Kauffman’s Orchard Twilight Tour Inspects Vertical Axis System
a vttw a Crassweller also spoke about
things chemicals and methods
BIRD IN HAND (Lancaster f* th ! meeting. An ideal
Co.) - Tuesday evening Ken tune J or thinning is when tem-
Kauffman. Kauffman’s Or- P£ at £f. s rea( * th * mi t 7 ° S *°
chard, exhibited a row of Crim- 80s - This weekend could be a
son Gala apples on M-9 stock atU u S i O
trained on a vertical axis. *. n and B ® s through the
Though it looks like an ugly re fJ23?'. . . .. ..
tree, according to Dr. Rob . T* l * B weekend the tune is
Crassweller, Penn state pomolo- B°mg to be ideal, said Grass
gist, “we’re more interred in * ell “- If temperatures are in he
U growing tailing wood.” you „ r £ llo ff ) ' n g ««‘ he
the
tral leader up to the top wire as f 0 aconcretepesticidecon
quickly as possible, noted Crass- tainment pad installed with the
weller, can insure top productiv- hdp of the Mill Creek Water
ity for the orchard. Quality Project.
Kauffman, orchard manager. T . he P ad 18 m! f l,ed aboat 50
and several Penn State repre- yfds from a well water system,
sentatives spoke Tuesday eve- Thc idea of installing a pesticide
• ~ „ . containment pad was appeal-
Slndnsta ,ep 6 ,r„ a.,v"s ta B to no,” nSid KauflmSS, in
r, P e X“roh orchard ”>*“ I™“*
Growers’ Twilight Meeting at design allows the
Kauffmans Orchard near Bird ... £nn
. , containment area to hold 600
*«■ , t . , gallons of water. “We’re con-
Kauffman s family orchard ® ..
p _ ~ • i ccrned about the environment
includes Ken, the thud genera- d neighbors,” said Kauff
tion, and several fifth generation . V „„„
ti,„ r :i. man. The cost of construction;
™2O acres of in the range of $3,000-$3,500
in apples, 35 in peaches, and the noZ thS
remainmg m plums, pears, and app , e P scab J n ’ overwinter
Kauffman provided a com- %£?%££
parison of several training sys- b f t of sca J h in an J rc hmd,” h e
s. ssaasss
fnl996 Cal 3XIB SyStCm mStalled Though the material will rot by
The BXIS trellis includes 360 mid “", after a winter,
trees to an acre. The vertical axis “J* of the matenal remams
the best fruit. Travis noted that, at the lab,
T® start ’ Bfo w ® rs should be bas samples f rom some orc
obtein a feathered tree, or one hafds that s |; ow hei ghtened ma
with iots of branches instead of tem includes two * ows at 5 1/2
a straight whip, Crassweller / 14 ,600 trees to an acre.
“ ... . . .. .. The trees, properly pruned,
Attach the mam branch to the allow the KauWan’s to “look
pole as soon as possible. The key forward to a d „ Kauff .
is to “tram a tree right after man mid Tl f is Kauffman
planting to crea e one that will daimed jt took hour to trim
fruit well and hold up. Ties hold the two
rows. About 390 trees
branches to the trellis wires run- are on a vertical axis system .
rung from pole to pole to keep Kauffman uses the system to
the tree from twisting in the “g e t early production and good
wind - reduction with minimum
Dr. Jim Travis, Penn State fruit pathologist, noted that
apple scab can overwinter in leaves that settle at the
bottom of trees. “There’s always a little bit of scab in an
orchard,’’ he said, holding a clump of leaves he picked up
near a tree. Though the material will rot by midsummer,
after a winter, much of the material remains intact.
A b ? ut growers and agri-industry representatives toured Kauffman’s Orchard near
Bird In Hand Tuesday evening during the Lancaster/York Fruit Growers’ Twilight Meet
ing. Presented were pest control strategies and an update on the plum pox virus. Photo
by Andy Andrews
input,” he said.
The simple vertical axis con
cept involves taking two or three
of the heaviest branches to the
upper half of the tree. The cen
tral leader is trained occasion
ally to allow larger branching at
the tree “top.” The tree size can
be controlled, leaving only the
most vigorous wood to create
turity of the spores as the warm
weather increases.
Fire blight is always a con
cern, especially during a warm
spring. But this cool spring has
kept fire blight pressure very
low. Cold conditions during the
“wedding” period have shown
no infections.
If blooms remain at the end of
the branches, they can be in
fected with flreblight, especially
if the temperatures hit 80,
Travis noted. A commercial
growth regulator is useful to ac
tually control fire blight.
Powdery mildew can be a
problem because of the state’s
mild winter, though there has
been no substantial pressure,
said Travis. Time of infection is
bloom to petal fall at tempera
tures higher than SO degrees.
Wet weather actually inhibits
the mildew. But a dry, high hu
midity year could be the time for
the infection to build up.
Greg Krawczyk, Penn State
fruit entomologist, said that or
chard managers must know
what is in their orchard what
the insect pest is before they
can control it.
Using traps, growers can
readily identify pests and come
up with control solutions.
Now, growers should look to
see if they have the green peach
aphid. The pest is almost every
where, Krawczyk said. “There is
a high probability you have it in
your orchard,” he said.
Organophosphates are avail
able to control pests such as the
oriental fruit moth, certain
aphids, and other pests.
Jim Travis spoke about how
testing is under way to control
the plum pox virus (PPV). All
stone fruit in the state, except
cherries, is being sampled. A
video detailing the PPV educa
tion and eradication effort was
shown.
Though it looks like an ugly tree, according to Dr. Rob
Crassweller, Penn state pomologist, “we’re more inter
ested in Just growing fruiting wood.”
Getting the main attached to the pole and the central
leader up to the top wire as quickly as possible, noted
Crassweller, can insure top productivity for the orchard.