Cherry study trip

To start the New Year I traveled to New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania with Mo and Andre Tougas of Tougas Family Farm to specifically look at Haygrove Tunnel technology for producing dwarf sweet cherries. The Tougas's are contemplating adopting high-tunnel sweet cherry culture and thought an up-close and personal look at some existing high-tunnel sweet cherry orchards would be worthwhile. They were right, and I learned a lot about the 'highs' and lows of cherry production under high-tunnels on the humid Eastern seaboard.

In New Jersey, we met up with Win Cowgill, Hunterdon County Extension Ag Agent and Rutgers North Jersey fruit specialist to first visit Melick's Town Farm in Oldwick, NJ. There, John Melick gave us a quick run-down on Haygrove hi-Tunnels they are using for tomatoes, cut flowers, and raspberries. These tunnels have 4-foot sides only and are not suited for cherries, but John talked about the season-extending and disease-prevention benefits, as well as allowing workers to be productive when it is raining outside. Video.

Next we went to Terhune Orchard in Princeton. Owner Gary Mount showed us an existing cherry planting of about one acre that he covered with Haygrove Tunnels after enduring a nearly total crop loss to fruit cracking one year. Gary says that he can't afford to lose a hi-value crop such as cherries that he sells for $5 per pound pick-your-own. He says the tunnels are insurance against frost and cracking, despite their high cost ($35,000 per acre give or take). But his optimism was a bit tempered by a significantly reduced crop in 2008, a result he thinks, of poor pollination. Despite using purchased bumblebees, it is a problem that is not acceptable until it is fully resolved. Video. Others have expressed similar concern over pollination of sweet cherries in tunnels. For a little more on Gary's thoughts, read a short article he wrote -- 'Haygrove High Tunnels - Control of Nature?' -- for Terhune Orchards newsletter.

Next, on to Elkton, Maryland to visit with Molly Brumbley of Walnut Springs (Strawberry) Farm. Molly has been a serious study of dwarf sweet cherry production and it showed. A newbie to tree fruit growing, she has pursued sweet cherry production under tunnels with no preconceived notions but with a lot of research, travel, and consultation with the experts. Her two acres of 28 ft. wide Haygrove Tunnels were nicely done -- three rows of three- or four-year-old cherries planted in a bed, with one travel row. She has planted mostly Black York and Cavalier, all on Gisela 5 rootstock, and has been very pleased with the early production to date on Black York although the Cavalier have been a little shy-bearing. She is shooting for just a two-week open-to-close pick-your-own cherry season, and the response so far to her cherries -- which sold for $2.95 per lb. in 2008 -- has been very good. Molly is using 'smart ends' to help stabilize the Tunnels on a very windy and exposed location. Her research has paid off and it was very evident with the attention to detail she has put into her tunnel-covered sweet cherry production system. For more information see a recent article on Molly and her cherries in the Fruit Growers News titled 'High-Value Crops Perfect for High-Value Land.' And, watch this short video where Molly discusses erecting the Tunnels after planting the cherry trees, and the benefits of a 28 ft. wide Tunnel vs. 24 ft.

A visit to Elkton mean't we also had to see American Fruit Grower's Apple Grower of the Year Even Milburn and his son Nate of Milburn Orchards. Milburn has grown cherries -- nearly 2o acres at last count -- successfully for many years in the 'open,' although Nate admits not every year is a winner because of frost and fruit cracking. Still, they attract large crowds of u-pick customers seeking sweet cherries every year and are planning to phase out an older cherry orchard in a cold site and distant from the 'home farm' and plant to a more favorably location close by. Milburns represent a classic Eastern sweet cherry orchard (if there is one?), and despite the challenges presented by frost and cracking, seem to be quite successful in their cherry production practices.

Finally we stopped at Weaver's Orchard in Morgantown, PA. Although owner Ed Weaver was not available, there was plenty to look at on our own, including: young and mature cherry plantings covered with Haygrove Tunnels; effective use of Promalin 'paint' with notching to promote branching; and perpendicular-V peaches. A phone conversation with Weaver indicates he has mixed feelings about the covered cherries, hence the hesitation on covering another young cherry planting. (He may have had enough?)

