Good Fruit Grower

December 2011

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nternational Fruit Tree Association members toured orchards and research centers in the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Holland this summer. This is part of a series of articles about the tour. I These high-density pear trees, trained to a Quad V system, continue to be manageable and productive after more than 20 years, Belgian grower Jan van der Velpen reports. potassium nitrate are also applied. The additional nitrate helps assure the green fruit color that export markets prefer, Deckers said. Fireblight Fruit is exported to Germany and other northern European countries. Russia has become an important market. Belgian growers recently began exporting to China, though they're not finding it easy. Fireblight is found in Belgium, but not China, so export fruit must come from a fireblight- free zone, which is verified through annual orchard inspections. Any orchard where fireblight is found can no longer export to China. Deckers said the main control for fireblight is to cut out infected wood and burn it, as antibiotics are not approved in Europe. Infections arise mainly from secondary bloom, rarely from primary bloom, so it's recom- mended that growers remove secondary bloom by hand. The fungicide Aliette (aluminum salts) is sometimes used to reduce tree susceptibility. Conference, Europe's most common pear variety, is not particularly sus- ceptible to fireblight, though Concorde, which van der Velpen uses as a pollenizer, is very susceptible. The ideal size for Conference pears in European markets is 65 to 70 millimeters (2.6 to 2.8 inches) in diameter. Pears as small as 55 mm (2.2 inches) used to be profitable, but nowadays, even with a good variety, orchards growing small pears can lose money, Deckers said. "Good fruit size is essential in the whole business." Growers are looking at mechanical blossom thinning to reduce their labor costs for thinning. Deckers said the Darwin mechanical thinner causes too much damage during bloom, but might be a possibility before bloom. • www.goodfruit.com Now Accepting Contracts for Spring 2013 and 2014! We have over 50 years of experience in the nursery business and are now taking growing contracts for: Ultima™ Gala, Banning Red Fuji, Auvil Early Fuji,® Honeycrisp,™ Granny Smith, & Many Others. Taking orders for benchgrafts for 2012 & 2013. GOOD FRUIT GROWER DECEMBER 2011 47 geraldine warner B es t a a l a a a F p n r e e p y a n s r 1 h0 e d r o t n o r s i t e ii jl u g b t ! R e h e d 7 a F t n uo j i

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