🍎 Apple Trellis Training Systems: A Guide for Modern Growers

If you're growing apples — whether in a home orchard or a commercial setup — how you train your trees matters. A well-chosen trellis training system not only increases yield and improves fruit quality but also makes pruning, spraying, and harvesting more efficient.

Let’s take a closer look at the most effective training systems for apple trellises, and how to choose the right one for your orchard.

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1. Vertical Axis (Slender Spindle)

Overview:
This is one of the most common training systems for modern apple orchards. It’s based on a single central leader (trunk) with short side branches.

Key Features:

• Tree height: 8–10 ft
• Uses a single-wire trellis or stake
• Best with dwarf rootstocks (like M.9)

Benefits:
✅ Early fruit production
✅ Simple structure
✅ Easy for pruning and harvesting

Ideal for: Medium-density orchards and beginner growers.

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2. Tall Spindle

Overview:
A high-density, high-efficiency system for professional orchards. It uses very tight spacing and a strong support system.

Key Features:

• Tree height: Up to 12 ft
• Requires multi-wire trellis
• Spacing: 2–3 ft between trees

Benefits:
✅ Very early yields
✅ High productivity per acre
✅ Great light penetration

Keep in Mind: This system needs regular pruning and precise training to maintain structure.

Ideal for: Commercial apple farms aiming for maximum efficiency.

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3. Vertical Trellis (Espalier Style)

Overview:
A flat training system where branches are tied along horizontal wires. Great for maximizing space and sunlight.

Key Features:

• Requires multi-wire trellis (4–6 wires)
• Used with dwarf rootstocks
• Often grown on walls or fences in smaller orchards

Benefits:
✅ Perfect for narrow spaces
✅ Easy to manage and pick
✅ Visually appealing

Ideal for: Home gardens or farms with limited space.

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4. V-Trellis (Y-Trellis)

Overview:
Branches are trained to grow outward in a “V” shape, improving sunlight access and airflow.

Key Features:

• Needs angled trellis posts or arms
• Common in orchards focused on fruit color development

Benefits:
✅ Excellent fruit color and size
✅ Reduces disease risk due to better airflow
✅ Makes canopy more accessible

Ideal for: Growers focused on premium fruit quality and color.

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5. Bi-Axis (Twin Leader)

Overview:
Instead of one main trunk, this system trains two leaders per tree. Think of it as growing two trees in one space.

Key Features:

• Supports balanced fruiting on both sides
• Needs a strong trellis with multiple wires

Benefits:
✅ More even growth
✅ Redundancy — if one leader fails, the other can take over
✅ Suitable for mechanical pruning

Ideal for: Advanced growers looking for long-term canopy balance.

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🧰 Choosing the Right System: What to Consider

Before you choose a training system, ask yourself:

✅ What rootstock are you using? (Dwarf rootstocks prefer supported systems)
✅ How much space do you have?
✅ What are your labor resources?
✅ Are you aiming for early returns or long-term structure?

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📌 Final Tip

No matter which system you choose, the first 2–3 years are critical. Invest time in proper pruning, branch positioning, and trellis setup early on — your future harvest depends on it.

Have questions or want a step-by-step guide with photos? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll be happy to help!

Apple Tree: Training Systems of Apple Trees in Intensive Orchards

The number of apple trees per acre in new orchards has gradually been increasing. Orchard intensification is motivated by the desire to produce fruit early in the life of the orchard to rapidly recover establishment costs. Intensification is possible by using dwarfing rootstocks that control tree size, induce early cropping, and produce large quantities of fruit relative to the amount of wood produced.

Apple trees grown on dwarfing rootstocks have shallow or brittle roots systems and trees grew poorly and often leaned or fell over. Therefore these plants require support systems. However, Intensive orchard systems are more profitable than traditional low-density orchards on semi-dwarfing rootstocks. However, because the establishment costs for intensive orchards are high, trees must be trained and pruned properly to induce and maintain high yields.

Motivation for orchard intensification.

The primary reasons for orchard intensification include:

1.) early fruit production, and
2.) reduced pruning and harvest costs of mature orchards.

Yield is positively related to the amount of sunlight intercepted per acre. Profit, which is influenced by yield as well as fruit size and quality, is probably at an optimum when an orchard intercepts about 70% of the available light. Traditional orchards, using vigorous rootstocks, were typically planted at a spacing of about 22 feet x 16 feet with 132 trees per acre. For the first five or six years after planting, fruiting was discouraged to promote vegetative growth so trees would fill their space as rapidly as possible. The first crop was usually harvested four or five years after planting, but high yields were not obtained until trees finally occupied their allotted space. Maximum yields did not occur until about 12 to 14 years after planting.

Intensive orchards are typically planted at narrow spacing depending upon the training system adopted but one thing is very clear that a small crop is often harvested the year after planting, because trees have so little space to fill, peak production is usually achieved during the 6th or 7th year after planting. Once trees fill their allotted space, maximum yields are similar for all types of orchard systems. Because the primary advantage of intensive orchards is early fruit production, these orchards should be planted only on excellent sites with a low probability of crop loss due to frost or hail.

Intensive orchard training systems.

The three basic types of training systems used for intensive orchards are

1. "Trellis,"
2."Slender Spindle," and
3."Vertical axis or French Axis."

There are many modifications of each system, and orchardists will need to adapt a system to suit their own particular situation. The basic systems will be discussed in coming posts