IFTA Study Tour 2015 to Washington

July 15-17, 2015. International Fruit Tree Association Study Tour to Washington (USA)

Along with app. 140 other lucky IFTA members, I had the good fortune to attend the IFTA Study Tour to Washington July 15-17, 2015 which visited orchards in the Columbia Basin area of southern Washington state, USA. Take-home messages for me were several:

• Water, although perceived by us here in the East to be a problem out there in the west, is not really a problem for most apple growers in Washington. A massive federal reclamation project which dams the Columbia River (although salmon be-damned!) and provides a series of canals and reservoirs means there is plenty of water in the Columbia Basin. Much overhead irrigation of corn, wheat, and other field crops was seen. Trickle, overhead, and cooling water was used in orchards. I believe there was some water restriction on orchards farthest removed from the water source, but that did not seem to be a big deal. That remains to be seen with time I suppose. It should be noted there is virtually no snowpack in the U.S. mountains out there, and the spigot originates in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, so there was some talk about Canada perhaps trying to gain some advantage for supplying all this water to the U.S. I suspect California would like to tap into some of that water too?
• Honeycrisp, like water, is perceived by us East coast apple growers to be a problem in Washington too. "Poor quality, poor flavor, shouldn't be growing them out there!" Maybe, but what I saw looked pretty darn good -- fruits on the trees looked good, trees looked healthy, and growers are serious about producing quality Honeycrisp and lots of them. Sure, I saw some sunburn, but foliage was dark green and healthy and the fruits were clean and very Honeycrisp-like. You would not have known it wasn't a tree in the east or mid-west (or Nova Scotia even). And I repeat, the growers we visited were very serious about producing top-quality Honeycrisp fruit. I was impressed and won't likely 'diss,' and in fact probably defend, their ability to grow good Honeycrisp out there. Did I mention overhead cooling is a necessity with this fruit though.
• Apple yields, all the talk was 100, 22 bushel bins per acre being the new standard (or at least the achievable goal). 2,200 bushels per acre! Wasn't it all that long ago that 1,200 to 1,500 bushels per acre was considered pretty magical? (Still pretty magical here on the East coast.) To get this yield, angled V-canopies were prevalent. (Maximum light interception = maximum yield.) A side-effect of using V-canopy support systems, however, was the need to re-assess support system construction methods because 2,000 bushels per acre = 40 tons of fruit per acre to hold up. It was noted some support systems were failing under this fruit load, hence the need to analyze and re-construct our notions about what an adequate support system should look like. Note that we did see some vertical canopies, super-spindle and tall-spindle, although they did not call it tall-spindle out there, what did they call it, I can't remember? These vertical canopies do lend themselves to mechanization better, however, than the angled canopies. Despite the allure of high yields, after looking at lots of angled canopy systems (lots, trust me!), I don't feel the need to bring that system back east. Unless I want to grow 2,000 bushels per acre, hmmm....
• Labor, some discussion, most notable, when cherry harvest starts, there is little labor left to do apple orchard work like hand thinning. Hand thinning was ongoing while we were visiting, some orchards had not been hand thinned. This is late. Offshore H2A labor seems to be an increasing option to supplement the more traditional local and seasonal Hispanic labor.
• The apple crop will be big again out there this year, perhaps not as big as last year's record-breaker, but still big. There did not seem to be too much concern about this, especially if growing managed varieties and/or Honeycrisp. The legacy varieties are in trouble, although Washington State University Extension's Karen Lewis thinks we still need a "value" apple at 99 cents per pound that is more affordable than the club varieties at $4 per pound which are out of the reach of a lot of people. So, stay tuned to see if over-production truly becomes a problem or will we as an industry figure that out?

OK, those are my major observations. What follows are a picture or two (or more) from each tour stop and a brief description. (If you want to see all my best pictures, they are here on Flickr.) If any questions, or comment, please feel free to post. And of course, thanks to IFTA and all the local hosts and tour coordinators and sponsors for their hard work and hospitality. Everyone seems to be busier than ever, so it is a real accomplishment of great value by IFTA to be able to continue to offer these education and networking tours to beautiful scenery and friendly, knowledgeable growers and industry people!

Day 1, Wednesday, July 15

Click here for Day 1 map of where we were; may not include all stops, GPS/Verizon may not have been all there!

Stop 1 - Stemilt Ag Services, Saddle Mountain West, Othello, WA. Dale Goldy and Robin Graham were our hosts. Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, Cripps Pink were featured, planted 4 X 12, tall-spindle. Noted use of Surround to prevent sunburn and on transitional organic (2015) plantings. Nice looking tall-spindle Honeycrisp with 60 bins per acre (3rd crop) and 40 bins per acre (1st crop) orchards.

Stop 1 IFTA Washington tour, Stemilt Ag Services

Nice looking organic (I believe, I am sure there were some) Honeycrisp

Stop 2 - Yakima Valley Orchards, Basin City, WA. Dave and Travis Allen our hosts. First, a modest angled system planted in 2013, Buckeye Gala, first crop year, 30 to 40 bins per acre expected. And, as explained by Dave Allan, an experimental pedestrian Buckeye Gala orchard. One acre block planted in 2010 produced 100 bins per acre. Allan says ability to manage from ground (labor efficiency) might trump high yield efficiency, but verdict is still out.

