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The Ditton Laboratory at East Malling was built in 1926 to conduct research on storage of tree fruits and develop cold storage regimes for apples and pears. It was designed to mimic a ship's hold. It started out as an independent laboratory and later became part of the East Malling Research Center. During the 1990s, the work was shifted to a new facility. ORDER out of chaos Jon Clements of the University of Massachusetts, left, admires trees at the Hatton Fruit Gardens in East Malling, which is named after Ronald Hatton, originator of the Malling apple rootstocks. Trees in the garden have been trained and pruned to 25 different configurations including cordons, espaliers, goblets, pyramids, fans, arches, and crowns. This espalier is composed of two apple trees on M.106. In some respects this was the begin- ning of the end for a stable horticulture research base in the U.K., as smaller facil- ities were stripped of their assets, Sibley said. "It was a difficult time, without doubt." In the early 2000s, a decision was made to break up HRI and phase out all government support. Because East Malling had the support of the East Malling Trust, it was able to survive. Two years ago, the trust changed its structure and now owns everything, Sibley said. It is the umbrella for three companies: East Malling Research, which carries on the fruit research; East Malling Limited, which handles all the commercial activities, such as fruit growing, operating the conference center, farming, and managing the property; and Bradbourne House Limited, which rents out the house for weddings and other occasions. All of the income comes back to the trust, which provides all the profits to East Malling for research. "We're here for only one thing, and that's to support research into horticulture," Sibley said. Dr. Peter Gregory, chief executive officer of East Malling Research, said the research center has 40 staff and students today, down from 400 in the 1980s, and is in a state of flux. It is a charity, not a government organization, whose role is to do strategic and applied research and deliver knowledge, products, and services to its customers. These include the U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Horticul- tural Development Company (which collects levies from growers), as well as private companies. The East Malling Trust provides about 25 percent of EMR's funding; about a third of the funding is generated by projects sponsored by the DEFRA; and about 25 percent comes from growers and packers. Collaborative research Increasingly, East Malling will do collaborative research, Gregory said, and it has formed partnerships with a number of other research entities in the United Kingdom and China. There's an emphasis on boosting U.K. food production, because of concerns about the Above: Lee Spencer of Pennsylvania pictured with East Malling's first building, constructed in 1913. It consisted of a lab, office, and stable for the researcher's horse. www.goodfruit.com country's current dependence on imported foods, and on sustainable production meth- ods that make efficient use of inputs and reduce waste. Scientists are also looking at ways to improve shelf life and address the impacts of climate change. Genomics, genetics, and breeding remain core research areas. The center has a cherry breeding program, in partnership with a marketing company that will provide the route to market. It also has a small rootstock breeding program. Felicidad Fernández Fernández, plant breeder and molecular biologist, is working to develop rootstocks with better water use efficiency. "It's my strong desire that we get back into rootstocks in a big way," Gregory said. "It's my belief that with the new information coming through from genomics and genetics, we ought to be able to come up with a really good modern rootstock program here." • S ir Ronald Hatton, one of the first researchers at England's East Malling Research Station almost a century ago, took on the job of classifying and testing apple rootstocks that were distributed throughout Europe. When Hatton joined East Malling, there was a "mixed-up potage of easily rooted clones" that had been collected by gardeners over the centuries, according to Dr. Jim Cummins, retired Cornell Uni- versity horticulturist. These clonal selections had become hopelessly mixed up and, in many cases, their identities were lost. Hatton worked to bring order out of the chaos and released a series of rootstocks under the Malling name. The rootstocks M.1 to M.16 were released by East Malling in 1913–1914. In around 1920, East Malling and the John Innes Institute at Merton, England, began breeding root- stocks for resistance to woolly apple aphid by making crosses with Northern Spy. They eventually released the Malling-Merton series of rootstocks as well as the Merton Immune series, which includes Merton 793. Some of the more widely used Malling rootstocks have been: M.7: Semidwarfing. About 50 to 65 percent of seedling. From the 1950s to 1980s, this was the most widely planted clonal rootstock in the United States, as it was productive and adapted to a wide range of soil types and climates. However, it is more prone to burr knots and root suckers than other commonly used rootstocks. Bred in France in about 1688 and formerly known as Doucin Reinette or Doucin vert. M.9: Dwarfing. Selected as a chance seedling in France in 1826. Previously known as Jaune de Metz or Paradis. Many subclones exist today, as a result of heat treatment to rid the original clone of viruses and selection for easier stoolbed propagation. A tree on M.9 is about 35 to 40 percent the size of seedling, although clones vary in the degree of dwarfing. M.9 is precocious and yield efficient. For the past two decades, it has been the most extensively planted rootstock worldwide. M. 26: Moderately dwarfing. An M.16 and M.9 cross released in 1959. Produces a tree about 45 per- cent the size of seedling. M.26 is precocious but less so than M.9. Susceptible to fireblight and burr knots. M.27: Very dwarfing. A cross of M.13 and M.9 released in 1975. This rootstock produces a tree less than half the size of a tree on M.9 EMLA (the heat- treated, virus-free clone). It is very precocious, but yield efficiency is typically less than that of M.9. MM.106: Moderately vigorous. About 60 to 70 per- cent of seedling. A cross of M.2 and Northern Spy released in 1952. Susceptible to crown rot. MM.111: Vigorous. About 70 to 80 percent the size of seedling. A cross of Northern Spy and Merton 793 released in 1952. Adaptable to various soil conditions and tolerant of drought stress. —G.Warner SOURCES: East Malling Research; Intensive Orchard Management by Dr. Bruce Barritt, 1992; The New Wave of Apple Rootstocks by Dr. Jim Cummins, 1994; Wikipedia. GOOD FRUIT GROWER OCTOBER 2011 21 photos by geraldine warner