Orchard Establishment
Caper plantings over 25 to 30 years old are still productive. Thus, physical properties of the soil (texture and depth) are particularly important. Caper bushes can develop extensive root systems and grow best on deep, non-stratified, medium-textured, loamy soils. Mouldboard plowing and harrowing are usual practices prior to caper plant establishment. Soil-profile modification practices, such as slip plowing operating 0.6 to 1 m deep, can ameliorate some restrictions. In Pantelleria, digging backhoe pits for each shrub was found to be the most effective means of cultivating caper in rocky soils. Two planting designs are used, the square/rectangle and the hedgerow system. Spacing is determined by the vigour of the biotype, fertility of the soil, equipment used and the irrigation method, if any. Bush spacing of 2.5 X 2.5 m or 2.5 X 2 m is common in Pantelleria. In Salina, 3 X 3 m is satisfactory for ‘Nocella’. In Spain, 4 X 4 or 5 X 5 m is satisfactory for ‘Mallorquina’. Spacing of 2.0 to 2.5 m is appropriate if C. spinosa is used to control soil erosion on slopes.
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Famous quotes containing the word orchard:
“Some spring the white man came, built him a house, and made a clearing here, letting in the sun, dried up a farm, piled up the old gray stones in fences, cut down the pines around his dwelling, planted orchard seeds brought from the old country, and persuaded the civil apple-tree to blossom next to the wild pine and the juniper, shedding its perfume in the wilderness. Their old stocks still remain.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)