Determination of Factors that Contribute to Alasa Farm's Significantly Lower Pesticide Costs when Compared to the Area Average as Reported in Cornell's 1992 Fruit Business Summary

Final Report for FNE94-045

Project Type: Farmer
Funds awarded in 1994: $1,935.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/1995
Region: Northeast
State: New York
Project Leader:
Chris Edmonds
Alasa Farms
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Project Information

Summary:

Note to readers, attached is the complete final report for FNE94-045.

Results from one year of analysis showed that the quality of apples from Alasa Farms was no different from those of 8 other farms. These farms varied in size and management practices.

The need for further studies would be a 2 year extension of this study to determine the apple quality comparison's over a 3 year period to further rule out year to year crop and quality variances.

Now that it's been determined that in this particular 1994 crop year Alasa Farms apples are not significantly different in quality than eight other grower's apples, there is a need to complete more research. The next step would be to compare individual spray records of all the participating growers in this current study in detail, to find exactly why Alasa Farms spray costs are significantly less. Without this information it is impossible to advise other growers on how they can apply the information learned from this study to their specific situation considering their microclimate and production techniques.

Research

Participation Summary
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.