Alvina Gala trees on the Cornell-Geneva rootstock CG202 are out-yielding their counterparts on M26 by 25 per cent in one of the first commercial plantings of the US CG series and Japanese JM series rootstocks in Australian conditions at Jeftomson Orchards in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley.
In their second crop, four years after planting in 2017, the Gala on G202 is producing 50t/ha and those on the M26 40t/ha. Trees on the Japanese rootstock JM1 in the same block are producing similarly good results.
Jeftomson General Orchard Manager Brent Reeves said the CG202 trees had outperformed from the start and he expected them to maintain their productivity edge.
“I said in 2017 this will be my preferred rootstock, and I’m now trying to plant CG202 or JM1 as my preferred rootstocks. We have a program of planting 50,000 trees a year. Out of those, next year we will probably do zero CG202 as they are not available, but in 2022 maybe 20,000 of those will be CG202.”
Brent took the opportunity to trial a range of rootstocks when replanting a block of Gala lost to waterlogging after the wet 2016—17 year. “It was a very wet year and half the trees in a block of Gala on M26 died,” he said. “The whole block was pulled out in May and replanted in September 2017. When I ordered the trees, I was looking for a replant decline-resistant rootstock and Brendon (Tahune Fields nursery) had the CG202 available and said why don’t you try these.”
As well as the M26 and CG202, Brendon also suggested that Brent include JM1, JM7 and Pillitzner Supporter 4 to assess their performance.
Originally planted as central leader, the block was reworked into a V-trellis at 4.8m x 1.20 with approx. 3500 trees per ha. Four years on the trees on the CG202 are clearly showing better canopy development and filling the space.
“The CG202 trees grew better from the start,” Brent said. “The M26 trees are a lot smaller and haven’t grown as well. It’s possible we should have left them for another year. This year there might have 100 fruit/tree (50t/ha) on the CG202 trees. There are 80/tree (40t/ha) on the M26 and next year the M26 trees are going to have only 80 fruit again but the CG202 will only go up. M26 might eventually get there, but CG202 got their earlier and delivers more production.”
Brent said the JM1 trees had performed very similarly to the CG202, with the JM7 showing more vigor and less crop. The Supporter 4 had produced a similar crop to the M26 trees.
Although the second-most widely planted rootstock in New Zealand, and available via ANFIC nurseries since at least 2014, CG202 has been slow to take off in Australia, despite providing woolly apple aphid (WAA) resistance as well as less susceptibility to apple replant disease (ARD)..
For more information: apal.org.au