Apples
The 2012 USDA Census revealed that the 16 counties comprising the Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture program had over 12,500 acres devoted to apple production. The lower Hudson Valley region and the Lake Champlain region are two of the largest and most important apple production areas in New York state which ranks second in the nation for apple production and first in the country for canned apple products, although much of that crop is produced in western NY.Apples are thought to have originated between the Caspian and the Black Seas and proof of humans’ enjoyment of apples traces back at least 750,000 years. Early settlers brought apple seeds with them to the United States. Records indicate that apples were grown in New England as early as 1630. John Chapman, also known as Johnny Appleseed, along with many other traders, missionaries and Native Americans, were responsible for extensive apple tree plantings in the Midwest and beyond.
Apples are one of the most valuable fruit crops in the United States. The 9.0 billion pound U.S. 2012 apple crop was valued at nearly $3.1 billion. Apples are the second most consumed fruit (fresh and processed uses combined), following oranges. The average person consumes 44 pounds of apple products annually.
Over the last 20 years, Cornell research and extension projects have helped growers increase yields and fruit quality by increasing tree densities and improving labor efficiency. We estimate that profitability of new high density orchards is 100 to 300% greater than the traditional low-density orchards.
In 2013, Cornell University announced the introduction of two new apple varieties, SnapDragon and RubyFrost, developed through a managed release partnership with the New York Apple Growers (NYAG). The income generated through this partnership is used to market the new varieties and support Cornell’s apple-breeding program.
For more information about tree fruit production, please visit the Cornell Tree Fruit website at http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/tree_fruit/index.htm.
Relevant Events
Field Day at Philia Farm
August 5, 2021
Johnstown, NY
Champlain Valley Summer Field Afternoon
August 19, 2021
Chazy, NY
2021 FGRM Measurement Template
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Fruit Growth Rate Protocol 2021
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Managing Fire Blight in 2021
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
2020 fire blight season recap. In 2020, there were devastating fire blight outbreaks in NY and much of New England. The season was characterized by hot dry weather from the end of bloom into petal fall, which were the perfect conditions for systemic shoot blight. In the second half of May many sites experienced extreme risk for fire blight when bloom was apparently over and rainfall, dew, and humidity were scarce. Many growers were mystified with the subsequent outbreaks of shoot blight and perplexed as to how blossom infections could occur with the lack of moisture during high-risk periods. This is a common occurrence in the pacific northwest where fire blight devastates apple production despite a dry climate. Indeed, it may take only the slightest bit of internal canopy humidity or water from a nutritional or fungicide application to start an epidemic in exceptionally warm weather. We should remain cautious with vigorous growth during warm weather in the 2021 season, particularly as we approach petal fall and as shoots elongate.
The 2021 Honeycrisp Playbook: Early Foliar Calcium
Dan Donahue, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Early is where it's at: Individual Honeycrisp fruits analyzed for mineral content around the end of the cell division period of fruit development (+40 mm) have been found to be highly variable in mineral content, particularly calcium. Four years of research results in the Hudson Valley show that early season fruit calcium content can vary as much as 4.2X from a low Ca fruit to a high Ca fruit (figure 1). These finding suggest that our calcium troubles start early in the growing season and therefore should be addressed early as well. The calcium cation is not very mobile with plant tissue and doesn't move from cells with a surplus to cells in deficit. Calcium cations need to be available for cell walls and membranes locally, and when needed. Too far away and/or too late is of little help. Since calcium plays a role within the plant in hormonal signaling, the cations cannot remain "free" within cell cytoplasm or within the spaces between cells and cell walls. Free calcium cations that are not incorporated promptly into cell membranes, cell walls, and endoplasmic reticulum are quickly deactivated and made unavailable through sequestration within cell vacuoles.
The 2021 Honeycrisp Playbook: Apogee at Pink for Bitter Pit Suppression
Dan Donahue, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
The 2021 Honeycrisp Playbook: Apogee (Prohexadione calcium) at Pink for Bitter Pit Suppression.
Daniel Donahue, CCE-ENYCHP, Hudson Valley New York
"Effective Bitter Pit suppression in Honeycrisp involves the deployment of a number of tactics over the course of the growing season, there is no silver bullet, no trick play to save the game, think of it like following a playbook in football, three yards and a cloud of dust."
