Grandview, WA, USA

The shot may look boring, but the reason behind it was interesting to me. Everytime I noticed orchards with these wooden structures I looked for anybody to give me an explanation why they split the tree in two. This time I saw someone in the orchard and I quickly turned the car around and spoke to what turned out to be the owner. He is growing Honey Crisp apples and his explanation was simple:

- Simpler watering system with direct plant energy to fruit - avoid growinng stronger trunk

- Higher tree density

- Light penetration to the center of the canopy resulting in optimizing fruit quality & consistent ripening.

- Produce earlier yields - crops within 2-3 years

- Reduced fruit sunburn in high sulight climates