Event Details
Date
February 12, 2015
Time
8:15-8:30 AM: Registration. Just drive in at registration and follow the Cornell Fruit Event signs!
Location
Ledge Rock Fruit Farms, LLC.
4362 S. Gravel Rd
Medina, NY 14103
Cost
This event is free.
Host
Lake Ontario Fruit Program
Pre-Registration Deadline: February 9, 2015
EVENT HAS PASSED
EVENT HAS PASSED
CCE LOF Winter Pruning and Orchard Mechanization Tour in Orleans County
February 12, 20158:15-8:30 AM: Registration at Ledge Rock Fruit Farms, LLC. #4362 S. Gravel Rd, Medina, NY14103
Stop 1 - 8:30 AM - 9:30 AM: Ledge Rock Fruit Farms, LLC. We will be visiting the same new Tall Spindle plantings of NY 1 and NY 2 that we visited during the summer tour in July 2014. Participants will learn about the benefits of partial orchard mechanization and proper pruning for high density plantings. We will emphasize and practice the concept of precision pruning by counting floral buds before and after pruning. The pruning will be conducted on NY1and NY2 trees on M.9Nic29, NY1 on G.30, and NY2 on G.41. Discussion on orchard mechanization and precision pruning will be led by Dr. Terence Robinson (Dept. Horticulture, Cornell U.) and Mario Miranda Sazo (CCE-LOF).
Stop 2 - 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM: Gary Robert's block. This block is located at #11105
Maple Ridge Rd., the main entrance is located behind a Red Barn. Here we will be hosted by Phil Schepis and Jenna Roberts Bruning who have been pruning this Tall Spindle block and have experienced the use of an ORSI platform for the last three years. A Precision pruning exercise will be conducted with Fuji and Cameo trees on Emla.9 planted in 2011. Discussion on management of tree tops and trellis support will be addressed.
Stop 3 - 11:10 AM - 12:10 PM: Lamont Fruit Farm. Here we will be hosted by Rod Farrow, Jose Iniguez, and Jason Woodworth. The benefits of hedging and an exercise of precision pruning on Gala trees on B.9 will be conducted. Discussion on harvest efficiency will be addressed at this stop.
Stop 4- 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM: Orchard Dale Fruit Farm. The tour will finalize with a lunch and a grower panel discussion about orchard mechanization. Invited growers from Wayne, Orleans, and Niagara Counties will share their own experiences with mechanization, new tools, and new methods for higher labor efficiency (including the system approaches to harvest conducted the last few years).
Tour Map (PDF; 222KB)
