spring 2009 just piced newsletter, midwest organic and sustainable education service

8/8/2019 Spring 2009 Just Piced Newsletter, Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service

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to updates from MichiganState University, Jim Koanreveals another project ofhis with MSU on a non-fruit

crop that may suit someapple growers.

Eric Mader announces aMay 15 workshop thatmakes practical much of theinfor mation he shared withus last year in Just Picked.

The WineCrisp apple is anew scab-resistant cult ivarto know about.

If you are interested in do-

ing fruit research or educa-tion projects, OFRF’s fundsspecifically for such are go-ing fast.

— Deirdre BirminghamCoordinator

Please take advantage of theFact Sheet noted inside on“Planning the Organic Or-chard” before you begin

planting. Read the updatefrom Harry Hoch, the Chairof the Advisory Board, onthe newly formed OrganicTree Fruit Association.Read the highlights of ourAdvanced Grower Retreatheld last month. Also in-side:

Three Organic AppleGrower Hours are all hap-pening in April .

Our first summer field daywi ll be in Michigan on June25 at Al-Mar Orchards.Also note that our secondfield day wil l be at FoxRidge Farms in Iow a on

August 8th.

This issue includes researchupdates that were avail ablefrom university r esearch

projects relevant to mid-western growers. JannaBeckerman’s work at Pur-due University is helping tokeep scab-resistant apples,resistant. She explains whygrower management ofthese apples is key. TheOrganicA Project at theUniversity of Vermont hasloads of information ontheir website. They are one

of the few projects withsuch a website. Mark Glea-son of Iowa State Universitypredicts their web-basedinfor mation on managinginsects and diseases shouldbe up in May. In addit ion

W ELCO M E TO T H E SPR I N G I SSU E O F

“ JU ST P ICK ED ”

Deirdre Birmingham, Network CoordinatorMidwest Or ganic Tree Fruit Growers7258 Kelly Rd.Mineral Point, W I 53565TEL: 608-967-2362/ FAX: [email protected] http:/ / www.mosesorganic.org/ treefruit/ intro.htmNewsletter layout by Anna Maenner, ACM Inc.

M IDWEST O RGANIC TREE FRUIT GROW ERS N ETWORK

SPRING 2009

JUST PICKED

I N SI D E T H I S I SSU E:

W INECRISP™ 2

FORGOTTEN

FRUITS

2

OTFA FORMS 3

MANAGING

SCA B

4

CLARKSVILLE

O RGANIC APPLE

O RCHARD

5

O RGANICA

PRO JECT

5

ALTERNATIVE

POLLINATORMANAGEMENT

6

O RGANIC APPLE

GROWER HO UR

7

AL-MAR

O RCHARDS

FIELD DAY

8

ADVANCED

GROWERS

10

H O PS RESEARCH 11

O FRF FUN DSAVAILABLE

11

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2

Funded by the USDA Risk Management Agency

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.mosesorganic.org/treefruit/intro.htm

http://www.mosesorganic.org/treefruit/intro.htm




Apples and apple growers are in trouble. At one time, North Americahad over 14,000 apple varieties populating habitats from coast tocoast. But in the 20 01 Fruit, Berry and Nut Inventory publ ished by SeedSavers Exchange, the number of apple varieties available throughnursery stocks in the U.S. had dwindled to 1,500. The continuedragedy is that in 2009, only 11 apples comprise 90% of what Ameri-cans can access and enjoy.

Under the leadership of Dr. Gary Nabhan, founder and facil itator ofhe Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT) all iance, and Jenny

Trotter of Slow Food-USA, nearly 20 apple experts assembled inMadison, W I on March 19th for a “Forgotten Fruit s Summit .” Theydiscussed the alarming decline of apple varieties and identified strate-gies for maintaining apples in the landscape and importantly our appleculture. The core areas of work the participants focused on were:

1. BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS: Where are the areas of richestdiversity for heir loom, old-time and heritage apple varieties?Where are there gaps in the knowledge?

2. CAUSES OF GENETIC LOSS: What factors are contributing tothe decline of apples and apple varieties? What are you currentlydoing to address and mitigate these factors? What should be done?

3. RESTORATI ON WORK: What is the single most effectivething that you have done to bring back apples? What collectiveactions are needed? And what kinds of funding and support or -ganizations should be involved?

4. NEW FARMER TRAINING: If you were to ask the youngepeople of America to take on one part of your work and legacwhat w ould it be?

As Nabhan noted, the gathering was not just about saving specificapple varieties, but about “saving appleculture.” Apples aren’t just fresh eating, but “in spring, farmers would ‘drink’ their apples. If go back into early Americana, the average Amer ican male was driing 50 gall ons of hard cider a year. It was a food that we consumedmuch by drinking as by eating. Apples were on American tables evday, as a sauce, beverage or even a fritter.”

As Tom Burford of Virginia Vintage Apples noted, “The tr ouble islot of the antique apples are now grown by antique people, and weneed to be sure a new generation is brought into the fold.” He be-lieves that “propagation itself is the element that defines society. Tday, the people who hold power in our society are in technology. my time, t he agriculturalists held the power. We need to understathis, and we need to see a shift… so that agriculturalists and thosewho care for our land have [greater] representation again. This is we need to teach people not just where food comes from, but alsoempower them to grow it for themselves. Propagation is power. is why, for me, doing graft ing workshops is so impor tant.”

For more information about the work of RAFT and future workshto conserve apple varieties and culture, visit: http:/ / www.slowfoodusa.org/ index.php/ programs/ details/ raft/ or cotact Jenny Trotter at [email protected].

FORGOTTEN FRUITS: CONSERVING APPLES IN THE LANDSCAPE

PAG E 2 JUST PICK

Based on a press release dated January 21 , 2 00 9 f rom the Uni versity of Il l i nois atUrbana-Champaign

A new, late-r ipening apple named WineCrisp™ that carries the Vf geneor scab resistance was developed over the past 20 plus years throughclassical breeding t echniques, not genetic engineering.

