Quality of Nursery Trees Is Critical for Optimal Growth and Inducing Precocity in Apple

A high-density apple orchard should be precocious to achieve the goal of early return on a huge investment. The quality of nursery trees can have influence on growth and precocity. To determine the effect of the type of nursery tree on growth and precocity, the ‘Oregon Spur’ apple trees raised in different ways in the nursery were planted in February 2017 and trained to a tall spindle system. Three types of nursery trees (1-year-old unfeathered, 2‑year-old unfeathered, and 2‑year-old feathered) were used in the present study. The performance of trees was observed for three consecutive years in terms of growth, yield, and yield-contributing traits. The study revealed that the type of planting material had a considerable effect on growth and precocity. After the third year in the orchard, the highest cumulative increase in trunk cross-sectional area, number of shoots, spurs, flower clusters, fruit, and fruit yield was recorded on trees planted as 2‑year-old-feathered and the lowest on those planted as 1‑year-old unfeathered. After 3 years in the orchard, 2‑year-old feathered nursery trees led to a cumulative increase in trunk cross-sectional area of more than two times as much as the 1‑year-old unfeathered nursery trees, as well as a twofold increase in number of shoots, and a 13-fold increase in number of spurs. Moreover, the feathered trees produced 28 times higher cumulative fruit yield than the 1‑year-old unfeathered trees. The use of 2‑year-old feathered nursery trees results in earlier production that exceeds the additional cost of purchasing better, more expensive feathered nursery trees.