Ladders disappear from apple orchards… ‘planar orchards’ drastically reduce labor

[Korea Agricultural Technology News = Reporter Baek Cheol-hyeon] The Rural Development Administration is moving in earnest to build a mechanization-centered ‘future apple cultivation production system’ to find a breakthrough for the apple industry, which is facing a crisis due to population decline and aging.

Until now, domestic farms have mainly grown ‘slender spindle’ trees, in which branches extend in all directions around the trunk. However, this method required a great deal of labor because work routes were complicated and mechanization was difficult. To solve this, the RDA has begun distributing ‘planar orchards (bi-axis, multi-axis, super spindle type),’ which simplify tree shapes into a two-dimensional wall form.

Planar orchards not only maximize work efficiency, but also allow sunlight and wind to reach the inside of the trees well, giving fruit more uniform color and sweetness while reducing the risk of pests and diseases. When planar tree forms are combined with localized mechanization technology, output increases by more than 20% and labor input is reduced by more than 30% compared with conventional methods.

For pruning, based on bi-axis cultivation, work that took 27.4 hours per 10 ares (a) by hand was reduced to 16.0 hours after machinery was introduced, cutting labor by about 25–35%. Flower thinning, which took 13 hours when done manually one by one, can be completed in just 30 minutes using tractor-mounted equipment.

In addition, for pest control, applying a fixed-post unmanned automatic pesticide spraying system reduced spraying time from 40 minutes with a conventional sprayer (SS machine) to just 4 minutes, while maintaining equivalent control effectiveness.

The cultivation area of planar orchards has rapidly increased to 1,149.9 hectares (ha) as of 2025. The Rural Development Administration plans to continue this trend by expanding the cultivation area of planar tree forms to 5,000 hectares (ha) by 2030, and also to widen the ‘smart orchard model,’ which combines mechanization and unmanned pest-control technology, to 2,000 hectares (ha).

However, bi-axis seedlings needed to establish planar orchards cost on average 3,000 to 5,000 won more per unit than conventional single-axis seedlings, making the higher initial investment a burden for farmers.

In response, Lee Dong-hyeok, head of the Apple Research Center at the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, said, “If good seedlings with well-developed lateral branches are planted, early fruiting and harvesting—key factors in recovering the initial investment—are possible,” adding, “We will ensure that proper training is provided through the Korea Fruit Tree Seedling Association on how to raise good seedlings.” He also added, “Since apples are a long-term crop managed for at least 10 years once planted, they are more economical than conventional methods when considering increased yield and reduced labor costs from a mid- to long-term perspective.”