Why does it take over 20 years to make an apple? “I t takes a long time todevelop an apple because you want to test it in different locations, youwant to observe it over a number of years, and it takes awhile for anapple to get noticed,” said geneticist Schuyler Korban of UIUC. “It has anexcellent mix of sugar and acid and a very pleasant flavor, but I was hesi-ant because of the finish – it’s not glossy.” Korban thought consumersmay not like the matte finish, but decided that the crispness and the fla-vor would be more impor tant factors to consumers than the finish andcontinued to develop the new apple.

The tree is extremely productive. The color is more of a dark red, like adeep red wine and resembles an older variety that consumers are familiarwith called Winesap. “It’s very firm,” Korban said. “We used to call it

W IN ECRISP™ – N EW APPLE WIT H SCAB RESISTAN CE

‘ the Rock.’ We wanted that characteristi c to be in the name so we ad‘crisp’ and named it WineCrisp™.” WineCrisp™ matures two weekafter Red Delicious. It can be harvested through the end of October.

Importantly, it will also keep well in good cold storage, even for eighnine months.

It is available from the University of I ll inois to nurseries to propagatetrees under license and make them available to apple growers nation-wide. When WineCrisp™ cuttings are grafted into a fast-growing rostock, there could be fruit on the tr ee in as li tt le as three years. The vety has a patent pending on it.

The original cross in the breeding process was done at Rutgers in 198The seeds were grown into seedlings and inoculated with apple scab aPurdue. Those seedlings that demonstrated resistance to apple scab wsplit among the three universities that comprise the Purdue-Rutgers-

Il l inois (PRI) Cooperative Breeding Program. This program has beensuccessful in naming and releasing over 25 disease-resistant apple varties, some with other collaborating partners around the world. BecauU of I made the selection, they are the primary licensing insti tut ion.

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/programs/details/raft/



http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/programs/details/raft/



By Harry Hoch Acting Chair

We are forming a new professional growers association and

we would l ike to offer you the opportunity to be a part of it . Mem-bership is open to any organic t ree frui t grower. We have filed ourArticles of Incorporation in t he State of Minnesota under as the Or-ganic Tree Fruit Growers Association (OTFA). W e are going to ap-ply for 501(c)3 nonprofit status. We have one year to develop ourbylaws and create our first elected board of directors.

Our acting board of directorshas been putting a lot of time intohis project. We have not always moved as quickly as we would haveiked to, and we have not gotten as much information to the Networkas we would have liked. This board is made up of apple growers whoare who are busy with lives outside of this board. We are working

closely w ith our Network Coordinator who is paid for her workhrough RMA funding. The RMA funding does not include develop-ment of the association so all the time spent on this formation is vol-unteer work! We are in the process of posting our meeting minutes,motions, votes, and financial reports on our website. As soon as weget this posted, you will be able see what the board has done and viewa record of our f inancial activity.

Today we are invi ting you to become a charter member ofhis new organization and participate in developing its structure andpurpose. In February of 2008, we formed the temporary board ofdir ectors and agreed on a rough idea of what we wanted this new

group to do. In the past year, we defined our goals a li tt le moreclearly, set a $50.00 membership fee, applied for RMA funding out-side of MOSES, f iled our art icles of incorporation, and started work-ng with a consultant to help build the Association. We also fundedhe activit ies of the Tree Fruit Network and increased its activi ty. Weorganized a grafting workshop at the MOSES conference, advocatedor and got an Organic U niversity session on advanced apple produc-ion, set up a scionwood exchange and hosted a social event for graft-ng and meeting other tree fruit growers at the MOSES conference.We have two summer tours coming up.

The upcoming year will be a criti cal one. W e have to put to-

gether the bylaws that will define and guide this new association. Ourntent is to have an association that will represent organic tree fruitgrowers throughout the US. A board of dir ectors that are nominatedand voted on by the membership will govern our association. Thisboard will represent its membership and take positions on organicssues. We hope to have a voice that will be heard by the NOSB, andbecome THE ASSOCIATION that the media, poli ticians, certi fiers,and other poli cy makers wil l l ook for when information is needed.This associati on wil l advocate for organic tr ee fruit growers and wil lhelp fund research and education programs that will benefit its mem-bers and all organic fr uit growers.

The individuals who become members this year wi ll be the

charter members. This group will participate in the creation ofour bylaws. Our current plan is to ask for input from the paid mebers. We wi ll ask for opinions on a variety of specific issues and as

for addit ional ideas from all paid members. A bylaws committee wbe formed that will create the first draft. This draft will then be seto all members for comments. The bylaws committee wil l be respsible for integrating the comments into a second draft. This commtee will also have to make the diffi cult decision of what direction tgo when there are opposing views within the membership. The seond draft wil l be created and then submitted to the membership fovote. If the second draft is approved, then plans will be made for tfir st membership meeting with the election of the fir st official boaIf the second draft is not approved then the bylaws will go out forcomments again and a third draft will be submitted. Hopefully a seof bylaws that represents the membership will be created prompt

Some of the major issues that we will be addressing in our bylawsare:

Should we create an associate membership for non-growers?

Number of board members and length of terms Number of and location of board meetings Discounts to members for field days, retreats, and

other educational events Establi sh the qualif ications of board members such

Cert ified organic frui t growerOr ganic according to the NOS

Or ganic by some definit ion other than NOSGrowers from dual operations allowed(conventional and organic)Allow any fruit grower conventional or organicAllow nongrowers such as certifiers, academicssuppliersAllow chemical company reps on the board

Set new membership fees Should board members be required to attend all boa

meetings? Structure of the coordinator’s position.

The Organic Tree Fruit Growers Network wi ll not changat this point in time. The ‘Network’ wi ll become the communicatarm of OTFA and wi ll continue to be a free service to all individuinterested in organic tr ee fruit production. If you choose not t o bemember of the Association (OTFA), you can sti ll participate in thlist-serv, access information from our website, receive the RMA-funded newsletter, and attend the field days and retreats.

