LOF Summer Fruit Tour 2018

July 12, 2018


Thursday, July 12, 2018

Dress for the weather (hats, sunscreen, umbrellas, and feel free to bring fold-up chairs).
Follow Cornell Fruit Event Signs.
Sorry no DEC credits.

8:30 Stop 1. Smith Brothers Farms, 5756 Brick Schoolhouse Rd., North Rose, NY 14516. Hosts Alan, Steven, and Phillip Smith. Registration/check-in. Receive your name tag and program.

9:00 Talk 1 - Growing a Successful On-farm Nursery - Alan Smith, Mario Miranda Sazo (CCE-LOF), and Marc Fuchs (Cornell). At this stop tour participants will learn how to plan, grow and manage on-farm nursery trees, including aspects related to irrigation, fertilization, rootstock selection, etc. There will be a discussion of how viruses of apple can be transmitted through propagation, grafting, and top working. The critical importance of sourcing propagation material from trees will also be discussed. Drive to Talk 2.

9:35 Talk 2 - High Value Varieties on Geneva Rootstocks - Alan, Mario, and Gennaro Fazio (USDA-ARS). Since 2015, Smith's Brothers began establishing several high density plantings on Geneva rootstocks. Today, there are several tall spindle plantings of Linda Mac, Brookfield Gala, Honeycrisp, and Fuji on G.11, G.41, G.935, and G.214. The discussion will focus on three-year old Gala, Honeycrisp, and Fuji trees on two of these rootstocks. In addition, there will be an update of the Geneva rootstock breeding program to match cultural and nutrient requirements of scion varieties. Drive to Talk 3.

10:15 Talk 3 - Sudden Apple Decline on NY-1 - Alan & Tess Grasswitz (CCE-LOF). A brief update on Sudden Apple Decline
(SAD) and an opportunity to view symptoms and various stages of decline in NY-1.


10:30 Drive to Stop 2, VanDeWalle Fruit Farm, 9095 Ridge Road, North Rose, NY 14516. Host Scott, Ken, and Marshall VanDeWalle.

10:50 Talk 1- Horticultural Aspects of Planting a New High Density Orchard -Scott VanDeWalle, Mario, and Lailiang Cheng (Cornell). This spring Scott finished the planting of a big apple project that began in 2016. The most recent VanDeWalle plantings were all established at 2.5ft x 10ft and will be managed like 2 dimensional canopies (2-D) or fruiting walls. There will be a discussion (1) to learn how the new orchards will be trained and managed the following years, (2) nutritional requirements of young and mature trees, and (3) new management tips for better bitter pit control on Honeycrisp.

11:35 Talk 2 -Economic Aspects of Planting a New High-Density Orchard. - Scott VanDeWalle & Mark Wiltberger (CCE-LOF). There will be an overview of the planning of the new acreage and the strategic thinking behind the project. There will also be a review of some of the investment decisions made to increase use of mechanization with a more systematic planting system with resulting improved efficiency, and some of the logistics and equipment required for the planting effort.

12:00 Lunch, Sponsor Spots, and Visit with Sponsors. Lunch courtesy of the Pultneyville Deli Company. During sponsor spots, please give your full attention to the sponsors. Without them, the tour could not be possible. There will be plenty of time for networking and conversation.

1:30 Travel to Stop 3, Cherry Lawn Farms, 6137 NY-14, North Rose, NY 14516. Hosts Todd Furber, Ted Furber, Ronald Furber, and Eric Budinger. All 4 talks/demos are in the same area.

1:45 Talk 1- On-farm Precision Thinning Trials - 2018 Results - Poliana Francescatto (Cornell), Todd, and Mario. The objective of this trial is to determine the effect of carbohydrate balance and nozzle pattern on fruit thinning of Brookfield Gala on a dwarfing rootstock. Several thinning treatments were applied at bloom, 10-12mm, and 15-18mm. ATS applications were guided by the Pollen Tube Growth Model (PTGM). The main factors that influenced the 2018 thinning results in this trial and others across NY will be briefly discussed.


2:00 Talk 2- Introduction to Hail Netting Use in NY, and two ARDP-funded projects: "Evaluating a practical, simple, and cost effective hail netting system for high value apple cultivars in Western NY" & "Effect of hail netting on fruit quality & pest & disease management in high value apple cultivars in Western New York" - Mario, Craig, Tess, Mark. Mario will be sharing his "hail netting journey experience" by initially connecting with Champlain fruit growers who first trialed the use of hail nets in NY in 2017. From these initial contacts and preliminary good results, a group of Western NY fruit growers also decided to test of use of orchard nets in 2018. Today, there are several on-farm sites (established by Wafler, Cherry Lawn, DeMarree, and Lamont Fruit Farms) trialing the use of nets from 5 to 50 acres. In addition, this spring LOF initiated two orchard netting trials with research funds awarded by ARDP. At this stop, growers will see a mature block of Minneiska trees on a dwarfing rootstock netted since May 29 and hand thinned on June 19. The specially designed machine that was used to install the nets will be at the orchard for display (the same machine used for all nets installed in WNY this season). The aims and objectives of the two projects evaluating horticultural characteristics, pest & disease management, fruit quality aspects, and economic analysis will be briefly introduced by the rest of the LOF team. Economic analysis will include discussion of how hail netting may fit into your risk management strategy in conjunction with the use of crop insurance for different apple varieties.

2:25 Talk 3-Hail Netting - Grower Panels - Experiences with Hail Netting in 2018 - A group of WNY growers.

2:45 Talk 4 - Soil Health in the Orchard Setting - Greg Peck (Cornell), followed by a Demonstration of a side-discharge mulching mower for orchard use -Tess & Cherry Lawn Farms.



2018 LOF SFT Agenda (PDF; 157KB)