Fruit Growers Gather For Tour At Cherry Hill Orchards DAVE LEFEVER Lancaster Farming Staff LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) When it comes to growing tree fruit, Dick and Tom Haas aren’t afraid of nying new ways to do it better. The father and son team at Tom Haas of Cherry Hill Orchard checks a trap used for monitoring tufted apple bud moth populations. Cherry Hill Orchards near New Danville has been a leader in put ting innovative practices to work, including the most updated pest management tools available. About 40 fruit growers gath ered at Cherry Hill Tuesday eve ning to see the Haas’s operation and take home some new knowl edge to put to use in their own orchards. The ■ annual Twilight Fruit Growers’ Tour is organized by Penn State Cooperative Ex Using High Bros, and Purina SB HIGH BROS. 441 Centerville Road Gordonville, PA tension of Lancaster County and hosted by a local orchard each year. Over the past few decades, Cherry Hill has developed a thriving pick-your-own operation and farm market, offering cus tomers a wide selection of home grown fruits, including apples, cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums, and apricots. Managing apple trees was the focus of the orchard tour Tues day night. Sometimes experiments and discoveries happen by chance at Cherry Hill. In the fall of 2001, for example, the Haases cut all the lateral branches off an aging stand of Red Delicious apple trees. They were planning to re move the trees trunk, root, and all to make way for new plant ings. However, the next growing season rolled around before the Haases had a chance to clear out the trees. They discovered that the old trunks sprouted a healthy crop of new branches. Now in their sec ond year of growth, the branches are showing signs of good poten tial for future production. The Haases have decided to let them go and see what happens. “With growth like this, you can’t complain,” Tom said. “You have all new wood.” According to Dick, the un planned experiment just shows one of the principles of horticul ture: “Growing plants is an evo lution,” he said. The technique for renewing apple trees could potentially dou ble the life of some tree and root What Do These Farms o Have In Common For Nutrition Needs stock combinations, allowing them to remain productive for 30 to 40 years, he said. For insect control, the Haases have been employing several in novative techniques that help re duce pesticide use considerably. Targeting insects and pin pointing spray times is becoming increasingly important, Tom said. That’s partly because effec tive, labeled chemicals are getting scarce on the market. Available chemicals are also much more time-specific than chemicals of the past. The Haases have been using a global information system (GIS)/ weather-tracking system since Greg Krawczyk, Penn State fruit ento mologist, right, and Tom Haas discuss in novative pest management methods used in apple production. 1996 shortly after the technolo gy first became available to or chardists. Called Skyßit, the method was developed at Penn State to pre dict site-specific hatch dates for many fruit pests, including tufted apple bud moths, coddling moths, oriental fruit moths, and peach tree borers. Skyßit uses degree-day data along with GIS mapping to pro vide tracking information on in sect hatch times within targeted locations of about a one-mile ra dius, according to Dr. Greg Krawczyk, Penn State fruit ento mologist on hand during the tour. During growing season, the Skyßit inform ation can be accessed daily via computer or fax. It also provides up-to date weather data, including wind forecasts, to help plan spray times. Along with Skyßit, the Haases rely on a variety of in sect traps to monitor pest numbers in the orchards. “The traps are valuable in that they help verify the info you’re getting (from Sky- Bit),” Tom said. The Haases have also been using mating disruption technol ogy small, simple dispensers that are hung on trees and slowly release female insect pheromones (hormones that stimulate male insects). The pheromone scent in the air confuse males and pre vents them from finding mates, thus nixing the reproductive cycle. Krawczyk said it’s important that fruit growers are aware of methods other than pesticides to control pests. While mating dis ruption, traps, and Skyßit re quire more intensive manage ment and observation than the old methods of applying pesti cides by rote, the savings in chemical costs can be significant. Tom Haas said that new inte grated pest management technol- THAT WEAR EASTER, SHATTER MORE EASILY AND WASTE TIME? 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Dr. Rob Crassweller, Penn State pomologist, reviewed the best times to apply these growth inhibitors' to trees in order to be most effective. Choosing the right agents and applying them at the right time are keys to getting the best thin ning results. Conditions this season should allow thinning agent applications to do a good job with a minimum of hand-thinning, according to Crassweller. “In general, I think thinners are going to work really well this year,” he said. This year’s twilight tour was about two weeks later than it is normally scheduled. Tim Elkner, Lancaster County horticulture agent and tour or ganizer, said he was pleased with the number of growers who turned out. Attendance was greater than he expected. (Photos by Dave Lefever) Triple H Equip Inc GREENWOOD 717 548 3775 800 675 2019 BSWAgEnterprises 302 398 3059 mom ™,AeiAK MORGANTOWN -.! 4 . .M 4 Sons Equip 304 2964180
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