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The article discusses the soil assessment of apple orchard under conventional and organic management at the HortResearch center in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Intensive cultivation of orchards with heavy machinery can cause soil compaction, which changes the soil structure and pore system, with respect to both pore size distribution and the connectivity of the pore network. These changes affect the flow processes of water, nutrients and gas in the soil, and their availability to plants and microorganisms, and thus the quality of a soil for production. Decreased permeabilities of the pore system to air and water also result in decreased soil aeration and infiltration rates. The results indicate that organic management results in a higher macroporosity in both the row and the wheel-track compared to conventional management.