Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/603228
www.goodfruit.com Good Fruit Grower DECEMBER 2015 45 a fifth of the province's commercial stone fruit plantings in 1999), compounding the impact of the Cangro plant closure at the end of June 2008. The plant, which was the region's last fruit processor, closed after 112 years of operation. The losses in trees and processing capacity have spurred growers to seek alternatives; some have turned to wine grapes, while others have reinvested in fresh-mar- ket varieties that cater to consumers with an increased appetite for local produce. "There's been quite a demand in the past for some extra wine grape acreage, and that's where we've seen the shift," said Phil Tregunno, chair of the Ontario Tender Fruit Growers and owner of Tregunno Fruit Farms Inc. near Niagara-on-the-Lake, which has 700 acres of stone fruits and grapes. "A lot of it was replanted with better (stone fruit) varieties, too." A look at the numbers is telling. Between 1999 (the year before the discovery of plum pox virus) and 2012, the number of processing peach trees in Ontario fell by 70 percent. The overall stone fruit tree count fell by 7 percent.. However, fresh market peach plantings have increased 18 percent over the same period, and plantings PETER MITHAM FOR GOOD FRUIT GROWER Phil Tregunno's Tregunno Fruit Farms Inc. near Niagara- on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, has 700 acres of stone fruits and grapes. The grapes now account for a quarter of the farm's production. "There are quite a few growers who have diversified their operations by growing some wine grapes, then there are some who have completely switched over." —Phil Tregunno