2021 Disease Management Outlook for Apple Powdery Mildew
Dan Donahue, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Early Season Disease Management for 2021
Dan Donahue, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Herbicide Lookup by Active Ingredient
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Harvest Maturity Indices
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
SnapDragon (NY-1) Starch Index Chart
Dan Donahue, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Controlling Fruit Rots and Other Summer Diseases
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
This is a presentation by Dr. Srdjan Acimovic of the Hudson Valley Research Lab. In this webinar, Dr. Acimovic discusses the biology and management of summer diseases of apples. Topics covered include bitter rot, Marssonina blotch, sooty blotch/flyspeck, and more.
2020 ENY Fire Blight Sampling Form
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Strategies for Dealing with Pesky Perennial Weeds
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Perennial weeds can be particularly difficult to manage in the apple orchard. These plants are defined as being able to live for more than two years, which is due to their abilities to produce large root systems or other underground storage structures, such as bulbs, tubers, and rhizomes. These structures facilitate the spread of perennials in orchards, although many species also produce seed that support dispersal.
Prepping Your Air Blast Sprayer for Spring
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Sprayers must be regularly checked over to ensure that proper maintenance has been carried out and that no outstanding repairs need to be done. Faulty sprayers contribute to increased drift levels and waste money through inefficiency and overuse of chemicals.
Precision Pruning for Early Crop Load Management
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Precision pruning is the first step in precision crop load management. This video covers the basics of how to prune your tall spindle apple orchard to reduce the bud load on your trees.
Interview with Dan Donahue: Bitter Pit Suppression and Cornell's Apogee Trials
Dan Donahue, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
CCE ENYCHP vegetable specialist Daniel Donahue was recently interviewed by Good Fruit Grower at the Washington State Tree Fruit Association's Annual Meeting in Wenatchee, WA.
Dan discusses bitter pit suppression and Cornell's Apogee trials in this Good Fruit Grower interview.
Visit the following link to view the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC6z1a7MF9k
Renovating Old Orchards
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Planning Your Irrigation with Malusim
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
The Malusim app allows you to enter spray records, use the fruit growth rate model, the carbohydrate thinning model, and the irrigation model. The tool uses the Cornell evapotranspiration model and weather data off your station to determine how much irrigation is needed for each block.
2019 Fire Blight Survey
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Kerik Cox's lab will be conducting a fire blight survey again this year, investigating streptomycin resistance and strain distribution across NY State and New England.
2019 Eastern New York Fruit & Vegetable Conference Tree Fruit Presentations
Presentations from the 2019 ENYCHP Eastern New York Fruit & Vegetable Conference held February 19-21 for the tree fruit sections.
Cold Hardy Rootstocks for Eastern NY
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Cold injury is a concern for apple production in Eastern New York, where extremely cold mid-winter temperatures and dramatic temperature fluctuations in the late fall and early spring are not uncommon. Let's review the types of cold damage we might expect to see in rootstock tissues, and discuss which rootstocks might be most appropriate for dealing with the cold in a high density production system.
Apple Grafting Resources
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
The Scourge of Bitter Pit
Dan Donahue, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
It's looking like a difficult storage year for Hudson Valley Honeycrisp Producers
Reports are starting to filter in of excessive Honeycrisp cullage out of storage this season. The predominant defect reported is bitter pit, a surprise to some following observations that this season's crop appeared relatively clean at harvest. Our ENYCHP tree fruit team is currently in the 3rd year of our comprehensive Honeycrisp/Bitter Pit survey study, and our results to date shed some light on how 2018 compares to '16 and '17.
2018 Northern NY Trap Data and Pest Exclusion with Hail Netting
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
During the 2018 growing season, we maintained an IPM trapping network in Northern New York, ranging from Chazy in Northern Clinton County to Rexford in Southern Saratoga County. From May through mid-September, we sent weekly e-alerts of our trap counts for oriental fruit moth, codling moth, obliquebanded leafroller, and apple maggot. Now that harvest is winding down, I would like to review this season's pest trends, and discuss what we observed from our hail netting trials in the Champlain Valley.
