These terms, extreme acidic soil are not very specific. How about an
actual number? I've seen very productive apple trees with healthy foliage
as low as 5.2 pH. All the Cornell emphasis on a pH about 7 is an attempt
to get calcium into apples for storage, although I'm not sure if there is
research backing this up- I know varieties can produce calcium deficient
apples at that pH. Other sources suggest a pH of between 5.5 and 6.5, so
obviously apples are fairly adaptable.
According to Childers in his classic book "Fruit Science" there are some
very productive orchards in the south bordering the Mississippi river where
there is something like a permanent 18" water table. The key is for it to
contain a fairly constant layer of well aerated soil.
I once made a deal with a commercial apple grower in upstate NY of planting
nursery trees in between trees in new rows of replants. The soil was a
pretty heavy clay and in early spring every year had water pooled up on the
surface well into first growth. It was a very productive orchard with
impressive yields by any standard. Bruce Sallinger was the owner who also
owns an orchard in Putnam County, NY (Sallinger's). You can contact him if
you have any questions about that. It was an orchard he purchased after
going through the same agony of indecision you are. It was formerly a
dairy farm.
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