Page 14—Grower and Marketer, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 20, 2000
Planting, Nurturing Fruit Trees
Requires Skill, Science
UNIVERSITY PARK
(Centre Co.) Nowadays, in
an era where the backyard
fruit tree is often a vanishing
memory, consumers might be
justified in thinking fruit
grows in supermarkets.
But a tree fruit expert in
Penn State’s College of Agri
cultural Sciences said home
owners armed with
knowledge and an appetite
for work can grow vigorous,
tasty fruit.
“If you know your soil fer
tility, where to plant the tree,
and the pollination require
ments of the fruit tree or
bush, you can reduce the
need to use chemical controls
for disease and insect pests,”
said Robert Crassweller, pro
fessor of tree fruit.
Crassweller explains that
knowing where not to plant a
fruit tree prevents years of
disappointing fruit produc
tion.
The Planting Site
Every fruit tree must have
plenty of sunlight in order to
fuel fruit production. Crass
weller recommends choosing
a site that is in sunlight most
or all of the day.
“The faster the plants dry
off after rain or morning dew,
the less chance they have to
contract a disease,’’ Crass
weller said. “Rapid drying
will reduce fungicide use.”
Fruit trees also should be
planted in areas with good
drainage and some protec
tion from winds. “Northern
exposures delay flower devel
opment in the spring and can
help to avoid the damage of
late spring frosts,” Crass
weller said. “But, they tend
to be colder. The best site has
an eastern exposure.”
Crassweller warns
that homeowners
should not plant
near the root zone of
a black walnut tree,
which produces a
natural herbicide
called juglone that
inhibits plant
growth. He also
warns that strawber
ries or bramble fruit
should not be grown
where tomatoes,
peppers, eggplant,
or potatoes have
been grown in the
past five years. “A
soil fungus called
Verticillium can live
in plant debris from
those vegetables and
infect the fruit
plants,” he said.
If only a small
space gets full sun
light, Crassweller
suggests using dwarf
fruit tree varieties or
planting the varie
ties as a property
screen or divider.
“Currants and
gooseberries are the only fruit
crops that tolerate any shade
at all,” he said.
For drainage, Crassweller
recommends observing
standing water after a spring
rain. If visible water remains
after 24 hours, the soil is not
well-drained.
Pollination
“Pollination transfers
pollen from the male part of
the flower to the female part
UNIVERSITY PARK
(Centre Co.) Homeowners
and amateur gardeners look
ing to sweeten their diets or
slightly supplement their
income can find helpful in
formation at a new World
Wide Website produced by
Penn State’s College of Agri
culture Sciences.
“Small-Scale Fruit Pro
duction” (http://ssfruit.cas.
psu.edu) is a comprehensive
guide to growing fruit in
Pennsylvania.
The Website offers back
yard gardeners and hobby
horticulturists detailed
advice and instruction for
growing apples, peaches,
pears, plums, grapes,
strawberries, blueberries, and
cane fruit. The site, adapted
from the 161-page Penn State
publication “Small-Scale
Fruit Production,” is aimed
at people who want to grow
fruit on one acre or less, and
who are not legally licensed
to use pesticides.
“The guide presents state
of-the art production meth-
ods,” said Robert
Crassweller, professor of tree
fruit. “Homeowners and hob-
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Penn State Guide To Growing Fruit Goes Online
of the same flower or another
flower of the same variety,”
Crassweller said. “A plant
that provides pollen to an
other variety is called a ‘pol
linizer.’ In most cases bees
are the pollinators.”
Crassweller said a pollinat
ing plant must have:
A bloom period overlap
ping that of the plant requir
ing pollination
Viable pollen
byists will be able to read and
understand how to use alter
native types of pest control
called integrated pest man
agement by growers to
reduce pesticide use.”
The Website offers fully
searchable text and many
sharply defined color photo
graphs showing disease
symptoms and examples of
insect damage, as well as
photos of many different
varieties of fruit trees and
plants.
The guide instructs con
sumers on topics from pre
paring the planting site to
harvesting the bounty, while
also addressing subjects such
as pollination requirements
for trees and other fruits, soil
fertility, monthly manage
ment tips, how to plant fruit
trees, control of wildlife
damage, and pest control.
■ Crassweller said both the
Website and publication list
nursery sources for trees and
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A location close to the vari
ety to be pollinated.
Crassweller said home
owners should be aware of
other pollination factors.
Temperatures below 60 de
grees Fahrenheit will reduce
bee flight. Temperatures
above 85 degrees F will dry
out flowers and prevent
pollen from germinating.
“Other nectar-producing
flowers can draw bees away
from fruit plants, as can dan
delions in early spring,”
Crassweller said. “Also, ap
plying pesticides during blos
soming will kill bees and
other pollinating insects.”
small fruit plants, sources for
wildlife control materials,
and reference books for the
home gardener.
“The online guide really
gives consumers a complete
understanding of how a fruit
tree or plant functions as an
entire production system,”
Crassweller said.
Web surfers also can find
easy-to-use charts and tables
detailing pest control and
fruit management informa
tion.
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Plant Quality
Buy well-grown, heavily
rooted plants that are at least
one year old. Blueberry
plants should be two years
old. Crassweller says con
sumers should buy plants
listed as “certified,” “virus
tested” or “virus-indexed.”
“Brambles and stone fruit
plants are prone to viral in
fections in the nursery,” he
said. “Do not buy a bramble
plant that is grown outside a
nursery. All of these plants
should be grown in a green
house in steam-sterilized soil
to prevent disease.”
The “Small-Scale Fruit
Production Guide” is jointly
produced by Penn State’s de
partments of horticulture, en
tomology, plant pathology,
agricultural, and biological
engineering and the School of
Forest Resources. The
printed publication is avail
able for $9 and can be or
dered by calling the College
of Agricultural Sciences Pub
lications Distribution Center
at (814) 865-6713.