Fruit orchard – propagation, fertilizing, pruning and yield
Design & TechnologyAgriculture, Forestry & AquacultureAges 14–15
Use it with your class: students open it from a link or a QR code, with no account needed.
Next in Agriculture, Forestry & Aquaculture
A fruit tree grows over 12 years in an orchard: students choose the tree species, the propagation method, the fertilizer applied each year, whether the canopy is pruned, and the planting density. The simulation draws the tree growing larger, flowering and setting fruit once it reaches bearing age (grafted and air-layered trees fruit earlier than seed-grown trees), and builds a yield chart in kg/tree and tonnes/ha for each year. Click a year's bar to see the tree and the care tasks for that year.
Lesson: Growing and caring for fruit trees: propagation, fertilizing, canopy pruning, planting density and yield
What it shows
Fruit trees take several years to bear, so choices about propagation and care shape yield for a decade. Asexual propagation by cuttings, air-layering or grafting gives plants genetically identical to the parent and shortens the time to first fruit, whereas seedlings fruit later and may not keep the parent's traits. Yield responds to fertilizer with diminishing returns and then falls, since excess nitrogen gives too many leaves and fruit drop. Pruning opens the canopy to light. Each tree needs a certain area: above the optimal density the yield per tree falls, so the yield per hectare stops rising.
How to use
Choose a Fruit tree species and a Propagation method for the planting stock, set the fertilizer and planting density, and press Run 12 years to build the yield chart. Click any year's bar to see the tree and that year's care tasks. Repeat with seed sowing and then grafting to compare the first fruiting year, and vary the fertilizer and density to find where yield per tree and per hectare peak. Turn pruning off to see its effect.
Parameters you can change
- Fruit tree species Orange, pomelo (citrus), Mango, Longan, Lychee
- Propagation method for the planting stock Seed sowing (sexual propagation), Stem cutting, Air-layering, Bud or branch grafting
- Fertilizer per tree per year 0–5 kg NPK
- Prune the canopy every year
- Planting density 100–1600 trees/ha
Questions to explore
- How many years earlier does a grafted tree start bearing fruit than a seed-grown tree of the same species?
- Does adding more fertilizer always increase yield, and what happens above the best amount?
- How does planting above the optimal density change the yield per tree and the yield per hectare?
