Planting Sites
PLANTING SITES CATEGORIES
Relevant Events
The Past, the Present, and the Future of PACMAN Webinar
January 12, 2026
2026 Cornell Winter Fruit Webinars
January 22, 2026 : Blueberry Pruning and Soil Health to Minimize Pests and Maximize Yield
January 29, 2026 : Cost of Production for Fruit Crops
February 12, 2026 : Fire Blight Management Updates
February 19, 2026 : Pink and Petal Fall Insecticides - Can We Strike the Right Balance?
March 12, 2026 : Inoculating Orchards with Mycorrhizal Fungi
March 19, 2026 : St. Peachtrick's Day - Cherry Pruning Strategies and Plum Varieties for the Northeast
Western New York locals named 2025 Good Fruit Growers of the Year
WNY locals named 2025 Good Fruit Growers of the Year: The DeMarrees of Williamson, New York DeMarree Fruit Farm.
Click read details for link to full article.
NEWA weather stations moving to a new dashboard!
NEWA weather stations purchased through Rainwise (now owned by KestrelMet) are moving to a new dashboard!
Anyone with a weather station that was purchased through Rainwise will likely have received an email or message from the company to let them know that 'Rainwise.net Sunsets January 1, 2026'.
This will not affect your ability to connect your weather station to the NEWA network.
NYCAMH Fit Testing Requirements & Registration Details
Considering NYCAMH for your respirator fit testing?
Here are some key facts and helpful tips about medical clearance:
Medical Clearance ? Fit Testing (They are not the same!)
Before you can wear a respirator or be fit tested, OSHA requires a medical evaluation under the Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134). This evaluation must be conducted by a licensed healthcare provider to determine if you are physically able to use a respirator safely.
Innovations in Apple Farming with CCE Specialist Mario Miranda Sazo
Listen as Mario Miranda Sazo of Cornell Cooperative Extension explains how drone imagery, precision crop management, and advanced grafting are transforming apple orchards by improving bloom monitoring, yields, fruit quality, and sustainability, in an episode of the Extension Out Loud podcast.
2025 Western New York Fruit Conference Presentations
Pawpaws in New York
Are you a fan of pawpaws? These custardy fruits can be hard to come across, so this guide provides information on how to grow your own pawpaw from seed, and how to care for grafted seedlings. Pdf on growing now available.
Lake Ontario Fruit Webinar Recording & Video Links
LOF Fruit Bites
See details to check out quick "how to" videos on a variety of fruit and orchard topics.
What Herbicides control which weeds ?
Deborah Breth, Integrated Pest Management
Lake Ontario Fruit Program
This guide is used to identify the most effective herbicides to target specific weeds in tree fruit. First identify the weed, or weeds, then find those weeds across the top of the spreadsheet. For each weed, make a list of herbicides that are effective on the label. Then you will need to double check the label to determine 1) if the tree fruit crop is labeled, 2) if the tree age is appropriate for use,3) what rate is needed for specific weeds and any soil limitations that might impact those rates. You can go to the Bureau of Pest Management - Information Portal to find the labels to determine specific application requirements including the rates, timing, any adjuvants necessary, and any precautions to ensure crop safety.
Black Stem Borer Trap Data
Apple IPM for Beginners
Deborah Breth, Integrated Pest Management
Lake Ontario Fruit Program
Pest management can be a complex system in perennial crops such as apples and other tree fruits. "Apple IPM (Integrated Pest managment) for Beginners" is an excellent guide for new growers who want to grow apples, or want to be more familiar with managing pests in apple plantings. Even growers who have been farming all their lives may know someone coming into the business that can learn from this guide and improve the quality of apples produced. This 42-page guide will help new apple growers protect apple orchards from pests, in fact sheet format. This series of fact sheets is available in printed color format (see order form below), or in .pdfs https://blogs.cornell.edu/treefruit/ipm/apple-ipm-for-beginners/ It will help you address the major apple pests, but does not guarantee perfect fruit. These fact sheets and scouting guides are a compromise between the most accurate, complex information researchers have to offer and the amount of information a beginner can take in. Read the first four chapters carefully to start this new venture. Then follow the Scouting Calendar as apple stage of growth advances week-by-week. "Apple IPM for Beginners" was partially funded by Federal Smith Lever Funds. Additional full color printed copies can be ordered from CCE-Lake Ontario Fruit Program.