Weaver's is clearly a large, diversified orchard with a lot going on. Hence, my summary thoughts on cherry production under hi-Tunnels:

1. Tunnel production of sweet cherries is not for everyone. Management skill, extra time, and attention to detail are required.
2. There are some unresolved issues, including ability to provide frost protection and adequate pollenation that need to be considered.
3. The cost of entry is very high, however, as long as you can get good money for your cherries, the potential to pay back the cost of a Tunnel is high. Plus there is no doubt it reduces your exposure to weather issues, particularly rain-induced fruit cracking, and will result in higher-quality, larger, and sweeter (more mature) cherries.
   
4. The Tunnel needs to be 'skinned' with new plastic after 3-4 years, at additional cost.
5. Cherries can be grown without hi-Tunnels, but expect to lose a crop to frost and/or fruit cracking 20% or more of the time.
   

GLEXPO

I am at the Great Lakes Fruit and Vegetable Expo in Grand Rapids, MI for a couple days. Today, the Art Mitchell Symposium on Fruit Thinning and Return Bloom. Speaker highlights:

Dr. Terence Robinson, Cornell University

• apple fruit thinning should be driven primarily be economic considerations
• the carbohydrate balance of trees from bloom through about 15-20 mm fruit size is important to understand the potential effect of a chemical thinning spray
• temperature and light during the same period described above primarily determines carbohydrate balance
• carbohydrate balance can be modeled, and thus some form of numerical 'thinning index' can be developed as a tool to assist growers in making chemical thinning decisions

Dr. Jim Schupp, Penn State University

• the 'Darwin' mechanical thinner has proven useful (with modification) in bloom thinning peaches to consistently reduce amount of time hand thinning and improving peach fruit size. More...
  
• the Darwin thinner was also used in apples, and may have particular utility in organic apple orchards; but, there is increased risk of transmitting fire blight because of it shreds foliage; more research is needed in apples

Duane Greene, University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Greene covered timing (bloom to 25 mm), chemicals (NAA, NAD, carbaryl, 6-BA, and ethrel) and the impact of light and temperature on the activity of chemical thinners
  

Phil Schwallier, Michigan State University

• Honeycrisp has a strong capacity to overset
• crop load of Honeycrisp should be no more than 4 to 6 apples per sq. cm. trunk/limb cross-sectional area to get adequate return bloom
• young Honeycrisp trees should probably be hand-thinned only to achieve desired results (chemical thining too risky because of ease of over-thinning)
• mature trees can be thinned with a combination of carbary (1 pt) + BA (100 ppm) or NAA (8-10 ppm) to reduce crop load to <>
• summer NAA treatments can improve return bloom

Dr. Gregory Clark, Valent Biosciences

• Clarke gave an excellent overview of the theory behind fruit thinning and talked about how Valent is looking at ABA (abscissic acid) and AVG (ReTain) as potential additions to the thinning/crop load management toolbox

NC-140 meeting/Mexico update

As promised, video (below) and picture gallery. Ciao.

Santa Cruz Valley (AZ) Foodways Festival

While visiting old friends Joe and Carol Costante of SaddleBrooke/Catalina, AZ last weekend, we took a ride down to Tubac to check out the Santa Cruz Foodways (Sabores Sin Fronteras/Flavors without Borders) Festival. Sponsored by the Santa Cruz Valley Heritage Alliance, I was directed to the Festival while visiting Suzanne Nelson, PhD., Director of Conservation for Native Seeds/SEARCH of Tucson, AZ. The Festival was co-sponsored by the University of Arizona's Southwest Center. Although small, what a delightful event! Among others, we visited a Sun Oven demonstration by Baja AZ Sustainable Ag, and an educational display by the Kino Heritage Fruit Trees Project. I even tried a Sonoran hot dog with 'Mexican Candy' which was 'delicioso!' Entertainment included Mariachi Plata (Band).

