Rootstock and budding height effect on apple tree performance in the young orchard

In 2000-2003, budding height influence on tree growth and productivity was investigated in a young orchard. The experiment was carried out with cv. 'Auksis' on two different rootstocks budded at heights of 0, 10, 20 and 30 cm. There were no significant differences between rootstocks during the first growing season when tree height, stem diameter, shoot number or total shoot growth were estimated. The differences between rootstocks were evident in the second year, where trees on P60 grew stronger. Stronger growth of trees was also observed at lower compared with higher budding heights. Total shoot growth, stem diameter and tree height were significantly different on trees budded at 0 and 10 cm compared with trees budded at 20 and 30 cm. The first crop was the same on both rootstocks and there were no significant differences among budding heights. In the following two years, significant differences occurred for both rootstocks and budding height. Rootstock B.396 gave higher yields and trees on it were smaller. The influence of budding height on crop load differed between years and rootstocks. Significant differences were found with B.396 budded at different heights. Less pronounced differences were found with P60 rootstocks. Trees that were budded higher had smaller stem diameter compared with trees that were budded lower. Apple fruit weight did not depend on budding height.