Traditional orchards are amazingly rich, varied and productive systems for growing top fruit. They are the archetype of sustainable agriculture combining woodland, fruit, livestock and permanent pasture systems able to produce a multitude of products and ecosystem services.

 

They are now hugely important for biodiversity with their varied habitats of old trees, dead and decaying wood, hedgerows and permanent pasture providing a rich, small-scale orchard ecosystem. They also conserve many rare local fruit and nut varieties, whose genetic agrobiodiversity will be needed for future crop breeding.

 

At the global scale consumer demand and international trade regulations have favoured cheap imports of a few varieties of standardised tree fruit. The supermarkets like their standard shape, size and taste. These are grown in highly intensive, mechanised and large-scale commercial orchards, and artificially stored throughout the year.

 

The education of the next generation of consumers, growers and professionals involved with land management must be a key challenge for conserving and enriching traditional orchards across Europe. There is a need for more training, especially of younger adults, about the traditional management of orchards, such as grafting, pruning, processing fruit and managing with nature. There are low skills and poor understanding amongst many farmers, gardeners and growers lack the practical skills and understanding to successfully manage traditional orchards. But there are also many other challenges such as agricultural intensification and housing development as well as general neglect.

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What are traditional orchards?

Traditional orchards are amazingly varied and biodiverse systems for growing top fruit. They are grown on vigorous, standard rootstocks producing long-lived trees on tall trunks. In contrast commercial orchards cover a large area with only a few modern varieties grown intensively for maximum production - a monoculture.

 

Why are orchards valuable?

Traditional orchards are the archetype of sustainable agriculture combining woodland, fruit, livestock and permanent pasture systems which are able to produce a multitude of products. They are now hugely importance for biodiversity with their varied habitats of old trees, dead and decaying wood, and permanent pasture.

 

Why are heritage fruit trees valuable?

Traditional orchards are important for preserving the genetic diversity of their old heritage fruit tree varieties. There has been a huge loss of fruit tree diversity across Europe as a few modern fruit tree varieties have been bred to suit popular sweet tastes and unblemished, standardised appearance. In commercial fruit production there are only about 25 varieties of apple from more than 8,000 known varieties all over Europe, with perhaps 25,000 named varieties globally. However DNA testing is showing that many named varieties are duplicates.

 

Why are they declining?

But more than 80% of all traditional orchards have disappeared across the UK and Europe within the past 60 years. Orchards have been removed or fragmented to be replaced by more financially productive use of the land for agriculture or housing development. Globally consumer demand and international trade regulations have favoured cheap imports of a few varieties of standardised fruit. Locally insensitive and unskilled management, and weak planning control has reduced the biodiversity value of orchards.

 

What is needed for their revival?

Education of the next generation of consumers and growers must be the key challenge for conserving and enriching traditional orchards across Europe. There is also a need for more legislation and planning control to conserve orchards as well as available suburban land to develop community and commercial orchards.

 

So why learn about traditional orchards?

There is growing demand to learn more about traditional orchards. Growers and gardeners want to learn the skills of managing orchards and farmers want grants for agroforestry. Consumers increasingly want locally produced and healthy food and to know more about the origins, carbon footprint and organic status of their food.

 

What is there to learn?

Probably the best way to learn more about traditional orchards is by learning from experienced orchardists. Volunteering in a community orchard is another way of informally learning by doing. Our Toolkit for Learning about Traditional Orchards is a useful introduction, guide and supplement for anyone wanting to learn more and pass it on to others.

 

Planning and developing a new orchard

Finding and selecting a site for a new orchard can take a long time with much research and discussion about soil, water, sunshine and biodiversity. The quality of the soil and the moisture availability during the growing season helps to choose the right fruit tree species and their varieties especially when there are so many options.

 

Interesting other people and groups

There are many ways to interest and educate people whether in the orchard, a market, a teaching room or at home. Self-guided trails, photo guides and QR code labels can help visits to explore an orchard on their own. More formal learning opportunities include study visits and workshops. Public events, such as an Apple Day or Orchard Blossom Day, can be fun and popular for all ages.

 

Identifying the fruits and varieties

The main fruit trees in Europe are mostly members of the Rose family. The stone fruit trees, like plums and cherries include six species and the pome fruit trees, like apples and pears include four species. Each species and variety has different characteristics and hence requirements for management. But more people are needed with the skills of identifying varieties.

 

Growing the trees

Fruit tree varieties cannot be grown true from their seed. Grafts are needed to produce the same variety when young twigs, or scions, are joined to a rootstock. Grafting is a cheap, quick and rather miraculous way of reproducing the same variety but few people have the skill or patience. However there are now many grafting workshops to learn this rare and valuable skill.

 

Planting the trees

Fruit trees are best planted in late autumn when they are young, dormant and have most of the wet winter to establish their root system. One year old maiden whips or two year old feathered maiden trees may be bare-rooted or container-grown. Planting fruit trees is a popular community activity. But they also need a lot of management after planting.

 

Pruning the trees

Many guides imply that pruning was, and is, an essential part of fruit tree management. But minimal pruning is both an acceptable policy, and a traditional and local practice. However formative pruning in the first few years can form the main shape of the tree. The main aim of pruning is create an open, balanced structure and remove dead, diseased and crossing branches.

 

Restoring old orchards

When orchards become neglected they start to develop more naturally as woodland, with scrub and deadwood. This can be very valuable for biodiversity. So the restoration of an old orchard needs to be managed carefully knowing the future purpose of the orchard. Any rare or local varieties need to be identified and propagated as well as pruned.

 

Managing for variety

The diversity of a traditional orchard - in its species, varieties, ages, sizes of fruit trees and its biodiversity - is the key to this polycultural system. Providing space for biodiversity means leaving some deadwood for fungi and insects. It also ensures there is a continuous local supply of pollen and nesting sites for pollinating insects and birds.

 

Managing the soil and grass

The orchard grassland has a huge influence on the growth and productivity of fruit trees. Permaculture approaches encourage the use of fruit tree guilds of ground cover plants including fixers, suppressors, accumulators and mulchers which can all improve soil health. Organic mulches, such as wood chips or straw, have many benefits holding moisture and controlling weeds.

 

Managing with pests and diseases

Having a biodiverse and structurally diverse orchard provides a natural system where the impact of pests and diseases is limited by the relatively small number of hosts. Also diverse systems encourage natural insect predators and companion plants that can control pests. Many people are now learning how to avoid using toxic agrochemicals.

 

Processing the fruit

There has been huge recent interest in the traditional processing of fruit trees as part of the renaissance of heritage foods and drinks. However all of these processes demand a real understanding of the science behind different methods of preserving tree fruit and nuts from fungal/bacterial spoilage, as well as the science and methods of fermentation and acetification.

 

Promoting and selling the products

A key to the conservation and development of traditional orchards is to educate growers, local and national government authorities and consumers about their value. Cooperation between growers and consumer interest may in future drive supermarkets to increase their stock of such accredited food and drink, in the same way as organic foods sales have dramatically increased.

 

Finding out more

Five partner organisations from the UK, Hungary, Germany, Italy and Poland have worked together over three years to develop a Guide, case studies and a wider European network. The project’s Toolkit for Learning about Traditional Orchards is now freely downloadable from the website with different language versions. https://coreorchard.wixsite.com/core

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