Reflective Ground Cover For Coloring Apples At Harvest: Could Yield Revenue
Position Open, Business Management Specialist
Lake Ontario Fruit Program
Reflective ground cover has been used in fruit-growing regions for a number of years now. The Lake Ontario Fruit Team conducted a field trial of reflective ground cover in 2018 at two Wayne County farms.
We found benefits in fruit quality, including as much as a 20% increase in Extra Fancy Grade fruit at harvest. Corresponding benefits in economic revenue could be as much as $2000 per acre.
An infographic with a summary of information, including ground cover types and suppliers, and the results of our study, can be found in the Fruit Notes (Volume 19, Issue 10) and as a pdf file on this page.
Reflective Ground Cover For Coloring Apples At Harvest Infographic (pdf; 390KB)
- An infographic with a summary of information, including groundcover types and suppliers, and the results of our study.
Upcoming Events
Apple Social
July 16, 2024 : Orleans County - Apple Social
Medina, NY
Please join us at this casual networking event for all apple industry folks from Western NY, proudly sponsored by Valent. There will just a brief introduction of the Lake Ontario Fruit Program, and from each of the four specialists.
July 31, 2024 : Wayne County - Apple Social
Williamson, NY
Please join us at this casual networking event for all apple industry folks from Western NY, proudly sponsored by Valent. There will just a brief introduction of the Lake Ontario Fruit Program, and from each of the four specialists.
2nd Annual WNY Fruit Grower Tour
![Event Offers DEC Credits](../images/dec_credits.gif)
August 13, 2024
Medina, NY
We are excited to announce the second annual Western New York Fruit Grower Tour, the premier fruit tour of the northeast brought to you by Cornell Cooperative Extension's Lake Ontario Fruit Program and Lake Ontario Ag Consulting, LLC! Located in Orleans County, this orchard field day will highlight new and existing products, chemistries, practices, technologies & equipment that shape the orchard industry today. The Western NY Fruit Grower Tour will again combine two past orchard tour events, the LOF Summer Fruit Tour and the Wayne County Fruit Grower Tour, giving industry members the opportunity to conveniently showcase their product offerings to ONE unified group at ONE time and place!
9th Annual Hispanic Summer Tour
August 17, 2024
Lyndonville, NY
Join Mario Miranda Sazo, Janet van Zoeren, Sandra Lizarraga, from CCE Lake Ontario Fruit Program and Mary Bess Lewis from Cornell Ag Workforce Development for the annual summer tour of orchard and educational updates on IPM, horticulture, HR, leadership, and labor all presented in Spanish.