Evaluation of fruit tree rootstocks and orchards, and suggestions on future fruit production in Uruguay

THE AUTHOR"S ACTIVITIES INCLUDED ADVISING ON PRESENT AND FUTURE PROPAGATION METHODS INVOLVING ROOTSTOCKS IN NURSERY TREE PRODUCTION, AND SUGGESTING PROCEDURES THAT WOULD IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF NURSERY PRODUCTS. SOME OF THE MAJOR POINTS IN THE REPORT: DWARFED FRUIT TREES HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, BECAUSE MORE TREES CAN BE MANAGED MORE ECONOMICALLY PER ACRE. DWARF APPLE TREES CAN START TO PRODUCE COMMERCIAL CROPS FOUR TO EIGHT YEARS EARLIER THAN STANDARD APPLE TREES. DWARFED TREES ARE MADE BY BUDDING OR GRAFTING ANY DESIRED VARIETY ON DWARFING ROOTSTOCKS. FRUIT TREE ROOTSTOCKS TO CONTROL TREE SIZE IN HIGH-DENSITY PLANTINGS ARE NOT USED IN URUGUAY, BUT LAS BRUJAS HAS INITIATED TESTING OF SOME APPLE ROOTSTOCKS. HOWEVER, NO RESEARCH HAS BEEN STARTED TO TEST DWARFED TREES UNDER VARIOUS EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS. THUS AN EXPERIMENT WAS DESIGNED FOR TREES TO BE PLANTED IN THE SPRING OF 1976. SHORT-TERM RESEARCH TESTS RELATED TO FRUIT PRODUCTION FROM COMPACT TREES WERE INITIATED. TESTS OF METHODS OF ROOTSTOCK PROPAGATION WERE ALSO INITIATED. AT VARIOUS MEETINGS WITH NURSERYMEN AND FARM OWNERS, THE AUTHOR STRESSED THE IMPORTANCE OF GETTING NEW-ORCHARD PRODUCTION OFF TO THE BEST POSSIBLE START BY PLANTING HIGH-QUALITY TREES AND PROVIDING HIGH-QUALITY ORCHARD MANAGEMENT.