Angled orchard systems were commonplace in the Columbia Basin; here, Buckeye Gala planted in 2013

Dave Allen touts the virtues of an experimental pedestrian orchard. "It may be our future" he says....

Stop 3 - Hi-Point Orchard, Basin City, WA. Rick Orozco our host. Angled-V, BC2 Fuji planted in 1992 on M.7A rootstock, but grafted to Aztec Fuji in 2009 and 2011. BC2 peaked at 98 bins per acre, Aztec Fuji (pictured below) in 2014 produced 50 bins per acre. And, nice looking 6 X 18 ft. perpendicular-V peach on this excellent stone fruit site.

Angled orchard top-worked to Aztec Fuji produced 50 bins/acre in 2014

Hi-Point Orchard was a real nice peach site; here, either 'Sierra Rich' or 'August Brite' wait to be harvested

Stop 4 - Cameron Nursery, Eltopia, WA. Todd Cameron our host at this family owned (Allison and Eric Cameron) fruit tree nursery that specializes in finished 1- and 2-year old (knip-boom) nursery trees, bench grafts, and sleeping eyes. Todd Cameron is truly outstanding in his field in producing uniformed, modestly branched finished apple trees. Cameron and other nurseries are trying to ramp up production of Geneva rootstocks, of which they currently have 20 acres out of a total of 40 acres of layerbed. Geneva rootstocks are in-demand because of selection of dwarfing and semi-dwarfing characteristics, and fire blight and re-plant disease resistance. Click here for handout.

Todd Cameron 'outstanding' in a field of apple nursery trees already pre-sold for 2016

Geneva 11 rootstock layer bed

Day 2, Thursday, July 16

Click here for Day 2 map of where we were; may not include all stops, GPS/Verizon may not have been all there!

Stop 1 - Doornink Fruit Ranch, near Yakima, WA. Jim and Phil Doornink our hosts. Gala block planted in 2014 on G.935, 3 X 12 ft. spacing, training with up to two leaders for 2,420 leaders per acre. Phil demonstrates snapping of vigorous branches and "letting them hang" to reduce vigor. And, 2009 planting of Gala on M.9-337, 1.5 X 14 ft. spacing. Produced 79 bins per acre in 2014 according to Jim. Nice angled-V wall of fruit, meticulously managed with pruning to desired bud count.

Gala/G.935 planted 3 X 12 ft. and grown to 2 leaders in an angled system

Phil Doornink demonstrates bending and snapping of vigorous shoots and leaving them hang (promotes ethylene stress) to reduce vigor

Gorgeous mature Gala (planted 2009) angled system at Doornink Fruit Ranch --
but, have we seen enough angled systems yet?

Stop 2 - Chiawana Orchard, Yakima, WA. Host Bruce Allen. Honeycrisp the theme of this stop. Bruce is regarded as one of the best Honeycrisp growers in the region, and he stressed the need to grow quality Honeycrisp with good flavor or else "we'll screw up the market." This 1,200 ft. elevation orchard has a lot of good looking Honeycrisp with overhead cooling and reflective fabric to improve red color. Well, maybe they need a little more hand-thinning? But thinning starts at bloom with fish oil and lime sulfur. This is when I decided they can grow OK Honeycrisp!

IFTA members in a block of Honeycrisp, grown to - you guessed it! - an angled System at Chiawana Orchard

Nice Honeycrisp at Chiawana Orchard - do these need some hand thinning?

Extenday® reflective fabric in a Honeycrisp block at Chiawana Orchard

Stop 3 - Matson Fruit Company, Selah, WA. Several stops here with host and manager Jason Matson, below pictured in a last-to-be-picked Sweetheart cherry orchard. (We enjoyed eating the cherries, but the angled support and pruning/training system came under considerable scrutiny.) Also visited mature Honeycrisp blocks, including top-worked in 2010 V-system with 4 leaders per stump, and vertical trellis planted in 2008 with single leader per tree. And a young angled trellis of Honeycrisp planted in 2014 which was cut-back in the last year to two leaders per tree. Much discussion ensued here, with Stephano Musacchi and Karen Lewis from MSU.

Sweetheart cherries, Jason Matson

Matson grafted Honeycrisp with 4 leaders, 82 bins/acre in 2014

2008 replant Honeycrisp, 62 bins per acre in 2014

2014 Honeycrisp V-system with 2 leaders

WSU's Musacchi and Lewis in discussion with Matson

Day 3 - Friday, July 17

Click here for Day 3 map of where we were; may not include all stops, GPS/Verizon may not have been all there!

Stop 1 - McDougall and Sons, Whispering Rocks Orchard, Mattawa, WA. Hosts Brent Milne and Dr. Stefano Musacchi. WSU mechanical thinning trial the highlight with the objective to reduce labor cost while maintaining (increasing?) productivity. Cripps Pink/M.9-337 planted in 2013, 3 X 12 ft. trained to a vertical spindle. (I think that is what they call tall-spindle.) Produced 37 bins per acre in 3rd-leaf (2014).

