Good Fruit Grower

6 APRIL 1, 2017 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com Growers in normally rainy Northeastern U.S. are coming around to the idea of irrigating. by Ross Courtney O rchardists scrambled to fi nd equipment. Growers used tanks and hoses to water trees by hand. And if you believe all the stories, desperate farmers tapped fire hydrants. Those in New York who were still on the fence about the need for irrigation before the 2016 drought probably are convinced now. "Always takes a slap in the face to make you move for- ward a little quicker," said Todd Furber, owner of Cherry Lawn Fruit Farms, with 325 acres of tree fruit near the shores of Lake Ontario midway between Rochester and Syracuse. The record-breaking 2016 drought drew headlines for its severity. Growers who lacked irrigation improvised moveable systems using municipal water, while others watered by tank and hose, wrote Mario Miranda Sazo, a Cornell Cooperative Extension educator in Newark, and Lailiang Cheng, a Cornell University horticulturalist in Ithaca, in a "lessons learned" document. The federal gov- ernment declared 24 upstate counties as natural disaster areas. Fruit tree growers across New York without irrigation reported an average 46-percent crop loss in a January farm survey by Cornell, while even growers with irriga- tion saw 6 percent losses. Unusual, but not unheard of However, last summer was not the fi rst water shortage in New York. Similar, if less severe, situations occurred in 2011 and 2012, while the two researchers estimated in their document that three of every 10 summers will see a water shortage. Even in a normal year, they said, "rainfall is usually less than required for optimal tree performance during critical periods of tree establishment and growth." Growers always expect a few dry weeks each summer. Thus, upstate New York farmers have been steadily, if slowly, marching toward irrigation for several years. Waiting and hoping for rain is becoming an outdated model for growers, both in New York and in Pennsylvania, Michigan and other fruit producing areas. "Our practice is to put in irrigation when we plant a new orchard," said Tom De Marree of De Marree Fruit Farm, another Lake Ontario orchard between Rochester and Syracuse. Young trees are the most susceptible to drought stress. De Marree estimates about 80 percent of his orchards have irrigation now, probably well ahead of the curve compared to his neighbors in the area. Others put their progress toward irrigation at about 30 percent but follow a similar routine, adding drip irrigation when they put in new trees. Few try to absorb the cost all at once. De Marree became convinced more than 10 years ago when he ran an unoffi cial trial, leaving part of one apple block unirrigated due to inconvenience. The fruit there turned out small. "You could physically see the fruit size difference in the bin," he said. The following spring, those same trees had less bloom and a reduced crop. Irrigation picking up pace Recent summers have sped up the rate of irrigation in Irrigation reconsidered Irrigation

• Cover