A Swiss apple orchard with hail protection nets. A crab apple pollen-producing tree is planted at the end of the row.
Hailstorms are a danger to Swiss apple orchards. Violent storms can strip trees of their flowers or developing fruit. And even if the fruit is not knocked off the tree, it can be damaged by the hailstones making it commercially unusable. Therefore farmers string nets above the rows of crops for protection. They also plant crab apple trees at the ends of the rows, and at intervals along them, to provide a source of pollen ( to act as a pollinizer or polliniser). Apples are self-sterile and require cross-pollination between individuals by insects. The crab apple tree will bloom contemporaneously with the apple variety in the orchard and its pollen will be carried to the commercial trees by insects.
Size: 5150px × 3427px
Location: Gland, Canton Vaud, Switzerland
Photo credit: © Alistair Scott / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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