We sincerely hope you will seriously consider becoming a membeof this new association and participate in its development. If you hquestions feel free to contact any of the acting board members. Amembership application is on our website...Join Today!

PAG E 3 JUST PICK

O RGANIC TREE FRUIT GROWERS ASSOCIATION FORMS



Disease- resi stant cult i vars are hi ghl y r ecommended for organi c apple produc-

i on. Learn more i n th i s art i cle about potenti al changes i n scab-r esi stance andan integrated approach to managing scab based on information from JannaBeckerman, Ph.D. of Purdue U niver-sity. You are also encouraged to visit theFebruary 15, 2009 issue of the “Good FruitGrower” for an excellent article on this topic.

Apple scab, caused by the fungusVen-uria inaequalis, is one of the most im-portant diseases affecting apples. Tomanage scab, two approaches are largelyused worldwide: fungicides and disease-

resistant cul ti vars. Since these two ap-proaches were not integrated, fungicideresistance and the loss of scab-resistancen once scab-resistant cult ivars are re-

sulting.

To organically produce common com-mercial apple varieties (such as ‘Gala’ ,Golden Delicious’ , ‘ Fuji’ ), growers use

sulfur , l ime sulfur and/ or copper salts,using anywhere from a few to 20 ormore applications a year. Although

hese fungicides do not induce fungicideresistance, phytotoxic damage to theyoung apples can occur and beneficialnsects can be harmed.

Di sease resistant culti vars, when prop-erly managed, are a more sustainablemethod of disease management. Mostscab-resistant apples trace their origins to the PRI plant breeding pro-gram, a collaboration between Purdue University, Rutgers, and theUniversity of Il li nois. This program essentiall y began in 1926 whenhe Vf gene from Mal us floribunda 821 was determined to induce scab

resistance and was bred into commercial apple cultivars. Subsequentbreeding over decades produced high quality eating apples with scabresistance. Varieties like ‘Williams’ Pride’, ‘Jonafree’, ‘Enterprise’,Prima’ , ‘ Pri stine’ , and ‘GoldRush’ all carry thisVf-gene. Few scab

resistant apples carry resistance to other diseases. ‘Liberty’ is themost notable exception. These apples have never been promotedcommercially, however, so consumers do not seek them out.

Unfortunately, just as reliance on a few fungicides has resulted inungicide resistance, r eliance on disease-resistant apple varieties with-out other management is causing the breakdown of Vf- based scab-resistance wor ldwide. In 1993, scab lesions were found on ‘Prima’ in

an orchard in Germany. A year later in England, scab was able to

infect the parent of Vf gene resistance, M. floribunda 821. Thirteenyears later, in 2007, scab was found in North America, on Malus

floribunda 821, in Indiana, Illinois, andOhio. Last year , scab was found on‘Pristine’, ‘Pixie Crunch’, and‘Jonafree’ in Indiana and Il linois.

Integrated Scab ManagemenSuccessful apple scab management re-quires an integrated approach that combines resistant cultivars, good horticutural practices, sanitation, and fungi-

cides. Di sease resistant cult ivars requifewer sprays than their susceptible couterparts and are a better choice for or-ganically managed orchards. Purdue ha publication called “Using Organic Fugicides” at: http:/ / www.extension.purdue.edu/ extmedBP/ BP-69-W.pdf

Cultural Control. Scab can be mini -mized, or even prevented, by good hoticultural practices, such as spacing t re

adequately and pruning to open the trcanopy.

In addit ion, do not plant scab resistantvarieties together with susceptible appvarieties. This prevents any successfulscab infections in susceptible varietiesfrom ul timately producing ascospores

that successfully infect a resistant variety. Although this risk is quitlow, the sheer numbers of spores produced by the fungus on a sinsusceptible tree can be in the millions— making a one in a mill ion(or ten mill ion or hundred mill ion) infection a very real possibil it

By segregating resistant and susceptible varieties, growers prevenany “breeding” by the scab pathogen, and the likelihood that a suc-cessful offspring (ascospore) can infect a once-resistant tree, leadito resistance breakdown.

Sanitation. The fungus that causes apple scab overwinters on falleleaves and in the spring develops fruiting bodies. To prevent fruitbodies from forming, mulch mowing or flail mowing to shred leafli tter in November or April can reduce the risk of scab by 80 to 90if all of the leaf l it ter is shredded.

Fungicides. Regardless of cul tivar susceptibil it y, apple scab must

Managing Scab and Scab-Resistant Apples

PAG E 4 JUST PICK

DO NO T PLAN T SCABRESISTAN T VARIETI ES

TOGETHER WITH

SUSCEPT IBLE APPLE VARIETIES.

http://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/

http://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/



managed with fungicides. For disease-resistant cultivars in particular,he most cri tical step of the infection process is ascospores causing a

primary infection in the spri ng. These spores are the “offspring” of theprevious year’s infection. They have the potential to infect even scab-resistant cultivars if the right combination of genes has occurred. Fun-

gicides on scab-resistant cultivars will help prevent infection by anynewly virulent strain of scab, protect the tr ee from primary scab, androm any successful secondary scab. Start applying fungicides in earlyspring from green tip, and continue on a 7- to 10-day schedule (7days during wet weather, 10 days if dry) until petal- fall . By combin-ng protectant fungicide sprays with scab resistance, it is assumed thatno tr ees wi ll be infected by primary scab. Thus, sprays to suppresssecondary scab should not be necessary.

t is essential to apply fungicides rigorously to prevent primary infec-ion when the weather is cool and wet and while the tissue is youngand susceptible to infection. The simple but conscientious applicationof fungicide sprays to prevent primary infection in the spring shouldkeep resistant cul ti vars free of scab for the enti re season.

