Ecosystem-Based Orchard Management For Processing Apples

Ecosystem-Based Orchard Management For Processing Apples

Summary

Researchers will continue testing sustainable orchard practices against conventional systems on a 14 acre orchard at the West Virginia Experiment Station. The focus will be on soil management, nematode control, tree establishment and economic analysis.

West Virginia has approximately 15,300 acres of apples currently in production. In the combined Mid-Atlantic region of Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland, apples are grown on 70,000 acres and command a market worth of about $124.3 million annually. Apples for the processing market account for 50% to 60% of the total production.

Because processing apples can be marketed with higher levels of insect and disease injury than would be acceptable for fresh market fruit, reductions in pesticide and fertilizer inputs can be a realistic management recommendation that could have substantial positive impacts on the environment and risks to human health. Integrated whole farm management systems offer the potential to reduce impacts on the environment and human health while increasing net income to the fruit industry.

This project will conduct a unique, comprehensive evaluation of ecosystem-based, long-term management systems for processing apples on a whole-orchard scale. The early focus will be on soil management, nematode control and tree establishment, with the objective of filling the allotted growing space in the test orchard and bringing the trees into production within three years. The research focus subsequent years will be to evaluate disease and pest control tactics that minimize pesticide inputs.

A 14 acre orchard is being established at the West Virginia University Experiment Station, in Kearneysville, WV, The site has been divided into six two-acre main plots with each plot randomly assigned one of two treatments - either conventional production practices or ecosystem-based practices. Whole-farm economic analyses will be conducted on the two systems, and budgets will be developed for presentation to fruit growers and processors.

Second stage testing will occur in grower orchards in conjunction with an existing integrated orchard management (IOM) program (co-sponsored by ASCS and WVU). Orchardists will be encouraged to integrate new ecosystem-based approaches into their operations through a regional IOM bulletin, scout training workshops, field days and the WVU Orchard Monitor, a biweekly newsletter.