de     it
  • arbeiten-herbst Work during the autumn
    Work during the autumn
    In the autumn, fruit growers prepare for the harvest. They ensure that their equipment is in working order and collect the empty bins from the marketing company. Farmers are obliged to close their field-books and present them to the board of control. After the harvest, fruit growers take soil samples for analysis and fertilise their fields. If they are planning new layouts, the old trees will be cleared, the roots removed and the soil loosened.
  • arbeiten-winter Work in the winter months
    Work in the winter months
    In the case of new trees, fruit growers prune long, surplus shoots near the treetop. Where the shoots are protruding too steeply they are tied back. In this way more fruit can accumulate. The surplus shoots are pruned from fruit-bearing trees and the old worn-out fruit-bearing branches are shortened in order to regenerate them. Young and fruit-bearing trees are cut in the shape of a Christmas tree. This structure allows for a favourable exposure to light that is crucial for a good quality of fruit and regular yields. In the winter, fruit growers continue their professional development by attending expert conferences, seminars and training courses. They also service their machinery and equipment.
  • arbeiten-fr-hjahr-frostberegnung Work during the springtime
    Work during the springtime
    If fruit growers intend to plant new trees, they have to do this in spring. For that purpose they have to work and loosen the soil and plant young trees that have been grown in nurseries. These trees have to be fertilised so that from the beginning they will have sufficient nutrients. During the nights where there is a risk of frost, fruit growers will have to monitor the temperature by means of data from the meteorological stations and advisory services. If the temperature sinks below the critical zero degrees Celsius, they will have to switch on their frost protection irrigation. The heat created by the formation of ice protects the tender apple blossoms from low temperatures. Bees pollinate the apple blossoms and cater for a high-yield harvest. Before blossoming, fruit growers and beekeepers ensure that plenty of bees make their way into the fruit fields.
  • arbeiten-sommer Work during the summer
    Work during the summer
    Fruit growers remove surplus and damaged fruit by hand. In the event of drought, the trees will be irrigated with a spray or drip irrigation system. The grass around the apple trees will be cut and left to lie as it is an important source of nutrition for the micro organism in the soil. The fruit trees are checked regularly for pests and useful insects. Should they be needed,
    environmentally-friendly pesticides that do not harm the useful insects will be used electively. If there are too many shoots on the apple tree, they will either be pruned or tied down.