Janna Beckerman can be reached at: jbecerm@ purdue.edu or (765)494-4628

Apple growers are looking at how to change to new apple cultivarand the feasibil it y of organic apple production. Dur ing the fir st ye(2006) of this mult i-year project, two orchard systems were start(under organic management) that represent the way growers arechanging to new apple cultivars: these are 1) planting young nursetrees, and 2) top-grafting an older orchard to new varieties. Fivecultivars were either planted as young trees or top-grafted that weidentified by New England growers as impor tant to the future of tapple industry. To determine dif ferences during the orchard estalishment years (first three years) among cultivars in the two orchasystems, extensive data was collected on: arthropod pest damageand population levels; beneficial arthropod levels; horticultural dameasurements of tree health; measurements of soil health; and economic data, including labor and harvest for each system.

While the results are too extensive and detailed to include here, acontinued research is planned to better address project objectivesyou can readily review them on the web at: http:/ / www.uvm.ed~ organica/ OrganicAProject/ 2009ProgressReport/ progress.htmMaking research objectives and results readily avail able to growera strength of this project.

Addit ionally, a study was done to: (i) compare the effi ciency of al-ternatives to a standard organic l ime sulfur / sulfur fungicide pro-gram; (ii) evaluate potential non-target impacts of these fungicideon pest and beneficial insect populations; and (iii) conduct a prelimnary experiment evaluating the potential of raw milk as a fungicidin organic apple production in Vermont.

A publication is in press at Coop. Extension Systems of New Eng-land titled “Organic Tree Fruit Production in New England” byLorraine Berkett and Terry Bradshaw.

PAG E 5 JUST PICKE

Or g a n ic A Pr o j ec t - Un iv er sit yo f Ver mo n t

A draft report of this experimental orchard is found on the Network’sResearch webpage. This orchard is an ongoing project that wasstarted in 1999 with soil qualit y and ferti li ty research. The followingdraft conclusions were pulled from the report. Other topics in thereport are also listed.

Soil quality was improved and maintained by planting clover in thealleyways, using straw mulch in the tree rows, as well as spreadinggypsum and “medium carbon” compost, and applying Fertrell 3 or amix of kelp and chelated trace minerals. This combination “helps tomaintain a healthy soil environment, which in turn helps to maintain

healthy trees that can produce at maximum efficiency.”

A study of the “Swiss sandwich method” effect on various dwarfingrootstocks found the greatest yields were with M.9 RN.29, whichalso had the highest C:N ratio, (which shows N use efficiency), andhe least detrimental effect on the soil .

The best strategy for deali ng with plum curculio was the “att ract-and-kill” method whereby PC are lured into the border rows and inten-sively sprayed there. Controlling codling moth, oriental fruit moth,oblique-banded leaf roller, and red banded leaf roller was best doneby use of Isomate® to disrupt their mating. In addit ion, hawk

Mic h ig an St at e Un iv er sit y – Cl a r ksv i l l e O r g an ic Appl eO r c h a r d

perches, bee hotels, bat houses, and native plant areas helped con-trol insect pests by providing habitat for their natural enemies.

Tr ees that can provide their own resistance to diseases were highlypreferred. Trees with l it tle resistance are being top worked to th

with more resistance to scab in particular.

While the report indicates that research on marketing organic appis still needed, it also has a spray calendar for insect pests and dis-eases, li st of control products, costs of organic establi shment andproduction, cost and revenue from central leader, verti cal axe, anslender spindle tr aining systems, and tables, pictures, and graphs oresearch results.


http://www.uvm.edu/

http://www.uvm.edu/




Friday, May 15th, 20099:30 AM to 3 PM

Madison, Wisconsin

Over the past two years, myarticles in Just Picked havecovered many topics onmanaging pollinators for tr eefruit growers: conservingnative resident bees, provid-ing alternative pollinatorfood sources through covercrops and wildflower plant-ings, and mitigating pesticideimpacts.

Among the most in-depthtopics we explored was ac-tively managing mason beesas orchard pollinators in aseries of arti cles last year.This year, we invite readersto come see mason bee polli-nation first-hand and learn tomanage them at the follow-ing workshop.

These bees are consideredsuperior pollinators ofspring-blooming fruit crops.Curr ent USDA researchshows that 250 female ma-son bees can provide theequivalent service of twohoney bee hives (each con-taining tens of thousands ofworkers).

Prior to the honey bee’s

introduction from Europe in1622, North America washome to approximately4,000 native bee species, themajor ity of which lead soli-tary lives nesting under-ground or in wood cavitieslike hollow stems and beetleborer holes. Several of these

wild bees can and do play animportant role as crop polli-nators.

Workshop Overview: Inthis workshop, participantswill learn the basic practicesnecessary to manage popula-tions of soli tary cavity-nesting leafcutter and masonbees. Various members ofthese species are effectivepoll inators of all major bee-pollinated midwesterncrops. These bees are ex-

tr emely gentle, and rarelysting, making them a safealternative to honey bees forsmall farms and near urbanareas. In addit ion, these beescan be maintained in smallpopulations, at a lower costthan honey bees, and theyare not susceptible to thesame parasite and diseaseissues that have devastatedhoney bees.

A morning classroom sessionat the UW-Madison Arbore-tum wi ll provide an over-view of the biology of thesebees and a discussion of theirmanagement systems. Fol-lowing a break for lunch (onyour own), the workshopwi ll re-convene at Gardensof Goodness in McFarland,an organic apple orchard and

a market farm, to observe amanaged population of thesebees at work.

Workshop participants willleave with the core knowl-edge necessary to beginmanaging these bees them-selves. Gr owers wit h diver-

sifi ed summer fruit andvegetable operations willalso benefit since the same

management protocols canbe used for summer-nestingleafcutter bees.

A workshop textbook isincluded in the registrationprice. O ther materials wi llbe for sale at the event.

