montana heritage orchard program - university of idaho · 2020-02-22 · montana-grown superfood...
TRANSCRIPT
Rachel Leisso, Katrina Mendrey, and Zach Miller, Montana State University, Western Agricultural Research Center
2019 Heritage Orchard Conference, Sandpoint, Idaho
May 31, 2019
Montana Heritage Orchard Program site summaries and research
potential
Outline
• Montana State University-Horticulture: Who we are and what we do
• Montana Fruit Production History and Heritage Orchard Program
– Research projects and potential collaborations
– Heritage orchards for the future
A Team Effort
MSU-Western ARC
• Corvallis, Montana • Excellent Growing Conditions
• Zone 5a • >120 Frost Free Days • ~2000 Growing Degree Days
• Irrigated: • 11 Inches of Precipitation/Year
• Established in 1907 during a Bitterroot Apple Boom
• Historically a major production region • 10-15,000 ac • 750,000 trees
Mission-Specialty Crops
Goal
Growing Fruit for Profit
• Opportunities: • Growing demand • High value per acre • Adapted cultivars • Favorable climates
• Challenges: • Marketing/Market access • High start-up and labor
costs • Slow return on
investment • New and untested
cultivars • Variable climates • Steep learning curve- less
forgiving, more risk than annual crops
Growing Demand: Local Food (and Drinks)
• Supporting local-grown and sustainable practices
• Interest in eating healthy
• #2 in microbreweries per capita
Growing Demand: Agritourism
• Synergizing the two largest segments of the states economy:
• in 2016:
• $4.3 billion in ag. production
• $3.0 billion from tourism
• 12.4 million visitors • MT economic development report 2017
http://aeromt.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Agritourism-Manual.pdf
Marketing/Market Access
• Business-Marketing as or more important than what/how you grow
• Access to markets/consumers is your responsibility • Diversify: identify multiple
markets/buyers
• Explore value-added processing
• Learn from peers/leaders
Adapted varieties
• Many new and old options
• Often untested or being tested
• Winter temperatures
• Growing season length/heat
• Frost during bloom
• Neutral-Alkaline soils
Cold hardy: Winter Low Temperatures
Limited growing season
Adapted to neutral-alkaline soils
blueberries MT
Adapted varieties
• Many new and old options
• Often untested or being tested
• Winter temperatures
• Growing season length/heat
• Frost during bloom
• Neutral-Alkaline soils
• Disease/pest resistance
• Suitable for markets, labor (mechanical harvest)
Montana-Grown Superfood Berries
• Opportunity to capture growing market for Superfoods
• Dark colored=antioxidant rich
• Cold-Hardy Dark Fruit-Tolerate of Neutral to Alkaline Soils • Growing industry • Includes Dwarf sour
cherries, Haskaps, Saskatoons, Currants, Aronia, Elderberry
Antioxidant potential (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity)
0
4000
8000
12000
16000
Aronia Elderberry Haskap Black Currant Blueberry Red Currant Saskatoon
OR
AC
Fruit Type
Montana-Grown Superfood Berries
Fruit type Uses Pest Management Recommended Varieties Production
(lbs./ac)
Dwarf Sour Cherry
Fresh, Frozen, Processed
Must manage insects Carmine Jewel and others-NOT Crimson Passion 11,000
Currants Processed Some insect issues Red: Jonkeer Van Tets Black: M12, Whistler+
14,500
Haskaps Fresh, Frozen, Processed
Minimal Early- Indigo Gem Mid-Aurora, Borealis Late-Several
7,300
Aronia Frozen, Processed
Some insect issues Commercial Varieties NOT ornamental
10,000
Saskatoons Fresh, Frozen, Processed
Must manage insects Northline, Lee 8, Smoky 10,400
Elderberry Processed Minimal Bob Gordon, Ranch, Adams 2,400
Fruits Work Well Together
June July August September
Haskaps
Saskatoons
Sour cherries
Currants
Aronia
Supporting the growth of Montana vineyard and wineries through
research and outreach
Improving yields and quality of wine grapes and wine.
