Combining training system and anti-drift application technique to improve deposit quality in narrow-wall orchards

Pedestrian apple orchard is a new apple tree cultivation system on which is focused the EIP MePS. The acronym MePS refers to a project organized around the subject of European Innovation, which involves Edmund Mach Foundation, Fruit and Vegetables Farmers Cooperation of Trentino (APOT) and Fruit Innovation Centre (CIF). This project has the aim of creating a sustainable apple orchard prototype, through which technical functionality and economic sustainability must be evaluated in order to maximize environmental sustainability in apple growing. One of the advantages of this narrow-wall orchard is the flexibility in the choice of plant protection products application technique. The experimental tests here described aimed to evaluate the chance offered by narrow-wall trained plants to treat without air assistence in order to reduce application environmental impact. Simplifying the plant structure, it is possible to have satisfactory results on crop deposits even with the adoption of basic techniques and equipments that can reduce spray drift.