Morning ClassroomSession(9:30am-11:30am):

UW Arboretum; 1207Seminole Highway; Madi-son, W I 53711 http:/ / uwarboretum.org/

Afternoon FieldSession*(1pm -3pm):Gardens of Goodness; 4259Mahoney Rd. McFarland,WI 53558*Please dress appropriately,

and be prepared for rain.

Instructor: Eric Mader isthe National Poll inatorOut reach Coordinator atthe Xerces Society for In-vertebrate Conservation,and Adjunct Assistant Ex-

ALTERNATIVE POLLINATOR MANAGEMENT W ORKSHOP

JUST PICKEDPAG E 6

tension Professor of Entomol-ogy at the University of Min-nesota. In these roles he

works with government agen-cies, educators, land manag-ers, and farmers to developconservation pr actices thatsupport native bees. Eric isalso founder of Midori Horti -cultural Services, a crop con-sult ing and managed pol lina-tion business. The informa-tion provided in this work-shop summarizes the beemanagement systems Eric has

used to poll inate numerouscrop species.

Registration: Advance reg-istr ation is required with a$35 fee on line at: http:/ / conservation-training.wisc.edu/ course_listing/ list_sections?course_id= 48 or 608-265-3727 or email Ingrid West:[email protected]

Support for this event is providedby the Wisconsin D epart ment ofAgriculture, Trade and ConsumerProtecti on thr ough the Agricul-

tur al Devel opment and D i versi fi -cati on Grant Program, and theXerces Society for Invertebrate

Conservation.

Mason Bee





Author of The Apple Grower: AGuide for t he Organic Orchard-i st, Michael Phil lips is a pio-

neering organic apple grower.He is a consultant for or-chardists across the nation,and compiles holistic appleresearch on his website,GrowOrganicApples.com.Michael manages a two-acreorganic orchard in Groveton,New Hampshire (Zone 4),and faces many of the samechallenges as do growers inthe Midwest.

What is the call schedule?The calls wi ll happen fr om 7to 9 pm Central time on thefoll owing three Thursdays inApril . A detailed agenda foreach week’s call will be sentto the Network l ist-serv aweek ahead so growers canplan their questions and in-put.

April 9—Holisti c DiseaseManagementApril 16—Balancing In-sect DynamicsApri l 23—OrchardHealth: fungal allies, soilfert il ity and ecosystemthinking

What does it cost?The only cost associated wi thcalling is your normally in-

curr ed long-distance charge.

On three Thursday eveningsin April, Wisconsin’s Eco-Fruit Project will offer free

conference callswith or-ganic orchard consultant Mi-chael Phil lips. What a greatopportunity to explore thenuance of or chard health,insects, and fungal eventswhi le planning for the seasonahead!

Who is the OrganicApple Grower Hour for?The calls will be geared for

commercial apple growers inthe Midwest w ith intermedi-ate to advanced orchard man-agement skills. Open-mindedgrowers who are interested ina holistic approach to orchardmanagement wil l get the mostout of these calls. Whetheryou consider your growingsystem to be certified-organicor ecological-organic or bio-logically-based IPM – or just

plain ornery! – we hope youwi ll join us.

While we will concentrate onthe concerns of intermediateto advanced midwestern com-mercial growers, beginningorchardists, backyard garden-ers, and growers from otherregions are more than wel-come to listen in.

Who is Michael Phil lips?

If you have free long-distance,then these calls are com-pletely free.

How do I call in?To call in, dial 712-432-1680, then enter this accesscode: 868736.

Other helpful numbers:press * 6 t o mute your li ne.press * 6 again to un- mute your li necustomer help line: 877-482-5838

What i f I can’t make the

call at 7pm on Thur sday?If you can’t make the calls,there are three ways to listento recordingsof the Or-ganic Apple Grower Hour.

1. To hear the most recent callrecording over the phone:Dial: (712) 432-1284, then enter

this access code: 868736

2. To access an archive of al lcall recordings over thephone (after Apri l 23):Dial: 641-715-3800, then enter

th is access code: 95 22 6Follow the directions in the greeting

to listen to any of the OrganicApple Grower Hours from the20 08 or 20 09 seasons.

3. To download callrecordings:You will need access to the Apple

Talk blog. Contact SamuelPratsch, at sprat sch@ wisc.edu

T HE O RGANIC APPLE GROWER H O UR IN 2 0 0 9

PAGE 7 JUST PICKED

or 608-265-3637 to get alogin and password for AppleTalk.

Once you have a login and password,you can access the blog atwww.thi nkipm.org/ appletalk .

On the blog’s main page, click on" conference call s" (on th e lefthand side). You will then seesummaries for different confer-ence call series.

Click on the summary you want.Scroll down to download theaudio recording.

How do I sign up?

You can register to participateby submitting your name,orchard name, address, e-mail, and phone number toSamuel Pratsch, [email protected] 608-265-3637. Registration is notrequired, but it will help uskeep track of who uses thecall and to gather feedback.Even if you only plan to listento recordings, please register.

Any Questions?ContactSamuel Pratsch [email protected], or 608-265-3637.

These calls are offered by theEco-Frui t Project at U W-Madison’s Center for IntegratedAgri cult ural Systems i n coopera-tion with the Organic Tree FruitAssociation.

I t is tree planting time! If you are new at this or just want to get someideas, check out our Fact Sheet on Planning and Plant ing the Orchard at

http:/ / www.mosesorganic.org/ treefruit/ informati on.htm .


http://www.thinkipm.org/appletalk



http://www.mosesorganic.org/treefruit/information.htm

http://www.mosesorganic.org/treefruit/information.htm



http://www.thinkipm.org/appletalk




Get June 25 on your calendar now for ahighly informative and enjoyable growerfield day at Jim and Karen Koan’s Al-MarOr chard in Flushing, Michigan. As you’venoted in past issues of Just Picked, Jim isone of the most innovative growersaround. Besides seeing his orchard, youwill get to meet Brutus, Karen, and

Kathy, who are his Berkshire boar and harem that provide the pigletsor Jim’s integrated organic pork and apple production experiment.(See our previous issues for more on this.) Jim has quit e a team fr omMichigan State University who are now spearheading the researchbased on Jim’s idea for a novel means to control plum curculio.

