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oai:recercat.cat:20.500.12327/23662025-10-22T11:29:43Zcom_2072_4428com_2072_4427col_2072_487898

Long-term effects of rootstock and tree type on the economic profitability of ‘Gala’, ‘Fuji’ and ‘Honeycrisp’ orchards performance Gonzalez Nieto, Luis Reig, Gemma Lordan, Jaume Miranda Sazo, Mario Hoying, Stephen A. Fargione, Michael J. Reginato, Gabino Hernan Donahue, Daniel J. Francescatto, Poliana Casagrande Biasuz, Erica Fazio, Gennaro Robinson, Terence Lee Producció Vegetal Fructicultura Planting a new orchard requires a complex management strategy that involves many factors including cultivar, rootstock, planting density, training system, tree type, climate, and economic conditions that affect orchard profitability. To evaluate the relative importance of each factor, data from long-term field studies is required to analyze their impact on lifetime profitability. Here, we conducted two long-term field studies at two locations in New York State (Dressel farm in South-eastern and VandeWalle farm in Western New York State). The trials were planted in 2006 at a planting density of 3,262 tree/ha and the trees were trained as Tall Spindles. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of tree type (newly bench-grafted trees and large 2-year feathered trees) and rootstock (B.9, M.9, G.11, G.16, G.41) on long-term profitability of three apple cultivars (‘Fuji’, ‘Gala’, and ‘Honeycrisp’). There were important differences in profitability between cultivars, with a higher Net Present Value (NPV) for ‘Honeycrisp’, followed by ‘Gala’ and, finally, for ‘Fuji’. For all the cultivars, the NPV of the feathered trees was substantially higher compared to bench-grafted trees. Furthermore, the highest cumulative NPV’s for ‘Honeycrisp’ were on B.9, G.11 and G.16, whereas with ‘Fuji’ the highest NPV’s were on G.16, G.11 and M.9 and with ‘Gala’ the highest NPV’s were on G.16, G.41 and M.9. The break-even year of a positive NPV for each rootstock, tree type, and cultivar, showed that the fastest investment pay offs were achieved with ‘Honeycrisp’, followed by ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’. Feathered trees showed a faster break-even year of a positive NPV compared to bench grafted trees in all cultivars. Our results showed that the key variables that influence orchard profitability were, in descending order, fruit price and yield, followed by discount rate, labor cost, and finally tree price and land cost. 2025-10-22T11:29:43Z 2025-10-22T11:29:43Z 2025-10-22T11:29:43Z 2023-05-10 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Gonzalez Nieto, Luis, Gemma Reig, Jaume Lordan, Mario Miranda Sazo, Stephen A. Hoying, Michael J. Fargione, and Gabino Hernan Reginato et al. 2023. "Long-Term Effects Of Rootstock And Tree Type On The Economic Profitability Of ‘Gala’, ‘Fuji’ And ‘Honeycrisp’ Orchards Performance". Scientia Horticulturae 318: 112129. doi:10.1016/j.scienta.2023.112129 0304-4238 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12327/2366 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2023.112129 eng Scientia Horticulturae http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Elsevier