That’s a Wrap

This has been one steady winter that does not seem to want to let go too quickly. One concession has been the real lack of temperature extremes this winter setting the stage for good bud survival in most of the tree fruit crops we grow in Ontario. If I was asked to describe the perfect end to a winter and the progression of the spring this would be it. Nice and slow with fruit buds held tight well into April.

No question, it has been a difficult 3 months in which to move easily through an orchard with the pruners in hand. There is not much that is more difficult than trying to get a volume of work done in deep snow with a bone chilling wind howling down the back of your neck. Somehow we seem to manage to get the job done.

It has become increasingly clear to me in the last few years how important it is to remove larger caliper limbs in higher density plantings. In fact, this point was made more than once during Terence Robinson’s talks at the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Conference (OFVC) this past February.

Simply put, “Large limbs make large trees”. A big bold looking branch is and becomes an exporter of carbon to feed the trees wood and make bigger trunks. This is why dwarf trees that have larger limbs continually removed in favour of finer branches do not get outrageously large and unmanageable in tighter plantings.

Terence spoke on the establishment and management of the “tall spindle” in the recent Apple Program as part of the OFVC. The tall spindle system requires a very high quality tree at planting with the objective of generating some crop volume in the 2^nd year. It’s the feathered trees that a grower should be looking for if they are available. If you plant a tree with a dozen feathers on it, each tree will produce so many apples in the second year. Remember that at 1000 trees per acre you only have to hang 20 apples per tree to get 10 bins of fruit if they are grown to 100 count size.

Anyway, I must report to the group that I have applied for a pension and I will be leaving the public service at the end of April this year to pursue other interests. I have now been with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for 33 and one-half years. It has been a challenging and rewarding job in a very dynamic and changing industry. I will miss many aspects of this work especially those relationships built up over the years with growers, extension staff here and in the U.S., and associates in the industry.

This newsletter would not have been possible without the efforts of many. Appreciation goes out to my Associate Editor Dr. Jennifer DeEll and all the contributors, Apple Team members, sponsors and the Apple Growers’ for their directorship and administration over the years. Thanks to Marian Desjardine of the London Resource Centre for the signature look and finish of this product.

I feel that the industry bottomed out a couple of years ago but is now in recovery mode as we build inventories of trees that will produce higher value products. What is apparent is that consumers at the retail level are choosing to buy more apples at higher prices and this is a direct result of the efforts of the apple industry as a whole to make the changes that were necessary a few years back.

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