work both ways

work both ways

Solid Orchard:  Spike one limb or interplant a percentage of the trees with a mix of the above pollinators, suggested 25 %.

Combination Planting:  Blackred I (37P568) could be planted in conjunction with Blackred III (22C321), 26C207, or Yellowsweet II (38P827), perhaps on a 4 rows of each configuration.  A few extra pollinators interspersed between the middle two rows of each would be cheap insurance.

2nd Combination Planting:  Could be planted with Plumsweet XI (21P1155), perhaps 4 rows of each, with one or two of the pollinators listed above spiked about every fifth tree in the 37P568 portion of the orchard.

NOTES:

Spiking a pollinator means to graft a central limb of the commercial variety with one of the confirmed pollinators.  The recommended method would be to spike each tree once, but alternate more than one confirmed pollinator throughout the commercial orchard.  Some growers prefer to interplant the pollinator in the same row between two trees of the preferred variety and grow them in a flagpole or or very upright V-style, often pulling and tying a limb toward the center of each adjoining tree.

Combination plantings are made of 2 or 3 varieties that usually benefit each other for pollination.  Alternating 4 rows of each is most common, alternating 2 rows of each gives better pollination, but does not harvest as efficiently.  Also, it is usually beneficial to insert pollinators along the center 2 rows of a 4 row planting.