Dr. Stefano Musacchi mechanical thinning trial

Fruit bud initiation effect of early summer hedging

4th-leaf Cripps Pink grown to vertical spindle, 37 bins/A in 3rd-leaf

Stop 2 - Valley Fruit Company, Royal 1 Orchard. Scott Jacky and Bill McCombs were our hosts, where WSU's Karen Lewis lead a discussion on support system strengths and weaknesses. Here, Karen Lewis with Bill McCombs have this discussion in a newly constructed, impressive (and expensive!) support system. It replaces the weaker, T-post system pictured. (I am not sure what they were thinking when they built that one?)

WSU Karen Lewis and Bill McCombs discuss the need for improved support systems to carry 100 bins per acre of apples

Inadequate T-post support system at Valley Fruit Company, now looking to beef-up their support systems

Stop 3 - Winchester Orchard, Quincy, WA. Enjoying lunch and pie -- purported to be the best in Washington, it was good -- and an equipment show featured Automated Ag Systems Bandit XPress and Bin Bandit platforms, as well as platforms, sprayers, and hedgers from other vendors. Thanks to Karen Lewis for arranging this. Then we visited with Tim Welsh of Columbia Fruit Packers and IFTA President who showed us tall-spindle plantings of Brookfield Gala and Kanzi®, their new managed variety Nicoter cv. 63 acres are transitioning to organic and a comparison of single vs. two leader trees was made: 66 bins/A for the single leader, 59 bins/A for the 2-leader in year 3 of yield. Tim made the point he expects the 2-leader trees to overcome the single-leader trees this year or next, but the verdict is still out whether he would do it again.

Karen Lewis hosts equipment show featuring Automated Ag Systems

Columbia Fruit Packers and IFTA President Tim Welsh

Single leader Nicoter cv. (Kanzi® brand)

Double leader apple trees at Winchester Orchard

Still hand thinning (damn cherry harvest!) apple trees with platform

Stop 4 - McDougall and Sons, Prospector Orchard, Quincy, WA. Hosted by Scott McDougall and Dr. Lee Kalcsits from WSU. Kalcsits discussed their photoselective netting research to prevent sunburn and improve fruit quality in this young Honeycrisp orchard. (Note that the crop was removed to improve growth in this 3rd-leaf except under the netting experiment.) The netting filters light by up to 20%, but that does not seem to effect photosynthesis and productivity, while the shading reduced temperature, sunburn and improves fruit condition significantly. McDougall showed us a 2 X 12 ft. steep V system planted to Cameron Select® Honeycrisp on G.11, G.41, G.935, Bud.9, and M.9 rootstocks with under-tree micro irrigation and overhead cooling.

Sunburn developing on Honeycrisp apple

WSU photo-selective netting for apple experiment

Cameron Select® Honeycrisp rootstock comparions

An IFTA tradition, President Tim Welsh thanks Scott McDougall for allowing us to visit their orchard and sharing their experience

My Baker's Dozen Apple and Pear Pruning Tips

As it approaches time to begin pruning your apple or pear orchard, here is "My Baker's Dozen Apple and Pear Dormant Pruning Tips."

1. Don't prune before January 1
Try to finish pruning before bud-break (although until bloom is allowed); don't prune when it is very warm or predicted to get very cold.

2.  It's all about farming the sunlight
Apple and pear wood needs to receive adequate sunlight (50% is commonly cited, whatever that means?) to form quality fruit buds and produce top-quality fruit. Just remember, shade is your enemy. Although not easy to accomplish, fruit buds in the bottom of the tree should get nearly as much light as buds in the top of the tree. (This is why very narrow canopies, as in a fruiting wall, are in vogue.)

3. Leave the hand-pruners in the shed
Larger apple and pear wood (4-years old and older) needs to be removed during dormant pruning using a saw and/or high-quality lopper. (I like Hickock or these -- and only these -- Corona loppers.) A small chain saw and pole chain saw should be in every pruners arsenal when dealing with semi-dwarf trees. (And sometimes dwarfs that have gotten out-of-hand!)

4. Avoid heading cuts like the plague
Use thinning cuts to simplify lateral and/or scaffold branches; more simple lateral and/or scaffold branches are preferable to fewer complex branches; thinning cuts typically allow sunlight to better penetrate the apple or pear tree canopy.

5. Limit tree height to no more than 90% of row spacing
If row spacing is 12 feet tree height should be limited to 10 feet. (Yea I know my math here is suspect, but round to the nearest foot less than 90% after doing the calculation -- who can relate to 10.8 feet?, and 11 feet is too tall!) "Crop-and-flop" the central-leader, i.e., don't cut the leader if at all possible to limit tree height until it has "cropped and flopped," then cut to a weaker side-shoot to limit height.

6. Use diameter-based pruning, particularly on the central-leader
If a branch is more than 1/3 to 1/2 the diameter of the branch (or central-leader) from which it originates, cut it out using a thinning cut; I've been leaning to using the 1/3 diameter cut-off more and more...

