Yield, fruit size, red color, and a partial economic analysis for 'Delicious' and 'Empire' in the NC-140 1994 Systems Trial in Virginia

In 1990 an NC-140 Orchard Systems Trial, involving 'Empire' and 'Delicious', was established near Blacksburg, VA. The 10 orchard systems were combinations of several rootstocks and three training systems. Rootstocks used for Slender Spindle (SS) planted at 2460 trees/ha, included M.9EMLA, Mark, and Budagovsky 9 (B.9); Vertical Axe (VA) planted at 1502 trees/ha, included M.26EMLA, M.9EMLA, Mark, Ottawa 3 (O.3), and Polish 1 (P.1); Central Leader (CL) planted at 1111 trees/ha, included M.26EMLA and Mark. Annual crop value was estimated each year from fruit packout data based on size and color. Annual costs per ha were estimated for orchard establishment, pruning, grass mowing, and pest control. Annual costs were subtracted from annual crop value to perform a partial economic analysis for each orchard system in each year. Total costs for trees and materials for orchard establishment were $8,888/ha for CL, $11,937/ha for VA, and $19,680/ha for SS. 'Delicious' fruit were highly colored in all systems, but fruit with >70% red color for 'Empire' was highest for VA/Mark and lowest for SS/M.9. The percentage of 'Empire' fresh fruit was highest for VA/Mark and CL/Mark and lowest for SS/M.9 and SS/B.9, but the percentage of 'Delicious' fresh fruit was not significantly influenced by orchard system. After 10 years, the net present value for 'Empire' was higher for VA/P.1 and VA/M.9 than for CL/Mark, SS/B.9 and SS/M.9. After 10 years the net present value for the 10 'Delicious' systems did not differ at the 5% level of significance, but the net present value was more than $16,000/ha higher for VA/M.26 than for SS/B.9.