Abstract

In Chile, the growth of the sector of fruit production have caused the establishment of fruitorchards in areas of heterogeneous geomorphology and environmental-edaphic characteristics,which are not necessarily suitable for agricultural purposes. This research is base on thehypothesis that District and Site, which are formal descriptors of soil geomorphology andenvironmental-edaphic characteristics, determine to an important extent the level of developmentand productivity of the orchards. We evaluated an organic apple orchard, where fivehomogeneous areas of District and Site characteristics were found, and evaluated growth of appletrees of 10 years of age. Within the orchard, in the areas that presented a District of higher slopewe found less growth. The Site characteristics also showed an effect on the tree growth, related toits hidromorphism. In this research we argue that prior to establishing an organic orchard, theanalysis of the District and Site is fundamental to achieve an ecologically coherent design thatinvolves local and permanent characteristics of the ecosystem where it is established.