7. Forks belong on your dinner table, not in your orchard!
If you can picture it, it is corollary to 6. above.

8. Use the 1-2-3 rule, particularly in dwarf, spindle-type orchards
After pruning, you should have a balance of 1-year-old, 2-year-old, and 3-year-old wood; 2- and 3-year-old wood is fruiting, 1-year-old wood is left to become 2- and eventually 3-year-old wood; 1-year-old wood is preferably pencil-diameter and 12-18 inches long and left UN-HEADED!!!

9. Cut-back (or remove) wood that droops below 45 degrees from horizontal
Pendant wood is weak and will produce smaller, poor-quality fruit. I know, I know, this would arguably be a heading cut, but if you are ever going to use a heading cut, by all means, use it into weak wood! Of course, also cut out (using a thinning cut!) vigorous, upright shoots and water-sprouts.

10. Remove one to several of the larger branches
Except on central-leader trees where a permanent lower-scaffold branch structure has been developed, in general it is desirable remove the 1, or 2 (or 3) biggest branches (using diameter-based pruning as described above) originating on the leader, particularly in the top of the tree.

11. Favor a palmette-shape tree top going down the row
If your rows are planted in a North-South orientation (as they should be!), favor keeping branches in the row vs. into the row -- this helps prevent shading and creates a palmette-shape top of the tree; I use this when making decisions (based on diameter-based pruning) on which bigger (older) branches are being removed (using a thinning cut!) in the top of the tree

12. Experienced pruners, read this
http://www.goodfruit.com/the-1-2-3-rule-of-pruning/

13. Beginning pruners and homeowner, read this
http://www.boyernurseries.com/files/Fruit%20Tree%20Pruning%20Guide.pdf

Did I miss something? Feel free to leave a comment...

JC

The spring of our discontent?

It's been a prolonged spring in Massachusetts. Preceded by a long and very cold (near record) winter. Following a hot summer in 2013 with a very large apple crop. Now we're paying the price? I have been asked about the tree fruit crop situation here in Massachusetts. I just want to say it's all over the place, so let me try to explain.

For starters, the 2013 apple crop was a large one, and it was a hot summer. Apples reached the tipping point after several large crop years -- typically biennial apples such as Cameo, Golden Delicious, Goldrush, Honeycrisp and others which bore a large (too large!) crop of fruit in 2013 have a lot of "blanks" (no flower parts, see below) in 2014. And, by-and-large, bloom on other varieties such as McIntosh (our primary variety grown) is variable, but we will have fruit. Macoun looks good, while Cortland bloom was lacking at best? As apple bloom progressed, quite a few flower spurs with malformed buds and/or single blooms were observed -- what the heck? Theories abound, ranging from incomplete/late flower bud development last year, winter injury (although it did not get absolutely cold enough to suspect damage?), an April cold snap when the buds were pushing (although according to critical temperatures, damage should not have occurred)? Quite a few Honeycrisp flowers at the UMass Orchard in Belchertown had just one flower (see below). Apple bloom just did not look good. (Queasy feeling begins.) Although I was pessimistic (as usual, cup is half-empty) I kept thinking it usually turns out better than I expect, and indeed now that we are seeing fruit set (finally) it looks like there is actually potential for a good apple crop here, other than the exceptions already noted. Somewhat interesting, considering how wicked cold the winter was, is the fact we got through bloom with no real frost/freeze threat (except back in early April).

Honeycrisp "blank" flower, 14-May, 2014 at UMass Orchard

Honeycrisp single flower, 14-May, 2014 at UMass Orchard

Let's move on to stone fruit -- peach and cherry. They have not fared so well. A good sign of trouble was mid-winter cold approaching or exceeding -10 F. Damage to flower buds of peach is highly site- and variety-dependent, but begins at -10 F. This spring, it looks like the potential peach crop ranges from no (zero) crop, to maybe what will be a good crop with modest hand-thinning. Some locations/varieties will need very little, if any, hand thinning to produce a decent peach crop. I estimate flower bud damage to range from 100% (again, depending on variety and site) to 50% (maybe lower). I don't think any peach orchard escaped unscathed. Not since 2004 have we lost a peach crop (or partial crop) to mid-winter cold.

Good peach flower bud (top) and bad (winter injured) peach flower bud (bottom)
at UMass Orchard, 5/14/14

Sweet cherry, well, I was pretty pessimistic, but set looks better than I expected. It is, however, variety-dependent. Clearly there was some damage, but I don't have it well-documented. Past history suggests you will start to see sweet cherry bud damage at about the same mid-winter cold temperatures as you see with peach. I want to share one observation, which is confounding but probably fully explainable -- my perception is that you see better bud survival on the weaker wood of peach and cherry, vs. the kind of wood that we would like to think produces the best fruit, i.e., those nice long, pencil-diameter size shoots. I suspect the weaker wood/buds is actually more hardy, having less nitrogen and hardening-off sooner in the late fall to early winter. It might not wake up quite as readily during mid-winter warm-ups too. Kind of frustrating when we attempt to grow "good wood."

