University of California Cooperative Extension’s Kevin Day, a proponent of growing shorter stone fruit trees, has helped numerous growers lower their tree height without diminishing fruit quality or yields. Although initial tree training costs can be higher than those of standard orchard systems, they don’t have to be. Shorter peach, nectarine, and plum trees (8 to 9 feet tall) can result in significant savings in labor costs—from 10 to 45 percent, depending on the activity—when compared to standard trees 12 to 13 feet tall. But whereas standard orchard systems are left to grow naturally, short trees need wider, flatter angles […]