Training systems and rootstocks for high density planting (HDP) of the cultivar 'Abbé Fétel': Developmental trials in Italy

In the last ten years, there has been a tendency among pear orchards to increase planting densities, in particular using quince rootstocks, which provide early bearing and smaller tree size. As part of the continuous evolution of fruit farming, to remain successful those in the fruit growing industry have needed to take advantage of all the good information aimed at supporting their various management choices. There are numerous technical and organizational innovations (cultivars, rootstocks, cropping techniques and defense techniques, etc.) that affect the whole life of an orchard. It has been, therefore, of the utmost importance to be able to use ad hoc experimentation for our area in Italy, in order to guarantee high transferability of the results. For this purpose, between 2004 and 2005, the "Fratelli Navarra Agricultural Foundation" created an experimental and demonstration area where various methods of fruit cultivation are evaluated. The experiment began in 2005 with the evaluation of the main cultivar: 'Abbé Fétel'. This was grafted onto a wide range of quince rootstocks (Sydo^®, BA29, Adams, MH^® and MC). For incompatible combinations with quince, an interstock of 'Beurré Hardy' was used. The planting system density used varied between 3,030 and 13,333 trees/ha. This choice was made in order to check the physiological and economic limits of increasing density. The plantation systems used were chosen from those that mainly represent the choices in this area of Italy (Free spindle, V System, Bi-axis, Vertical axis).