Marssonina Leaf Blotch of Apple - A Growing Problem in South-Eastern New York
Dan Donahue, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Excessive rain in New York and the rest of the Eastern US experienced in the second half of both the 2017 and 2018 growing seasons favored the development of Marssonina Leaf Blotch (MLB), a disease caused by Marssonina coronaria (sexual stage Diplocarpon mali). In early September 2017, in the lower-Hudson Valley and south NY we found MLB late in the summer in more than several apple orchards on Mutsu, Honeycrisp, NY-1 (SnapDragon), NY-2 (RubyFrost), Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Pristine, Grimes Golden, Northern Spy, Stayman Winesap, Tompkins King, and others. The alarming outcome was defoliation of lower part of the tree crowns, especially where moisture due to heavy dew or sprinkler irrigation was present up until midday.
2018 Apple Storage Observations and Recommendations
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
As we jump into another harvest season, let's review some storage suggestions from Dr. Chris Watkins, and results from our own observations and research in Eastern New York, for some of our major cultivars.
Supplemental Coverage Options for Apples
Elizabeth Higgins, Business Management Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Apple growers in New York are starting to see a new crop insurance option in some counties, Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO). I had a couple of questions about it in Ulster County last fall. Now that we are nearing time to sign up for crop insurance again, let's dig in a little deeper - what is SCO and why might you consider it?
Plant Growth Regulator Field Day Review
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Near the end of the June, I attended the summer PGR meeting and orchard tour that was held in Geneva, where Dr. Poliana Francescatto reviewed some of her recent work with PGR's. After a detailed discussion of floral bud induction and initiation indoors, we headed out to the research orchard to view a handful of her current field trials. In this article, we will review some of the key takeaways from that tour.
Recommendations for Harvest Management Plant Growth Regulators in Eastern NY
Dan Donahue, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Recommendations for Harvest Management Plant Growth Regulators in Eastern New York for 2018
Dan Donahue & Mike Basedow, CCE-ENYCHP
Precision Irrigation: Where to Start?
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
As we enter the warm summer months, you might consider trialing the precision irrigation model on your farm to improve tree growth in your new plantings and maximize fruit size in your mature blocks.
Hail Netting: Is It Right for Your Farm?
Elizabeth Higgins, Business Management Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Increasingly tree fruit growers in NYS are looking at hail netting as a tool for reducing the impact of hail in their orchards. Hail netting is already widespread in Australia, Europe and is increasing in popularity in Washington State. Netting is used in those places, not only to protect the fruit from hail, but also from sun damage, and insect/pest damage and to increase the quality of the fruit crop. While hail netting seems to have promise, the growing conditions for tree fruit in New York are not the same as Australia, Europe and Washington. The Cornell Cooperative Extension Lake Ontario Fruit Team has recently received a grant to study hail netting in New York and its impact on pests and disease, yields, and quality of the fruit and to better understand the costs and labor needs for managing a hail netting system in a New York orchard.
Increasing Your Wild Orchard Pollinators
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Last week while we were nearing petal fall in the Champlain Valley, a grower and I were discussing when he ought to take his honey bees out of the orchard, which led us to discussing the role wild bees are playing in his orchard. These wild bees help pollinate our crop every year, so I think it is worth reviewing some of the different kinds of bees we can expect to see at bloom, and what we can do to encourage their visits.
The CCE Apple Decline Survey Has Been Extended Through the Summer of 2018
Dan Donahue, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Cornell Extension Specialists are being asked with increasing frequency to investigate both chronic decline and rapid collapse of apple trees in young, high-density plantings in all regions of New York State. Symptoms of chronic decline can include poor growth, off color foliage, and a generally unthrifty appearance that worsens over several years. The death of an (apparently) previously healthy tree over the course of just a few weeks has been termed Rapid Apple Decline (RAD). While the symptoms of chronic decline are subtler in some cases, RAD is eye-catching. Afflicted trees appear to "burn up" mid-summer after having set and sized a normal crop load. RAD may be a subset of the chronic decline condition or a completely different problem; causation is unknown at this time.
2018 Hudson Valley Crop Assessment for Thinning
Dr. Poliana Francescatto (Cornell NYSAES), Win Cowgill, Professor Emeritus, Rutgers and Owner of Win Enterprises International, LLC Consulting, and Dan Donahue, CCE-ENYCHP
Apple Thinning Suggestions for 2018
Dr. Poliana Francescatto (Cornell NYSAES) & Win Cowgill, Professor Emeritus, Rutgers and Owner of Win Enterprises International, LLC Consulting
Spray Mixing Instructions Considering Tree Row Volume - TRV
Spray Mixing Instructions Considering Tree Row Volume
Terence Robinson and Poliana Francescatto
Cornell University
Win Cowgill
Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University
Proper Disposal of Pesticide Containers
Dan Donahue, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Tree fruit producers generate substantial quantities of empty pesticide containers over the course of the growing season. Back in the "old days", paper bags found their way into a burn barrel, and plastic jugs into a landfill. Neither option is viable today, so what to do? Landfall disposal is still an option for some types of pesticide containers, and recycling is available for others, but first, here's what's legal in New York State.
