|
|
Kiwi Farming
Depending on what time of year you volunteer on the farm, you may find yourself involved in anyone of the following projects.
Pruning (December-February)
Harvest (November)
Regular Maintenance (Year Round)
The following points are our main guidelines for pruning, which are supplemented by attached videos:
(1) Branches that are not growing outwards (i.e. branches pointing upwards or inwards towards the trunk of the tree) should be clipped at their base. Branches growing upwards will be difficult to reach when they grow fruit and branches growing inwards are much more likely to tangle in other branches.
(2) All branches should be clipped to the width of a pencil at their ends. This will prevent them from turning into “tendrils” (skinny branches that wrap around everything and anything) in the upcoming season. If a branch is entirely under the diameter of a cigarette, it should be chopped.
(3) Branches or tendrils wrapped around other branches or the wiring system should be clipped. If a tangled tendril were allowed to mature, it would create problems for the wiring system and the tree. Ideally, the branch can be clipped to the size of a pencil above the tangled section. Also, remove any pruned tendrils from the wiring system.
(4) This is the hard one—you will need to pick and choose the “fruiting branches” or “fruiting arms” that will remain for the upcoming year. Kiwi fruit grow from little nubs on branches known as “eyes.” Each eye will produce only one kiwi during its existence, so in theory, your task is to maximize the number of healthy-looking virgin eyes (let’s call these “open eyes”). You’ll be able to distinguish where fruit grew the previous year fairly easily. If an eye produced fruit during the previous season (let’s call these “closed eyes”), it will be darker, or more likely, have a kiwi stem hanging from it. If a branch is covered only with closed eyes, then it should be cut off at its base. If a branch is covered only with open eyes, then it should be kept. However, it’s rarely that easy – the typical branch will have some closed eyes concentrated at its base and open eyes towards the end of the branch. This is where your judgment will come into play. Which branches stay and which branches go depends on the number of potential fruiting arms on the tree. Keep in mind that even fruiting arms that are being kept should be pruned to the diameter of a pencil.
These guidelines apply to every female tree on the farm.
Male trees can be recognized by the fact that they do not grow fruit, the shape of their canopy, or if the tree is still too young to tell, you can consult our planting records. Male trees should not be pruned until after they flower in spring, as they need to pollinate female flowers. After flowering, simply clip half the branches from a male tree. The following year, clip the half left on the tree and leave the new branches for the following year. This process is continued for the lifetime of the tree.
If pruning is not completed by February 10, pruning must be abandoned the pruning during the rest of February and March to prevent the trees from bleeding. Trees bleed when they are cut at the time when they are sprouting their first shoots. Once the trees have medium sized leaves, it’s okay to prune if necessary. However, it is highly recommended that farmers do not prune any time after February 10.
Also, trees sleep during the winter and for optimal fruit production, they must sleep for 700 hours or one month, but they can only sleep when the air temperature is between 0 and 7 degrees Celsius.
|
|
|
|