• Optimizing plant nutrition and crop loads for grape quality and yield
• Improving irrigation practices for cold-hardy, hybrid grapes
• Identifying fruit varieties suited for wine making
• Deliver needed research/education for MT vineyards and wineries
Orchards/Cider
Dabinette
Major
Harrison
Identifying better varieties and
grower and cider maker needs
Montana Apple History
• Started with homesteaders and movement west
• Planted orchards to have fruit available
• Popular cultivars: Macs, Wealthy, Yellow Transparants, Duchess, Roman Beauty, Transcendent, Whitney Crab and Hyslop Crab
Montana Apple History
• First recorded commercial orchard 1871
• Mostly in Bitterroot and Clarks Fork Valleys
• In 1900 The Bitterroot Orchard Company claimed to have the largest orchard in the world (40,000 trees nearly 400 acres)
Montana Apple History
• Early 1900’s “Montana’s Apple Boom”
– “The pine forest has gone and the apple tree has reared its stead.” Ravalli Republic 03/19/1909
• Estimated in Bitterroot Valley alone 10,000-15,000 acres planted and over 750,000 trees
• Orchard land selling for $400-$500/acre
Low prices, Frost and Changing Times…
1910 Charlos Heights south of Hamilton, MT
2007 Charlos Heights south of Hamilton, MT
21st Century Fruit Production in Montana
Montana Heritage Orchard program
• Started in 2013 by Toby Day and Brent Sarchet - Montana State University (MSU) Extension personnel through a Montana Department of Ag Specialty Crop Block Grant
• Transferred to MSU – Western Ag Research Center in February 2019
Montana Heritage Orchard program Goals
• Identify and preserve tree genetics with unique potential for growing in Montana
• Help orchard owners preserve orchards through education and outreach
• Provide rural economies with agritourism activities to spur economic growth
Overview of orchards
www.mtorchards.org
Identification and preservation of tree genetics
• Propagation of trees with a story or unique qualities
In 2019 sold 179 trees to nurseries around the state.
Grower Education
• Online identification resource
• Management guide
• Workshops
Agritourism?
• Online map
• Orchard signage
• But…
What can we learn from these orchard?
Registered Heritage Orchard Sites • Brent and Toby set up a website where people could self-
register historic trees: https://mtorchards.org/default.html • Some sites were visited and have had signs placed indicating
their historical significance
Number of sites 106 Number of sites with a known orchard planting date 35 Number of sites older than 1930 30 Number of sites with genetic testing 44 Sites with location information 48 Sites with cultivar information 82
Registered Heritage Orchard Sites
Number of sites 106
Number of sites with a known orchard planting date 35
Number of sites older than 1930 30
Number of sites with genetic testing 44
Sites with location information 48
Sites with cultivar information 82
Registered Heritage Orchard Sites
Why the west / south west part of the state?
Rainfall?
Elevation?
Temperature?
Montana Heritage Fruit Tree Cultivars – both owner identified and genetic testing results
Total number of trees 891 Wealthy 184 Wolf River 15 McIntosh 87 Duchess 32 Yellow Transparent 14 Transcendent Crab 14 Others - Identified 43 Pears 10 Unidentified 492
Locations of surviving trees– both owner documentation as well as genetic testing identifications
Size is proportionate to number of trees (range of 1 to 36 trees)
Locations of surviving trees– unidentified trees
Size is proportionate to number of trees (range of 1 to 100 trees)
Cultivars based on landowner reporting
• Wealthy, McIntosh, Duchess, Wolf River, Yellow Transparent, Transcendent Crab most prevalent
• Flemish Beauty most common for pears
184
15
87
32 14 14
43 10
492
Cultivars
Genetic testing
• ~500 samples, 44 sites (42% of sites)
• We don’t have all the information for many of the sites (yet?)
• Dr. Norm Weeden, MSU-Bozeman doing the genetic testing
• Methods in genetic testing
– Zach or Katrina will discuss
114
16 3
36
14 4 8
138
8
60
108
Genetic testing results
Site diversity in pictures
Wild Horse Island
Research potential for Heritage Sites
Phenology Phenology -- the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life
• Phenology is not greatly influenced by management
• Observing and recording phenology requires only the willingness to volunteer
• Examples – Bloom dates
– Ripening dates
– Insect emergence
Phenology Uses:
• Apple bloom and ripening are cultivar specific and can dictate cultivar / site suitability based on frost avoidance for bloom and length of season required for ripening
• Determine which heritage cultivars may be suitable in other locales in the Intermountain West
• Fun and educational activity
Apple Bloom and Ripening project • National Phenology Network
collaboration
• Sign up and record apple bloom, fruit ripening, and other observations
• Nature’s Notebook https://www.usanpn.org/natures_notebook
• (Handout)
• If you participate, be sure to include the cultivar (if known) in the “nickname” field
Other research potential
• Why do some trees survive seasons of neglect?
– Explore the endophyte microbiome of the survivors
– Genetics (Zach and Katrina)
• What makes some sites more suitable?
– Elevation
– Precipitation
– Temperature (and temperature seasonality)
The Future of Heritage Apple Programs
• Why are we here?
• Design a purpose with both function and fun
• Proposed activities – Bloom and ripening dates (online at the National
Phenology Network)
– Heritage fruit tastings (with a side of promoting resilient cultivars)
– Heritage Apple Path in the Intermountain West?
Thank you!
• Questions or discussion?
• Contact:
• Rachel Leisso [email protected]
• Katrina Mendrey [email protected]
• Zach Miller [email protected]
Montana State University Western Ag Research Center (406) 961-3025
Opportunities for Collaboration
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Areas of Greatest Interest
Top Opportunities for Collaboration
Tools for Success
Tools for Communicating
Tree Identification and Genetics
Needs Resources Action Items
Preservation of Tree Genetics
Needs Resources Action Items
Historic Documentation
Needs Resources Action Items
Systems for Collaboration
Needs Resources Action Items
Heritage Apple Conference 2.0
Needs Resources Action Items