History. But fir st a bit of history. Al-Mar O rchard had its begin-

nings in the late 1800’s. Alber t Koan Sr., was a fruit and producearmer who supplied the neighboring towns and cities all his farmingi fe. Albert Jr., continued that service, which is now continued byJim and Karen Koan. The name Al-Mar comes from Jim’s father’ sname Albert and his mother’s name Mary.Al-Mar Orchard is a 250-acre farm at the heart of which are 120-acres of organically managed apples. There are additional vegetableacres, some certified, some in transition, and woods with many ma-ple trees that his father has tapped for syrup. They grow certifiedpasture and hay for their li vestock, which includes reindeer. Every-hing the Koans grow and make is done organicall y.

The Orchard. The orchard was managed conventionally from itsnception. Conventional techniques at the turn of the 20th century,however, were closer to today’s organic management than to today’sconventional systems. Once Jim assumed management of the or-chard, he continued managing it conventionally for 15 years beforemoving into integrated pest management. He was one of the fi rst inhe Midwest to use computer t echnology to monitor temperaturesand wetting periods to determine when to spray.

Jim moved to an organic system due to the opportunities in the mar-ket place and the environmental benefits. He began by transit ioning20-acres that held about 15 different combinations of rootstocks and

varieties, in order to see how each combination responded to organicmanagement. This tr ial also allowed him to assess the labor andequipment requirements, as well as the management issues he mightace. Init ially, while optimistic, he really did not think it would

work. Once the initial 20-acres was cert if ied, however, he startedransit ioning the rest of the orchard. He “got religion” along the way,and now would never go back to conventional practices. “Frankly”,he quipped, “it would be boring. I’d quit before I’d go back to con-ventional.”

While he is further on the learning curve than most growers, he sti l lclaims that he is learning to grow organically profitably in the Mid-

west. It was easier when he started due to good weather condit ioThe last few years have been part icularly challenging from a peststandpoint and due to late spring fr eezes. To those starting, whetfrom scratch or transitioning an orchard, he suggests starting slow“The risks are high and there is heck of a lot to learn,” he advised.“You are always making some mistakes,” so keep those mistakes cotained by moving cautiously. It is too costly to grow many‘conventional’ varieties organicall y. Jim finds the scab-r esistant‘Crimson Crisp’ works well for him. MSU is gett ing scion woodfrom Jim for their Clarksville orchard to graft ‘ Crimson Crisp’ toreplace some of their non-scab resistant varieties.

Jim feels “i t is hard to grow a tr ee and a crop of apples at the sametime.” The first crop can easily str ess the trees, parti cularly whenplanting at 3-ft intervals on dwarfing rootstocks, of which he uses

Bud-9. He is planting usually on new orchard ground. Or chard the has pushed out is fallowed for four or five years to avoid orcharreplant disease. He plants about 10 rows every year. He wi ll r emthe flowers if t he tr ee pushes a crop too soon. “An ear ly crop is Ofor conventional, but not organic,” he said. Out West many growstart conventionall y and then convert to organic. “From a businesstandpoint , this makes sense. But if you are committ ed, that is likworshipping God one week and then the devil the next.”

Soil Ferti li ty. To help build a str ong tree, Jim builds the organimatter in his heavy clay soils for three years before planti ng. Threyears out, he uses a single-shank subsoiler to mark the tree rows a

to break the claypan. He applies horse manure mixed with sawduwhich is lower in nitrogen than other manures. Some fall s into thcrevice from the subsoiler. He works it into the ground with his fifoot rototil ler. He continues to work manure into the tr ee rowsthree or four times a year. Fescues and clovers are already estab-li shed in the drive lanes. In the fall before planting, he subsoils agand adds chicken manure, which is higher in nit rogen, in a band athree-feet w ide and an inch deep. The spri ng of tree planting, mohorse manure is worked into the soil, and the subsoiler marks theplanting line. Trees can readily send their roots down into this weprepared soil.

Jim gets horse manure cheaper than chicken manure, since it comefrom his and his neighbor ’s horses. He also wants a more fungaldominated compost source, which the horse manure provides. Thchicken manure, while more bacterial dominated due to the chickdiet, is higher in nitrogen, which wil l slowly release as the soil bioogy reawakens in the spring. But the chicken manure, which comfrom a large organic poultry producer, continues to go up in pricereaching $3000 for 40 tons last fall.

Leadership Roles. Jim has wor ked closely with faculty at MichState University, including serving on the Advisory Board membeexperimental organic apple orchard since it s start in 1999. Mark

June 25 Field Day Host: Al-Mar Orchards

PAG E 8 JUST PIC



Whalon of MSU beams when Jim discusses his approaches to insects(friends and foes) as Prof. Whalon sees in Jim’ s system an integrationof new knowledge and experimental techniques into practical applica-ion.

Jim Koan has an MA degree from University of Michigan and his wife

Karen a BA, both in psychology. “Nothing to do with preparing us forcareers in fruit growing, but tr ained me in keen observation andquestioning what others take for granted,” he added. He has been anactive participant in this Network’s Advisory Board and its tr ansit iono the Organic Tree Fruit Association. He brings to that board ex-perience from his roles in numerous county, state, and national or-ganizati ons. He served on the Administrative Council of the Sustain-able Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program for theNorth-Central Region. He served a couple of terms on the MichiganHorticulture Society Board, was President of the Great Lakes EXPO,and chaired Shiawassee County Zoning Board of Appeals for 12 years.He is presently on the Michigan Apple Research Committee and the

new SARE Youth Grant Commi ttee. He was president of the Gene-see Area Pest Management Association, a founding member of theMichigan Cider Maker's Guild (serving as VP), Michigan Apple Com-mit tee Marketing Associati on. His wi fe, Karen, who helps with fi ll -ng or ders and running the packing shed, also organizes many orchardours and programs for students and other groups that visit Al-MarOrchard throughout the year. They have a new manager for theirarm store and like the changes they are seeing already.