The Benefits of Orchard Mechanization for the Tall Spindle Orchard System
Mario Miranda Sazo, Cultural Practices
Lake Ontario Fruit Program
NY apple growers are rapidly adopting the Tall Spindle planting system which has higher yields than traditional systems and is allowing them to adopt motorized labor positioning platforms to reduce pruning, hand thinning and summer pruning costs. In the future pruning costs may be reduced even further with mechanized summer side-wall shearing. To take full advantage of these advances in mechanization, new orchards should be established at a spacing of 2.5-3ft x 11-12 ft.
The Pros and Cons of an On-Farm Nursery
Mario Miranda Sazo, Cultural Practices
Lake Ontario Fruit Program
The increasing acceptance of high-density orchards and specifically the Tall Spindle Planting System to improve orchard profitability has made orchard replanting more expensive than previously. Our data from Cornell and that of many leading NY growers indicates that the increased planting cost of a tall spindle orchard is offset by much higher early and mature yields than we had previously achieved.
The Use of Feathered Nursery Trees combined with High Planting Densities
Mario Miranda Sazo, Cultural Practices
Lake Ontario Fruit Program
The use of feathered trees combined with high planting densities and minimal pruning has resulted in a significant improvement in yield of new orchards over the first 5 years. The larger the initial caliper of the tree at planting, the greater the growth and yield in the first 4-5 years. The greater the number of feathers at planting, the greater the yield especially in the second and third years.
An Important Pruning Reminder
Mario Miranda Sazo, Cultural Practices
Lake Ontario Fruit Program
Planning Ahead with MidSummer Grasses
Mario Miranda Sazo, Cultural Practices
Lake Ontario Fruit Program
Growers who are planning to plant a new orchard site (or a replant site) next year can consider the use of cover crops before planting an orchard. Their benefits are numerous.
Fall Planting of Apples
Mario Miranda Sazo, Cultural Practices
Lake Ontario Fruit Program
In recent years, fall planting has become the norm for a few Western NY growers who have successfully planted in the fall for several consecutive years. These new orchards have shown a strong growth the first year compared to spring planted trees.
Apples
Apricots
Asian Pears
Blueberries
Cherries
Currants
Gooseberries
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Plums
Raspberries / Blackberries
Strawberries
Unusual Fruit
Upcoming Events
2026 Dyson Agricultural Food
January 12, 2026
Ithaca, NY
The Past, the Present, and the Future of PACMAN Webinar
January 12, 2026
Join nationally recognized scientists and extension specialists for a nationwide PACMAN webinar presenting five years of research findings and outlining emerging directions and collaborative opportunities for the next phase of the project.
2026 Cornell Winter Fruit Webinars
January 22, 2026 : Blueberry Pruning and Soil Health to Minimize Pests and Maximize Yield
Week 1: Blueberry Pruning and Soil Health to Minimize Pests and Maximize Yield
January 29, 2026 : Cost of Production for Fruit Crops
Week 2: Cost of Production for Fruit Crops - A new tool for tree fruit, updates on berry production in NY, and strategies for tracking and using expense data.
February 12, 2026 : Fire Blight Management Updates
Week 3: Fire Blight Management Updates - Pathogen Biology, Defense Inducers, Biopesticides, and Pruning Therapies
February 19, 2026 : Pink and Petal Fall Insecticides - Can We Strike the Right Balance?
Week 4: Pink and Petal Fall Insecticides - Can We Strike the Right Balance?
March 12, 2026 : Inoculating Orchards with Mycorrhizal Fungi
Week 5: Inoculating Orchards with Mycorrhizal Fungi
March 19, 2026 : St. Peachtrick's Day - Cherry Pruning Strategies and Plum Varieties for the Northeast
Week 6: St. Peachtrick's Day - Cherry Pruning Strategies and Plum Varieties for the Northeast