Rainier sweet cherry fruit set at UMass Orchard,  5/27/14

Finally, seeing some wood/shoot damage to stone fruit (peach and plum) from presumably the mid-winter cold. It was dry last fall, so going into the winter these trees might have been pre-disposed to damage with a harsh winter.

Winter-damage peach tree in eastern Massachusetts, 29-May, 2014

That is the current situation as I see it -- I will give apples a B+ and stone fruit a C- at this time, however, am not averse to giving them extra credit and improve their grade as the growing season progresses. I constantly have to remind myself as the season goes along that more-and-more fruit suddenly "appears" (don't dismiss chemical thinning of apples!) and that years with a "short crop" are often the most profitable. (As long as you have some fruit!)

Near record cold...

Daily (morning) lows (degrees F.) for 01/04/14 in Massachusetts. Peach (and other stone fruit) bud damage will occur at -10 F., depending on variety and preceding weather (which has been cold). There was likely some bud damage to less hardy peach cultivars, however, we probably escaped relatively unscathed. But ask me again in April, and the winter is not over yet. Thanks to http://newa.cornell.edu for the data. JC

Amesbury, -5

Ashfield, -11

Belchertown, -6

Belchertown-2, -8

Bolton, -7

Boston (Weld Hill), -3

Deerfield, -11

Dracut, -12

E. Bridgewater, -12

Harvard, -11

Northboro, -6

Seekonk, -4

Sharon, -11

S. Deerfield, -11

Stow (Shelburne), -11

Stow, -11

Tyngsboro, -13

Waltham (UMass), -7

Westfield, -13

Pittstown (NJ), 1

Calais (VT), -20

Update: For what it's worth, here are the past week and past month temperature graphs. Note the 60+ a little over 2 weeks ago.

2013 Fruiting Wall Apple Update

In 2013, my Fruiting Wall Apple (FWA) vs. Tall Spindle Apple (TSA) experiment was picked on September 11 at the UMass Cold Spring Orchard. As a refresher, these app. 8-year old Silken apple trees on M.9 rootstock were converted to the FWA in 2011, thus this is the 3rd year of harvest. There are 100 trees total, 56 are FWA and 44 are TSA. There are 3 full replications of 13-15 trees each FWA and TSA, with another FWA of 14 trees. This past year, I did give the FWA a quick dormant prune by removing 1, 2, or 3 of the more "onerous" branches in each tree. Then the FWA got hedged in early July with a hand-held electric hedge pruner. TSA got pruned per TSA rules,. i.e., remove 1, 2, or 3 of largest branches, singularize branches, limit tree height.

OK, I am going to make it easy on myself, here are the "raw" data from the 2013 harvest:

2013 ‘Silken’ Fruiting Wall Apple (FWA) vs. Tall Spindle Apple (TSA)

Converted to FWA in 2011

Yield in 2013

FWA = 3.7 bins X 15 bushel bins = 55 bushels = 2,220 lbs.

TSA= 3.7 bins X 15 bushel bins = 55 bushels = 2,220 lbs.

FWA = 2,220 lbs. divided by 56 trees = 40 lb. per tree

TSA =  2,220 lbs. divided by 44 trees = 51 lb. per tree

FWA spacing should be 3 ft. X 10 ft. = 1,450 trees per acre

TSA spacing should be 3 ft. X 12 ft. = 1,200 trees per acre

FWA = 1,450 trees X 40 lb. per tree = 58,000 lb. per acre = 1,450 bushels per acre

TSA = 1,200 trees X 51 lb. per tree = 61,200 lb. per acre = 1,530 bushels per acre

app. 5% reduction in yield for FWA vs. TSA

Those are the facts. I am still reasonably convinced after three years of working with the FWA that you will typically reduce yield (somewhat) per acre, and fruit will be somewhat smaller. There are mixed opinions amongst the harvest crew which trees were easier to pick? I think the FWA has the potential to put less load on trellis. (More compact trees.) Not necessarily sure who should convert, probably a bigger orchard where labor savings are paramount and somewhat smaller fruit can be marketed. What this study fails to show is what effect on fruit quality and packout, hence maybe profitability? I will leave the big research jobs like that to Cornell, but if it were my orchard, I'd buy a one-pass hedger and wouldn't hesitate to convert most of my orchard to the FWA. JC

Typical bin of FWA 'Silken'

Typical bin of TSA 'Silken'

Top 10 Reasons to NOT Grow Sweet Cherries in the Humid Northeast!

It's been a bit trying to grow sweet cherries this year given it has been one of the wettest Junes on record here in New England! I have always said sweet cherries like hot, dry, sunny weather. (Like in Washington.) Well, it's been hot enough but not nearly sunny or dry enough to grow sweet cherries successfully (IMHO) here in the humid Northeast. After struggling for several years with uncovered sweet cherry orchards at the UMass Cold Spring Orchard, I am about ready to give up. So, I came up with my Top 10 Reasons to NOT Grow Sweet Cherries in the Humid Northeast! (One reasonably successful sweet cherry grower here in Massachusetts came back quickly after I told him of my intention with the statement "Only 10???!!!" Ha Ha, I too could actually think of more, but I will stick with 10 for now.) Of course, anyone is welcome to refute by leaving a comment...

