TLE 6 AGRICULTURE

WEEK 3

Types of
Orchard Farms
and Sources of
Fruit-Bearing
Trees
Jefferson C. Cailao
Have you been to a market/ supermarket recently?

Were you amazed of the different fruits found in

the fruit and vegetables section?

Have you ever wondered where are all those fruits

coming from?
An orchard is a piece of land where trees or
shrubs are maintained for food or
commercial production. Likewise, an orchard
features big gardens for aesthetic and
productive purposes. Orchards are often
concentrated near a water source. Orchard
owners mostly concentrate on a species of
trees
Types of Orchards
1. Fruit Orchards- Fruit orchards include any facility
focused on growing tree-bearing fruits. Citrus trees, such
as those bearing lemons, limes or oranges, may be grown
all together in large citrus orchards, or individually in
smaller facilities. Plantations that grow fruit-bearing
bushes generally don't fall under this category. These
include fruits not grown on trees.
Example of Fruit Orchards- Banana Plantation, Mango,
Plantation, Citrus (Calamansi) Plantation, Durian
Plantation,
2. Nut Orchards- Nut orchards include a large
variety of facilities that produce nut bearing
trees. These include orchards that grow popular
nuts like cashews, walnuts and almonds. This
category also includes cocoa and chocolate-
producing nuts, as well as coconuts. Some
orchard owners produce pine trees for their
edible cashew nuts.
3. Seed Orchards- Seed orchards focus
primarily on growing trees that produce
seeds rather than nuts or fruit. These
seeds are then sold to commercial
distributors for resale to the public in small
seed packets. They may also be sold to
large agricultural facilities or used for food
production.
Seed orchards can further be divided into two
categories based on how they are established.
In a seedling orchard, trees are selected
through controlled pollination. In a clonal seed
orchard, seeds are distributed through methods
such as cutting and tissue culture, resulting in an
easier harvest overall.
 Proper way of
Propagating
Trees and Fruit-
Bearing Trees
1.Budding- The process by which a scion with a
bud is inserted into the rootstock to unite and
grow as one. It is done by choosing and cutting a
bud from one plant and attaching it to another
plant. The bud must fit well to the mother plant.
When the bud grows big enough it will become
part of the plant.
Use budding techniques for top-working fruit trees and
producing new cultivars. Budding different cultivars onto a
common rootstock produces a multi-variety tree that yields
more than one type of fruit. Budding techniques help you
designate specific varieties for propagation that will produce
stronger and disease-resistant fruit trees. Fruit trees that take to
T-budding include apricot, avocado, cherry, citrus, kiwi,
mulberry, nectarine, peach, pear, plum, quince and persimmon.
Apple trees do well with T-budding or chip budding, while
grapes and hackberries do best with chip budding only. Use
patch budding for olive trees.
2. Grafting-In this method, a new plant is
grown by inserting a scion into the stock so
that they will form a union and grow
together. The scion and the rootstock
should come from the same specie or
family. They should be compatible for
them to grow permanently.
3. Marcotting or Air Layering - Air
layering is a propagation method for
woody plants that allows you to root
branches while still attached to the
parent plant. It is useful for plants that
are hard to propagate by cutting.
 Sources of
Fruit-bearing
Trees
Fruit-bearing trees are available and sold in different stages of
growth and ready to be transplanted. Among their sources are:

• Commercial Nursery – Run by private individuals usually

offering landscaping materials and services.
• Agricultural Institution – A school that offers a course related
to agriculture and other plant studies.
• Department of Agriculture – Responsible for any agricultural
activities in terms of vegetables and fruits.
• Bureau of Plant Industry – They develop scientific
improvement for each plant species in a locality and adjacent
places
 Ways to Care for Seedlings
• Always use fertile soil medium for planting.
• Water the seedlings every morning and
afternoon.
• Check for possible pest infestation and apply
immediate remedy.
• Arrange the seedlings in an organized manner.
Make sure to follow proper layout of guidelines
for a convenient working area.
Considerations in Preparing
an Orchard Lay out
1. Prepare the land-Till the soil adequately but do not
over-cultivate to the point of destroying earthworms and
other beneficial fungi.
2. Create a planting system- Compute the number of
trees to be planted. Examples: square shape pattern,
rectangular shape pattern, triangular shape pattern,
quincunx pattern.
3. Establish a greenhouse- This will serve as the nursery
of the seedlings.
4. Check the soil according to type- The type of soil will
help you decide what trees to plant.
5. Ensure water source and drainage- The site must have
an abundant supply of water and good drainage to ensure
availability of air in the soil.
6. Sufficient sunlight- The site must be exposed to
morning and afternoon sunlight to help maintain the food
making process of the plant (photosynthesis)
7. Availability of fertilizer -Fertilizer is a substance added
to soil to improve the plant health condition.
8. Accessibility to market-The plan site should be near
the market and transportation must be available to bring
products to the market.
Learning Task
 Why is it important to conduct a survey and
determine the appropriate trees for orchard
gardening based on location, climate, type of soil,
and market demands?

 Why is there a need to prepare an orchard lay out

before you start to do an orchard gardening
project?