Low hanging fruit
New QDMA report illustrates why fruit orchards a better option than food plots
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When wildlife biologist David Osborne told a standing-room-only crowd at the 2010 QDMA National Convention that fruit orchards are often better than food plots for deer hunters, he was singing to the choir.
Members of the Quality Deer Management Association are arguably the most knowledgeable deer hunters in the world, and don't miss much when it comes to attracting deer. Most of them planted food plots before they were called food plots, and many of them have been using fruit trees to attract and feed deer for decades.
When Osborne told them their fruit orchards are the source of controversy, however, he got their full attention.
"In a lot of ways, fruit and nut orchards are very similar to baiting," he said.
In states like Texas, that doesn't matter since baiting deer is not only legal, but also socially acceptable. In many other states, however, baiting deer to hunt is illegal, and in a lot of places considered unsportsmanlike.
In an effort to calm the ire of the orchard owners he just accused of baiting, Osborne quickly distinguished orchard growers from baiters and explained why orchards are even better for wildlife than simple bait piles.
"First of all, tree orchards are different than bait sites in that they are legal in every state. But there are other more important distinctions as well," he said. "Unlike bait stations, orchards require skill, ongoing homework and lots of follow-up care even after the trees are planted."
Unlike bait, he added, orchards are beneficial outside deer season. They provide food and cover for both game and nongame species year-round and even increase property value.
"That's fine, but how are they any different or better than a standard food plot," one critical listener mumbled to his hunting buddies in the crowd.
"Unlike food plots that change every year and sometimes disappear for several years at a time, orchards are a stable food source," Osborne told the crowd.
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Don Mulligan
A two-year-old Indiana buck camps out under a pear tree. |
And according to multiple studies, stability and reliability of a food source is critical.
According to Osborne, deer learn to visit food sources every year at the same time and pass the information down generationally. Though deer may visit a bait site for a couple years, even after it is gone, eventually new generations lose interest.
Even in a poor production year, a correctly planted fruit orchard will give deer a reason to come back every year.
Rotten apples
A whitetail deer's range can be anywhere from 111-3,080 acres, depending on variables such as the deer's age, sex, season and geography. A properly planted fruit orchard can shrink those numbers considerably, or at least concentrate deer in one place during hunting season.
A study of rutting bucks in Texas revealed their core area varied depending on the age of the deer.
Two-year-old bucks use 412-acres for their core, but three and four-year-old deer reduce their range to only 220-acres. If and when a buck reaches seven-years-old, their range is only around 170-acres.
By placing a small stand of fruit trees in the center of a 200-acre property, Osborne reasoned, hunters could increase the odds of a mature buck being on the farm during the rut, when most hunting seasons occur.
Keeping the orchard small is critical. Large orchards are counterproductive for deer hunters because they provide too much food, according to Osborne.
"Not only is it difficult to pattern where deer enter and exit a large orchard, they also allow mature bucks to only visit them at night," he said.
If every piece of fruit is eaten soon after it hits the ground, mature deer have to compete for food and will visit all day long.
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Don Mulligan
Low hanging limbs allow deer to access early-ripening fruit while they wait for the bulk of the apples to fall. |
Large orchards also require more maintenance and are more susceptible to disease, Osborne added.
"When fire blight hits one tree in a large, contiguous orchard, it's likely all of the trees will eventually be infected," he said. "It is much safer to plant a few small orchards a couple hundred acres apart."
None of this is meant to imply fruit is more nutritious than naturally occurring nuts or native forbs. Fruit is simply easier to control and far more reliable as a food source.
A 12-year study of acorn production on an 1100-acre, North Carolina forest illustrates the trouble with relying on Mother Nature to provide wildlife food.
"During the test period, acorn production varied wildly from year to year. The low was one-pound per acre and the high was 800-pounds per acre," Osborne revealed.
Even during years when nut production is high, he said deer and other woodland creatures typically eat all available mast crops in the first 30 days. Deer continue to search for nuts long after they are gone, burning vital stores of energy.
A properly planted stand of fruit will drop fruit consistently from August until January.
Annual and perennial food plots are still important because when combined with orchards and naturally occurring food sources, they contribute to the diversity of a habitat.
Diversity, said Osborne, is the key to limiting any deer's natural tendency to migrate from your property to your neighbor's, where they might not practice quality deer management.
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