fertility will affect tree growth and manage fertigation programs so that tree are not pushed to hard making them difficult or costly to manage . Over-fertilisation and irrigation could also create challenges if not managed correctly . If a tree does not handle wet feet , there is a risk of phytophthora with too much irrigation . An example of this has been seen with young Garnem trees . Growers who have worked out that they applied too much to early , see this water logging effect take hold . Therefore , if you haven ’ t grown with a rootstock before it would be recommended to talk to someone with some experience to assist in getting the knowledge .
The importance of planning Deciding on the rootstock is one thing but making sure it is available from the nursery is another . If you want to use a rootstock that is not overly common in the industry it is important you let the nursery know as soon as possible . With common rootstocks such as Nemaguard and Garnem , two years notice would allow adequate time to make sure you get the numbers and quality you are after . However , a rootstock that is not common within the industry the four year time frame is to ensure the nursery has the time to get the amount of rootstocks into production . If you require large numbers , even three to four years in advance would work in your favour !
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