Markets. Jim’s decisions are driven by the market place, and in theast dozen years, by his steadfast approach to an organic managementsystem. Initiall y, 80% of his fruit went to grocery store chains, so he

grew the var ieties they wanted. As prices continued to drop, heneeded to f ind alt ernatives to keep his mid-sized orchard businessalive. In all of US agriculture, it is the mid-sized farms under themost pressure financially. In fact, in most midwestern states, the mid-sized orchards are gone.

Jim and Karen run an on-farm store that sells their fruit, as well astheir value-added products made on-farm. The latter are an increing part of their business. These include their w ines, fresh-pressesweet cider, vinegars, and now JK’ s Scrumpy. They also sell orgacally grown produce from nearby farms and processed organic pructs, such as pasta, jams, and sauces.

Supply is trying to meet demand for his JK’s Scrumpy, which is astyle of farmhouse cider sold in England. His business partner,Bruce Wr ight, does much of the paper work and marketing, leaviJim to be the apple grower and cider maker. This is not r eally neto the Koan’s as Jim’s grandfather and father w ere both wine andcider makers. Jim i s continuing a tr adit ion while greatly expandinit . JK’ s Scrumpy is sold in 30 states from fine restaurants to manyWhole Foods Markets, Disney’s Epcot Center, the Gerald Ford Mseum in Grand Rapids, and yes, in their farm store, where you canbuy it too.

This last year, Jim had an increasing number of buying clubs ap-proach him, including women putting up food for their families.They valued his organic approach to apple production and were wing to buy what the Koan’s creatively termed “weather-kissed” fruor fruit affected by late spring freezes. What really stands out to Jabout that is “when I was growing conventionally I never had a persthank me for growing their food. Now they come from a long waaway to buy direct from me, a farmer. They even hug me and,and… squeeze me. I sti ll feel uncomfor table when this happens.”But I could hear the smile as he relayed what he never expectedfrom his shift to organic production.

Jim is constantly innovating and learning from his innovation andthat of others. What he told you he did a year or two earl ier, maynow have been tweaked or scrapped all together. At the field day,he’ ll show you his str ategies to plan and prepare new orchardblocks, his rootstock and variety selection, his evolving batt les wit

scab and codling moth, and of course, his aptly termed“dreaded” plum curculio. With the help of Brutus, Karen, aKathy, PC is becoming just a li ttle less dreaded.

PAG E 9 JUST PICKE

Join usJune 25th

At

Al-Mar Orchard

Flushing, Michigan



Twenty growers gathered in Michigan for the Network’s 2nd GrowerRetreat. While the group was sli ghtly smaller than last year’s group

of 25, the quali ty of discussion was quite high. Growers came fromMI, IL, W I, MN, and IA. All part icipants indicated enthusiasticallyhat they would like futur e grower r etreats. George Bird of MichiganState University and a director of the MI Organic Food and FarmingAlliance arranged for superb meeting facilities for us at the KelloggCenter.

The Retr eat focused on topics crucial to growers that get too li tt leattention at conferences, field days, and other events: pricing, mar-kets, marketing, value-added tree fruit products, and proper labeling.

Jim Koan shared the national and longer range view of wholesale

prices for both conventional and organic apples at various grades.The picture was not rosy.

Tom Rosenfeld prepared a handout based on the price sharing he or-ganized among 16 growers for certif ied organic apples this year, andplans to continue this service into the future. Prices were for directo consumers (farm store, farmers market, U-pick), wholesale, anduice.

Two resource persons were included this year to add information andcatalyze discussion. Timothy Young, Chef and President of Food forThought added to our discussion on the false dichotomy between

ocal and organic, by saying that 33% of consumers are looking for“authenticity.” If he were start ing his organic processed food businessover again, he would not be in food manufactur ing. One should de-cide between manufacturing and marketing and not try to do both.

Any thing capital intensive needs to pay for i tself. Food manufactuing is heavil y regulated and costl y. For example, he spent $30K o

HACCP, insurance, employee training, and more. He bought equment to manufacture his local, organic and wild-crafted products,but then fell into making private label products, which helps pay fthe equipment and has gradually become 90% of his business.

Lynn Drown of Rockford Packaging went through labeling do’s andon’ ts using the development of Jim Koan’s Scrumpy labels, as didTimothy Young with his salsa product labels, and Harry Hoch wi this fruit products. Bar codes are increasingly required by retailersBrokers can often provide better shipping prices when sourcing glacontainers than the manufacturers.

We enjoyed samples of jelly and sauce products from Hoch Or-chards of Minnesota; spicy, dried apples from Burr Oaks Farm (Band Kathy Egger of Iowa), and we dined on apple fed, organic,Berkshire pork washed down with JK’ s Scrumpy, both from Al-MOr chard (Jim and Karen Koan of Michigan).

Continued networking happened over dinner Thursday evening atthe home of Prof. Larry and Kathy Gut. MSU tree frui t researche

joined us for a delicious meal prepared by both Jane Stephenson,who is Prof. David Epstein’s wife and a professional caterer, andKaren Koan who cooked their pork and made enough potato saladfor an army.

We all got further educated on crop insurance via a recorded presentation complete wi th speaker phone to RMA staff in SpringfieldIL, who made this successful event possible.

PAG E 10 JUST PICK

Doug Waples of Iowa wrote: “I just received the MSU“Practical Guide to Scouting Apple Orchards” DVD-

273. It is a good review to get ready for the spring workplan and refine our IPM program. I found it worth the

$30.00 fee.” The Network has a copy you can borrow.Contact t he Coordinat or.

Do you want to communicate with other tree fruit growers through-out the year? Well, here is one way: our list-serv.