Weed Management in Newly Planted Orchards
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Early weed control is a critical component of establishing a new planting. Newly planted fruit trees compete poorly against fast growing weeds for water and nutrients. This competition can severely limit a new block's growth, which can ultimately reduce potential yields in the third year by 50 percent. Weeds also harbor insects and diseases, provide habitat for rodents, and can serve as hosts for viruses, further complicating effective orchard management.
2018 Eastern New York Fruit & Vegetable Conference Tree Fruit Presentations
Presentations from the 2018 ENYCHP Eastern New York Fruit & Vegetable Conference held February 20th and 21st for the tree fruit sections.
First Flight: Considerations for Early "Worm" Management to NY Apple
The early ‘worm' complex found in commercial apple during the pre-bloom period begins with the emergence of the speckled green fruit worm (SGFW).
FSMA Produce Safety Rule FAQ's
Mike Basedow, Tree Fruit Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
On behalf of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, this article presents information on the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule and answers frequently-asked questions from producers.
NEWA Workshop Program Key Takeaways
ENYCHP hosted a NEWA training workshop in Voorheesville in April 2018. Here are some of the main takeaways from the training.
Its time to buy apple insurance 2017
Elizabeth Higgins, Business Management Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Late Season Rescue Thinning with Ethephon
Variety Thinning Recommendations for mature trees - 8 to 12mm fruit size
Pesticide Applicator License Pre-Exam Training Slides
Anna Wallis, Tree Fruit and Grape Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Slides from the Pesticide Applicator License Pre-Exam Training, held March 2017 in Plattsburgh.
Bird Damage in Tree Fruits
Anne Mills, Field Technician
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Frugivorous birds impose significant costs on tree fruit growers through direct consumption of fruit and
grower efforts to manage birds.We documented factors that influenced tree fruit bird damage from 2012
through 2014 with a coordinated field study in Michigan, New York, and Washington. For sweet cherries,
percent bird damage was higher in 2012 compared to 2013 and 2014, in Michigan and New York
compared toWashington, and in blocks with more edges adjacent to non-sweet cherry land-cover types.
These patterns appeared to be associated with fruit abundance patterns; 2012 was a particularly lowyield
year for tree fruits in Michigan and New York and percent bird damage was high. In addition,
percent bird damage to sweet and tart cherries in Michigan was higher in landscapes with low to
moderate forest cover compared to higher forest cover landscapes. 'Honeycrisp' apple blocks under
utility wires were marginally more likely to have greater bird damage compared to blocks without wires.
We recommend growers prepare bird management plans that consider the spatial distribution of fruit
and non-fruit areas of the farm. Growers should generally expect to invest more in bird management in
low-yield years, in blocks isolated from other blocks of the same crop, and in blocks where trees can
provide entry to the crop for frugivorous birds.
Installing and Monitoring American Kestrel Nest Boxes in Orchards
Anne Mills, Field Technician
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Installing and Monitoring American Kestrel
Nest Boxes in Orchards by Megan Shave, Michigan State University
2017 Winter Tree Fruit School Presentations
Anna Wallis, Tree Fruit and Grape Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Presentations given at the 2017 Eastern NY Commercial Tree Fruit Schools are available by clicking on the following links.
2016 Fire Blight Management Workshop
Anna Wallis, Tree Fruit and Grape Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
This is the powerpoint presentation from the August 2nd Fire Blight Workshop in Peru.
In light of the high fire blight incidence this season, Srdjan Acimovic, pathologist at the Hudson Valley Research Lab, and Dave Rosenberger, retired pathologist Hudson Valley Research Lab, offered a workshop on fire blight management. They presented information on fire blight management, conditions that led to this season's situation, and how to predict fire blight infections in the future.
Fire Blight Sampling
Look here to find instructions, contacts, and paperwork for submitting Fire Blight samples.
Presentations - 2016 Winter Tree Fruit Schools
Sarah Elone, Field Technician
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Presentations given at the 2016 Commercial Tree Fruit Schools in Lake George (LG) and Kingston in the Hudson Valley (HV) are available by clicking on the following links.