A bit more about the Kino Heritage Fruit Trees Project, whose primary goal "is to assist the National Park Service in replanting historically, culturally and botanically appropriate fruit trees of this land." 'This land' refers to Sonoran desert region of Arizona and Mexico, and specifically the Tumacacori National Historical Park, an important mission site in southeast Arizona. We visited the orchard at Tumacacori after leaving the festival, here with a fig tree.

Wow!, the food, culture, and history of southeast Arizona rolled into a small but intimate event in the Sonoran desert. A reminder of what's important to our lives and culture, and not soon to be forgotten...

¡adiós! amigos

JC

Buenas dias

I just returned from Chihuahua, Mexico where I attended the NC-140 Annual Meeting. (Well actually I am in Tucson, AZ right now for a few days of R&R after a busy summer and fall harvest, but more on that later.) We traveled in Mexico from Chihuahua City, to Nueva Casas Grandes, to Cuauhtemoc for orchard tours and the meeting venue at La Nortenita Fruit Company. (I could not find a website for La Nortenita?) I could probably go and on about this visit to Mexico, but it's likely I won't get to it. Thus, quick impressions of my visit:

• our hosts, Carlos Chavez, University of Chihuahua, and Rafael Parra, INIFAP were very gracious (among others) and eager to show us the Mexican apple industry and infrastructure
• Delicious and Golden Delicious are the primary apples grown; all are sold to the Mexican market and they like sweet apples -- Gala is gaining a foothold; Mexico produces app. 30 million 42 lb. bushels annually (vs. U.S. 200+ million)
  
• orchards are mostly on semi-dwarf (MM111, M7) rootstocks; some orchards are experimenting with dwarf rootstocks, however, the high soil pH and hot environment seem to be particularly stressful to these rootstocks
• most (viable) orchards are covered with hail nets
• La Nortenita Fruit Company is state-of-the-art storage, packing facility, and sales house -- unsurpassed by no one in the world if I had to guess
  
• Mexicans eat a lot of apples (app. 12 lbs. per person, vs. U.S 18 lbs.) and are proud of their role in North American history, despite what may seem to be many years of slavery and strife; Dr. Terence Robinson from Cornell University, a decendant of Mormon settlers and farmers in the Nuevos Casas Grandes area told of the history of the Mexican people and was also very gracious in hosting the meeting along with his fellow Mexicans

I am going to get together a photo album of orchards we visited, and video of La Nortenita Fruit Company packing house someday -- will update ASAP.

Gracias

Juan

UMass Video Fruit Advisor -- Topaz apple and hi-tunnel blackberries



Super-spindle Cameo apple trees on B.9 rootstock

I picked these Cameo ('Caudle' cv., trees from Willow Drive Nursery) apples that were planted in 2002 as part of a larger super-spindle (2 ft. X 10 ft. tree spacing) block at the UMass Cold Spring Orchard today. These were very nice fruit -- see the results of my testing. Harvested eight (8) bushel boxes off twenty (20) trees. Thus, assuming app. 2,000 trees/acre, projected yield should be 800 bushel boxes per acre. (I did not pick all the fruit, only the nicest 'target' fruit.) Not bad, but the real story is the ease of management of these trees. Most are easily kept under 10 ft. in height, pruning and spraying is simple. This apple variety (Cameo) with this rootstock (B.9) planted to a super-spindle (2 ft. between trees by 10 ft. between rows) can't be beat. The only down side is tree cost to establish, and maybe, Cameo has a tendency to be a little biennial -- a major problem with varieties such as Gala, Cameo, Honeycrisp when grown in these intensive orchard systems that needs more research!

I also looked at Topaz, a particularly red strain being sold as 'Crimson' Topaz. (Adams County Nursery.) Topaz is scab-resistant, attractive, seems to yield early and heavy, and I like it -- I believe it has Cox Orange Pippin' as a parent, so it is quite tart (but with high sugar) with a rather complex flavor. Widely planted in organic orchards in Europe I understand. Organic growers must seriously consider.

Ciao.