So here we go, my top 10 reasons for NOT growing sweet cherries here in the northeast...

Number 10.) Cherry trees love to die! Yes, I picked that up from a statement made by a NY colleague a while back, and I pretty much agree. In particular, if they don't like the site (wet feet) or just plain aren't happy, well they are toast. And it's often hard to put a finger on the cause, often I think it is canker. (More below on THAT reason.) Planting on raised berms has been reasonably effective in keeping the rootstock and tree happier and is recommended. Still, they need to go on your best, very well-drained sites. They still just might die.

Number 9.) Yes, we have dwarfing rootstocks, but they are not without problems. For one, Gisela 5 will runt out real quick and produce very small fruit if not grown on a good site (with irrigation) and pruned adequately and appropriately to promote new shoot growth. And choose your variety on Gisela 5 wisely -- self-fertile and heavy cropping Sweetheart on Gisela 5 is a bad choice. Regina, however, is a better choice. And Gisela 6/12 can produce rather hefty trees requiring significant pruning and requiring ladders to pick. (Although fruit size will benefit from the more vigorous tree.) I will have to admit in reality dwarfing Gisela cherry rootstocks make growing sweet cherries more tolerable and really don't belong on this list!

Number 8.) Cedar waxwings -- are largely a frugivore (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frugivore). They migrate through the Northeast (to Canada, and their breeding grounds, God bless the Queen) in late spring (June) in moderate size flocks and according to Wikipedia "When the end of a twig holds a supply of berries that only one bird at a time can reach, members of a flock may line up along the twig and pass berries beak to beak down the line so that each bird gets a chance to eat." I have not directly observed this cedar waxwing behavior (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV3U9cFPWKY) in my sweet cherries, however, I can verify this is what the end result will look like on early ripening sweet cherries not covered by bird netting. Please do watch one of my more creative and visually stunning YouTube videos about my stilted attempt to shoo the waxwing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ba3xGQ8U1tI.(Bonus point to whoever can name song.) They are a beautiful migratory songbird BTW, http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing/id. Although their Conservation Status is listed as "Least Concern" that does not mean you can go out and shoot them as they are Federally protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/MIGTREA.HTML which carries a fine of up to $15,000 for misdemeanor conviction in violation of the Act. Believe me, it's not worth growing sweet cherries if you feel you need to shoot the Cedar Waxwings. Once the waxwings have moved on to their Canadian breeding ground (God bless the Queen), well then the other dicky birds, i.e., robins, starlings, etc. move in. Unless you grow many, many acres, and are willing to accept some depredation, bird netting is an absolute must to grow sweet cherries with any hint of profitability. 

Number 7.) Monilina sp. aka brown rot. Requires numerous fungicide sprays during bloom and when fruit ripen. Exacerbated by rain and humidity and bird pecks and splitting/cracking. Only one really good class of fungicides (the DMI's such as Indar) on brown rot, so repeated application(s) are bound to lead to resistance. (Monilinia already has demonstrated resistance to the DMI fungicides in some locations.) Yes, brown rot is manageable, but it's a pain in the butt in wet years requiring a lot of tractor-sprayer trips (like every few days) through the cherry orchard when fruit is ripening. Covered orchards are better, but not immune to brown rot on account of the increased humidity and longer drying time.

Number 6.) Did I mention when it rains, well, "Does a Bear Do His/her Business in the Woods? Subtitle: do Cherries Like to Crack and Split?" Heck yes. Rain covers are great at reducing splitting, however, they are expensive, require considerable maintenance, and unless care is taken to divert run-off away from the orchard root uptake on the margins can still lead to splitting. And did I mention how massively expensive and maintenance-intensive rain covers are? And if I was "lucky" enough to have acquired a rain cover for my cherries, it would be straight for the liquor cabinet the moment a severe thunderstorm warning is posted!

Number 5.) They have much better weather for growing sweet cherries in the PNW (Pacific NorthWest) anyways. I suspect Lynn Long will support me on this one. Greg Lang has to be shaking his head... :-)

Number 4.) Bacterial canker. With an emphasis on bacterial. Bacterial diseases of tree fruit are the least predictable, most fickle, largely endemic, most devastating, and often hardest to control. (Think fire blight of apples.) Sweet cherry are a willing host of Pseudomonas, which generally thrives in our alternately cool and wet spring and fall weather in the northeast, with plenty of wild hosts to sit and wait it out on. Look at this bacterial canker on Regina sweet cherry, planted three years ago on a site which, until now, had been mostly devoid of bacteria canker. Did it come in on the nursery? Has it built up on site? It has killed app. 20% of the trees. (Repeat after me, "cherry trees like to die, cherry trees like to die...") Not good. I think stressed trees (think water-logged roots), or previously infected trees (including nursery stock) are most susceptible. Be prepared to battle -- I don't use that term lightly -- bacterial canker on all fronts if you plan to grow sweet cherries in the northeast.  

Number 3.) Did I mention those Voen and Haygrove covers are ridiculously expensive and maintenance-intensive!