Topi cs are what growers want them to be. To join, send an email [email protected] and include in the message your email

address, your first and last names, your location, and your r ole in treeruit production to date. Once you join, you can read past-postingsand learn from previous discussion and contribute your own ideas and

experience.

Here are some topics recently discussed.

Opt ions to control deer: fencing options, lots on slant fencing;plastic bags attached to fencing; guard dogs

Finding apple boxes

Organic apple prices

N ETWORK LIST-SERV

20 0 9 ADVANCED GROWERS RETREAT

WineCrisp apple

Equipment for sale

Bloom and freezing temps

Windbreaks, hybrid poplar

Grafting workshops, scion

wood exchanges

Sources of sulfur, lime-sulfur, copper

Making cider vinegar

Organic Apple Growers

Hour





To fulfill the Organic Farming Research Foundation’s mission offostering the improvement and widespread adoption of organicfarming systems, the Foundati on sponsors a competi ti ve grant-making program that funds both educational and research projectsin organic agriculture. The upcoming funding cycle may be the lastchance to apply for organ i c fru i t research and educati on/ outr each proj ectsbefore the funding runs out. These funds for fruit are made possible bya partnership with the Str etch Island Fruit Company. OFRF willalso accept proposals for organic research and education/ outreachprojects on topics not r elated to fruit . OFRF’s newly revised Re-quests for Proposals descri be how to apply for the grants and pre-sent the criteria used in evaluating proposals at www.ofrf.org . Forfurther information, contact OFRF’s organic research specialist,Jane Sooby, at [email protected] or 831-426-6606.

JUST PICKEPAGE 11

Should you have questions or comments, you are encouraged to

contact the members of the Organic Tree Fruit Association Advi-sory Board:

Harry Hoch, Chair, La Crescent, [email protected] 507-643-6329

Jim Koan, Flushing, [email protected] 810-659-6568

Tom Rosenfeld, Berrien Center, [email protected] 312-399-7820

Maury Wills, Adel [email protected] 515-281-5783

Another project underway at Jim Koan’s Al-Mar Orchards is or-ganic hops production. This is not for Jim’ s JK’ s Scrumpy as that basically a wine fermentation process. But hops is another farmproduct that is in increasing demand by local breweries and couldfit well with the skills and resources of apple growers using high-density trell is systems. The project explores the costs to developand manage hops organically. One can gross about $10,000 peracre with hops. Hops are also perennials and have similar harvestdates to apples (August-October). Jim and Matt Grieshop of Michgan State Universit y wil l study 13 hop varieties for their adaptatioto local climatic conditions and local markets, develop reali sticexpectations for the cost of production, and assess potential pestmanagement issues.

Ho ps Resear c h f o r Appl e Gr o w erO FRF FUNDS AVAILABLE

OTFA ADVISO RY BOARD

Check out the many informational resources on the Network’sRESOURCES web page. Here are just a few of the many links you

wil l find there.

Updated, expanded and re-released: Biological Control ofInsects and Mites: An Introduction to Beneficial NaturalEnemies and Their Use In Pest Management. Daniel L.Mahr, Paul Whitaker, Nino M. Ridgeway. North Central RegionPublication 481. September 2008. Now available both in pr int atUW EX publication A3842 and as a free PDF at http:/ / learningstore.uwex.edu/ product2.aspx?Product_ID= 1248

Fact Sheet from UW-Extension to help one diagnose in-sect and scab damage of mature apples. 6 Oct 2008 http:/ /

www.hort.w isc.edu/ mastergardener/ Features/ fruits/ apple/ Diagnosing

"Seasonal Integrated Pest Management Checkl ist for Or-chards." Orchard*A* Syst. FAS 105. December 2001. MichiganState University Extension. 7 pg.

Plum Curculio and Look-Alike BeetlesPlum_Curculio_and_Look-alike_Beetles.htmComplete Plum Curculio Information is available at http:/ / web1.msue.msu.edu/ vanburen/ plumcurc.htm

RESO URCES W EB PAGE

http://www.ofrf.org/







http://www.hort.wisc.edu/mastergardener/Features/fruits/apple/

http://www.hort.wisc.edu/mastergardener/Features/fruits/apple/









7258 Kelly Rd.

Mineral Point, W I 53565

M IDWEST O RGANIC T REE

FRUIT GROWERS N ETWORK

YOU CAN FIND A

OFTA MEMBERSHIP

FORM ON OUR

WEBSITE — JOIN

TODAY!

SPR I N G 2 0 0 9 CA L E N D A R

Apr il 9, 16, and 23 – The Organic Apple Grower

Hour Call 712-432-1680, then enter access code 868736.See inside for more details.

May 15 - OFRF Grant Deadl ine The upcoming fund-ing cycle may be the last chance to apply for organicfruit research and education/ outr each projects be-fore the funding runs out. www.ofrf.org. [email protected],831-426-6606. See inside for more details.

May 15 – Pollinator Management Workshop Advanceregistr ation required. See inside for details. [email protected]

June 25 – Network Field Day at Al-Mar OrchardsHosted by Jim and Karen Koan. Flushing, MI. Advance regis-tration required. Watch the Network’ s website and list-servfor more infor mation and to register. A registration brochure

wi ll also be mailed.

August 8 – Network FieldDay at Fox Ridge FarmHosted by Paul and Sara Rasch.Solon, IA. Advance registra-tion required. Watch the sum-mer issue of Just Picked, theNetwork’ s website and list-serv for more information and to register.

Watch for the Renewing America's Food Tradit ions (RAFT)alliance is planning another orchard restoration workshop in

the Chicago area later this year . Watch for updates at http:/ / www.slowfoodusa.org/ index.php/ slow_food/ blog_post/ americas_apple_traditions_renewed/

Funded by the USDA Risk Management Agency

http://www.ofrf.org./




http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/slow_food/blog_post/

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/slow_food/blog_post/




spring 2009 just piced newsletter, midwest organic and sustainable education service

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