Precision Crop Load Management
Anna Wallis, Tree Fruit and Grape Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Precision Crop Load Management (PCLM) is a 3-step process of managing apple crop loads more precisely:
1. Prune to a specific flower bud number
2. Chemically thin to a specific fruit number
3. Hand thin to a specific fruit number
Apple IPM
Anna Wallis, Tree Fruit and Grape Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
How can you use IPM (Integrated Pest Management) to control pests in your orchard? These presentations provide a broad overview of IPM Theory, orchard insect and disease pests, and resources available to guide your decision making, such as the NEWA weather system.
Presentations - 2015 Winter Tree Fruit Schools
Presentations given at the 2015 Commercial Tree Fruit Schools in Lake George (LG) and Kingston in the Hudson Valley (HV) are available by clicking on the following links.
2012 Census: Bearing and Non-bearing Apple Acreage - Top Counties
Two Eastern New York counties, Ulster and Clinton, rank among the 25 apple producing counties in the United States. Columbia county ranks among the top 25 of counties located in the Eastern United States.
Apple orchards can be found in almost all of the seventeen counties that make up the Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture Program.
Data compiled by Alison De Marree, Cornell Cooperative Extension
New fungicides labeled for use in tree fruit - all Special Local Needs Labels
Deborah Breth, Integrated Pest Management
Lake Ontario Fruit Program
The new class of fungicides, SDHI's, are now registered for use in tree fruit. Fontelis was registered last season, and Luna Tranquility and Merivon were registered this spring. They are all registered in NY as "Restricted Use" fungicides. Due to the special restrictions for use in NY, they also are Special Local Need registrations. In order to apply these materials you must have a copy of the label and the SLN label in your possession. You can access these SLN and label to study or print at these links.
The Commercial Storage of Fruits, Vegetables, and Florist and Nursery Stocks
Craig Kahlke, Team Leader, Fruit Quality Management
Lake Ontario Fruit Program
The information contained in this preliminary version of HB-66 has been assembled from information prepared by nearly 100 authors from around the world. The version posted here is a revised copy of a Draft made available online in November 2002 for author and public review and comment.
Apples
Apricots
Asparagus
Beets
Blueberries
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Cherries
Cucumbers
Dry Beans
Eggplant
Ethnic Vegetables
Garlic
Grapes
Horseradish
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Lettuce / Leafy Greens
Melons
Nectarines
Onions
Parsnips
Peaches
Pears
Peas
Peppers
Plums
Potatoes
Pumpkins / Gourds
Radishes
Raspberries / Blackberries
Rhubarb
Rutabaga
Snap Beans
Squash - Summer
Squash- Winter
Strawberries
Sweet Corn
Sweet Potatoes
Tomatoes
Turnips
Upcoming Events
Field Day at Philia Farm
August 5, 2021
Johnstown, NY
Join Cornell Cooperative Extension's Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program for a field day at Philia Farm in Johnstown, NY from 4-6 pm on August 5th. The meeting will showcase a variety of research projects, including a high tunnel pea variety trial; a storage onion trial; a leek trial; a biofungicide trial on beets; a mesotunnel insect netting trial; and a reduced tillage trial for fall vegetable crops.
2 DEC pesticide credits will be available in category 23
Respirator Fit Testing Clinic
August 11, 2021
Warrensburg, NY
The New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH) and HealthWorks is pleased to provide respirator fit testing clinics in your region in 2021.
During the clinics NYCAMH will provide medical evaluations; respirator fit tests; and WPS compliant trainings on how to properly inspect, put on, take off, fit, seal check, use, clean, maintain, and store respirators.
Clinic appointments are one hour long, and groups of 4 workers can be seen at a time. Medical evaluations, fit tests, and trainings are available in both English and Spanish.
Respirator Fit Testing Clinic
August 18, 2021
Highland, NY
The New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH) and HealthWorks is pleased to provide respirator fit testing clinics in your region in 2021.
During the clinics NYCAMH will provide medical evaluations; respirator fit tests; and WPS compliant trainings on how to properly inspect, put on, take off, fit, seal check, use, clean, maintain, and store respirators.
Clinic appointments are one hour long, and groups of 4 workers can be seen at a time. Medical evaluations, fit tests, and trainings are available in both English and Spanish.