Number 2.) You can make more money growing apples in the same acreage and in less time. I will refer to the two best sources of information I have regarding economics of hi-density cherry vs. apple. They are Oregon State University and Cornell University. Regarding the hi-density cherry orchard, "This orchard will generate sufficient gross income to cover all cash costs in year 8 and all economic costs for the 25-year period in 16 years." (http://arec.oregonstate.edu/oaeb/files/pdf/AEB0032.pdf) For the tall-spindle apple orchard, and if I read Alison Demaree's cost of production spreadsheet correctly, I will phrase the same statement above with the apple numbers thrown in: "This apple orchard will generate sufficient gross income to cover all cash costs in year 4 and all economic costs for the 30-year period in 13 years." OK, case made. These are based on wholesale returns for cherries in the PNW (about $1 per pound) and Gala apples in NY (about $8 per bushel). Now of course selling fruit retail can make a huge difference, but I think the basic economic correlation holds, i.e., apples are always going to be more profitable (and potentially less risky) than cherries here. AND, there was no inclusion in the cherry economics for a Haygrove or Voen cover and bird netting. (The tall-spindle apple orchard is turn-key.) That would dramatically affect the comparison, thus I will go out on a limb and say "I could make a lot, lot more money growing Honeycrisp apples over 10 years on an orchard acre vs. trying to grow sweet cherries in the northeast."

And finally, the Number 1.) reason NOT to grow sweet cherries: Grow sweet-tart cherries! If you really want to grow cherries here, consider growing tart cherries. Please don't call them sour cherries. I don't even like tart cherries from a marketing perspective. Where's a marketer when you need one? We  should be calling them sweet-tart cherries! (Or, tart-sweet cherries?) I mean the likes of Balaton, Erdi Jubileum, and (maybe) Danube. Much easier to grow. Great on Gisela 6 rootstock. Arguably better health benefits than sweet cherries. Makes a great pie. Can be picked stemless. Can be eaten fresh or baked or processed into juice, sauce (great on vanilla ice cream), etc. Customers really seem to like them. Birds don't like them (much). Can't buy them in the grocery store for cheap after July 1 (like you usually can with PNW sweet cherries). Heck, can't buy them period in the grocery store. Far less of a headache. (Although I am not convinced Danube is well-adapted here in the northeast.) Don't need to be covered or netted! Every farm market/roadside stand/retail grower should be growing some sweet-tart cherries on Gisela rootstocks!

#ifta2013boston

I just returned from the International Fruit Tree Association (IFTA) 56th Annual Conference held at the Boston Copley Marriott from February 23 to March 2, 2013. Hereafter, I will refer to the Conference as #ifta2013boston as I started tweeting from the Conference and it looks like social media (see IFTA Facebook page) has started to catch on a bit with otherwise very progressive horticulturists/fruit growers. 

First, on Saturday, March 23 were two Pre-Conference Intensive Workshops. Altogether, there were about 200 attendees split between "Strategies for Improving Production Practices" and "Managing Pick Your Own Tree Fruit Operations." I spent time in both -- in the "Strategies" session Equilifruit disks were passed out and explained how to use by James Schupp of Penn State, and I won't forget Tom Chudleigh's comment in the "Managing" Workshop: "It's easier to increase revenue $10,000 than decrease expenses $1,000!" Thanks to Pre-Conference workshop organizers and moderators Mo Tougas, Phil Schwallier and Duane Greene for successfully kicking-off #ifta2013boston!

Then, on Sunday, despite the weather, the show must go on, but barely! With perseverance, an excellent Pre-Conference Demonstration by Greg Lang (Michigan State U.) and Lynn Long (Oregon State U.) in front of 100 cold, snowy-wet attendees on pruning dwarf cherry systems at Tougas Family Farm. And then Jim Schupp (Penn State U.) showed us how to prune quad-v intensive planted peaches. (Pictured right.) It's typical to have some kind of weather-related obstacle during these winter orchard visits, and we in Massachusetts did not disappoint!

Monday morning the Education Sessions commenced. Loosely titled "Innovation in Production" and "Innovation in Automation" these Monday sessions were attended by nearly 350 fruit growers and other industry representatives from at least 11 different countries. (But mostly from the United States and Canada.) I should note the overall theme of #ifta2013boston was "Insights into Innovative Orchard Technology." Dr. David Rosenberger of Cornell's Hudson Valley Lab delivered the Carlson lecture titled "Societal Changes are Creating Opportunities and Challenges for Fruit Growers." The Monday afternoon "Automation" session was organized by Tara Baugher (Penn State U.) and featured speakers working on the SCRI-funded "Comprehensive Automation for Specialty Crops."

All-day Tuesday, February 26 was the Field Learning Tour which went to three orchards in Massachusetts and one in New Hampshire. Six 50-passenger buses (thanks A Yankee Line!) were split between a North and South route but all visiting the same orchards. On the South Route (which I was on) we stopped at (in order): Belkin Lookout Farm, Natick, MA; Tougas Family Farm, Northboro, MA; Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Boylston, MA (for lunch); Brookdale Fruit Farms, Hollis, NH; and Parlee Farms, Tyngsboro, MA. So much practical pruning, growing, and marketing information on apples, peaches, and cherries at these typically diversified New England orchards. Terence Robinson (Cornell U., pictured at right) was instrumental in getting discussions going between our orchard hosts and tour attendees.

