I think this is a trend. If you drive North along the Columbia River in Central Washington you can see this happening a lot with apples, as well.
You are certainly correct about the size of the apple trees now being much smaller. While it is easier to harvest the smaller trees, the main reason is that an orchard yields much more fruit when the tree is maintaining less trunk and limbs.
When I asked about it, 10 years ago, I was told that, in addition to easier hand harvest, it helps with allowing light to more leaves, and improved air flow through the canopy, which inhibits disease.
The light to more leaves hypothesis… Is weak, IMO.
I know little about avocado, but trees that grow apples, cherries, and pears, if allowed to grow tall, shade the lower limbs so that fruit does not grow there. The light that you mention is critical for the blossoms and buds that grow into fruit. (not leaves)
The less mass of limbs, trunk, and leaves per acre, the higher the yield
of fruit. The yield is also enhanced by better irrigation and fertilization. The yield is also enhanced by grafting in the appropriate place, limbs of a different fruit specie that will act as a more effective pollinator for the blossoms.
In the tree fruit industry we are already seeing machine-harvested fruit. This is not yet prevalent, but is occurring, particularly where the orchard is most level. In most fruit, labor savings from shorter ladders is not a factor in profitability. Yield, cost of irrigation and
fertilizer, and access to high quality storage are much more important
factors.
Tamhas: Horizontally espaliered? I am used to vertical.
We may be seeing the same thing. It looks horizontal being maybe 3-4 lines of wire along which the tree’s branches are tied to grow horizontally.
I am not an orchardist but it looks like a great set up for machine harvesting as the fruit is mostly in one flat plane along the row, and not very tall, maybe 6-7 feet.
That’s the same kind I am used to, i.e., like up alongside a wall or the way that grapes are usually grown.
I was visualizing something like a flat umbrella of wires, which would make it look more tree-like, but seems like the hard way to do things. Doing one above the other makes it easy to harvest and does get light uniformly on the leaves.
Hey guys, that’s eleven posts about avocados. Interesting, I’ll admit, but perhaps could you take any additional discussion private (off-board) now? Thanks,
Saul