Returning to Boston Tuesday evening after a long-day in the orchards, enthusiasm for the cider silent auction to benefit the IFTA Research Foundation was still high as we enjoyed a New England boiled dinner of corned beef and cabbage during the 2013 IFTA Awards Banquet. Speaking of awards, here are the deserving recipients:

• Carlson and Outstanding Researcher Award  -- Dr. David Rosenberger, Cornell University
• Outstanding Grower Award -- Tougas Family, Northboro, MA
• Outstanding Extension Award (tie) -- Win Cowgill, Rutgers U. and Jon Clements, UMass Amherst
• Hall of Fame Award -- Art Thompson (deceased), U. of Maryland
• Industry Service Award -- Elwin 'Stub' Hardee (deceased) & Family, Hollis, NH

Thanks to Banquet emcee Tim Welsh and cider silent auction organizer Ken Hall for a fun and productive banquet! Announced near the end, the cider auction raised nearly $6,000 for the IFTA Research Foundation!

On Wednesday, Education Sessions resumed. For the morning, the topics were "Innovation in Technology and Varieties" and during the afternoon "Innovation in Climate Change Strategies & Production" were featured. A featured speaker during "Technology and Varieties" was Neal Carter of Okanagan Specialty Fruits who are trying to introduce non-browning Arctic Apples to the USA. His talk "Apples and Biotech -- Why They Fit" was followed by Nancy Foster with USApple's "View from the Hill." One of the best talks of the afternoon was Jeff Andresen's (Michigan State U.) "Climate Change 101 for Fruit Growers." Andresen (pictured left) painted a challenging picture ahead for fruit growers with increased likelihood of seeing earlier springs and more frost/freeze events like those that occurred during 2012.

On Thursday morning two buses (100 attendees) left Boston for the Hudson Valley of New York for the Post-Conference Study Tour. First stop before leaving Massachusetts, however, was the UMass Cold Spring Orchard where Redhaven peach and Honeycrisp apple NC-140 rootstock plantings were visited. Then onto Thursday PM stops in the Hudson Valley:

• Yonder Fruit Farms in Valatie and Hudson, NY for tall spindle apple planting established in 2012 and Delicious Pruning/Rootstock trial respectively
• Golden Harvest Farm and Distillery, Kinderhook, NY for Applejack and other spirits sampling
• Fix Brothers Farm, Germantown, NY for Orsi platform demo and older "tall spindle" apple pruning discussion
• Mead Orchards, Tivoli, NY for diversified fruit and vegetable farm marketing discussion

And then overnight at Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel for dinner on our own. (I heard the Bull and Buddha was pretty good!)

Friday early morning we departed Poughkeepsie across the Mid-Hudson Bridge for Cornell's Hudson Valley Lab in Highland. At the HVL we were treated to indoor laboratory and outdoor field research being done by the HVL's scientists -- Rosenberger, who is also Director, on pathology; Peter Jentsch on entomology; and Steve Hoying on horticulture. It was all very informative and these researchers (and Extension educator Mike Fargione) at the HVL provide essential support for Hudson Valley fruit growers who maintain open space and provide locally grown food and economic development to the region.

After departing HVL continuing Post-Conference Study Tour stops included:

• Porpiglia Fruit Farms, Marlboro -- packing line, storage, and plantings
• Crist Bros. Coy Farm, Clintondale -- tall spindle apple plantings and hedging
• Wrights Farm Market & Bakery, Gardiner -- gourmet box lunch, cider donuts
• Dressel Farms, New Paltz -- modern storage and Cider Week, but no sampling, and we did not go look at one of the oldest tall spindle apple plantings in eastern new york :-(
• Crist Bros. Home Farm, Walden -- brand new Greefa pre-sorting line
• Fishkill Farms, Fishkill -- Eco Apples and year-round farm market (some crops organic)

After the day of orchard visits and a brief return to the hotel we had a brief ride to Locust Grove Estate and Samuel Morse Historic Site for an authentic Dutch-Colonial dinner hosted by Hudson Valley entertainers and cooks John and Cynthia Vergilii. It was really great and a fitting end to the Post-Conference Study Tour. Kudos to Steve Hoying and the Hudson Valley Young Growers for an informative and entertaining IFTA event no one will soon forget. Finally, on Saturday morning, back to Boston for travel home...

Of course I want to thank very much all the people who worked particularly hard and/or significantly contributed to make #ifta2013boston a success. They include: Mo Tougas, Phil Schwallier, and the IFTA Board of Directors; Tara Baugher for putting together the automation session; Rick, Glen, and Teresa who are IFTA's management team with AMR Management Services; Tim Welsh and Ken Hall for hosting the banquet program and cider auction; all our Pre-Conference Workshop and Conference speakers; all our Pre-, Post-, and Conference tour stop hosts; and Steve Hoying and the Hudson Valley Young Growers for arranging the Post-Conference Tour. 

For more of my pictures of #ifta2013boston see my Flicker album...