The Honeycrisp mini-school at the 2020 Winter Fruit Schools started by emphasizing the importance of precision pruning due to the poor bloom most of the NY orchards had in 2019. For many farms that have planted a lot of Honeycrisp, that was a large financial setback. Bloom is likely to be excessive in 2020, which will lead to poor bloom in 2021. Thus, 2020 is a critical year for managing Honeycrisp.  

In the next two weeks, we will start a new educational effort specifically designed to manage Honeycrisp in a critical year with a heavier bloom, such as this one. The first meetings, which will be run by Dr. Robinson (March 23 in Wayne County and March 25 in Orleans County, see Table 1 below for details) will show growers and orchard employees how to implement precision pruning. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to learn to differentiate a vegetative bud from a floral bud by dissecting buds with a microscope (Janet, Liz, and Mario will help participants with bud dissection and identification on site).  

Once green tip emerges and we can better predict bloom time, there will be a second meeting, the "Spring Meeting", at the same location (date/time tba). In the Spring Meeting, we will look at the same trees we pruned in March, in order to readjust bud load and to discuss bloom thinning for Honeycrisp in 2020. There we will also deliver timely information about the benefits of early Calcium foliar sprays, apogee use, and the release of a 2020 Cornell protocol for peel SAP analysis to be offered to all growers and their packinghouses willing to sample Honeycrisp blocks in July. The spring meeting will also provide an update about wild pollinators, best pollination strategies, and timely insect and disease management reminders and updates. 

Table 1. Coming 2020 LOF pruning activities and the new "Spring Meeting" format for managing Honeycrisp in a critical year in Western NY.

Monday March 23^rd, 2020  Wayne County (1:30pm-3:30pm)

• Pruning workshop with Dr. Terence Robinson and hosted by grower Scott VanDeWalle.
• Location: VanDeWalle Fruit Farms, 8191 Brick Church Road, Alton, NY. Follow the Cornell signs for parking.
• Note for the "Spring Meeting": This pruning demonstration will be followed by a "Spring Meeting" at this same location (date/time tba) to adjust bud load of Honeycrisp trees at pink and to discuss topics related to blossom thinning, early Calcium sprays, tree fruit nutrition, apogee use, pollination, and timely IPM practices. More details will be announced via Fruit Notes and Fruit Facts once green tip arrives in WNY.

Wednesday March 25^th, 2020  Orleans County (1:30pm-3:30pm)

• Pruning workshop with Dr. Terence Robinson and hosted by grower Shane Nesbitt.
• Location: Nesbitt Fruit Farms, GPS: 43.371363, -78.166232 Lakeshore Rd, Kent, NY.  98 North (toward Pt. Breeze), turn right on Lakeshore Rd. Follow the Cornell signs for parking.
• Note for the "Spring Meeting": This pruning demonstration will be followed by a "Spring Meeting" at this same location (date/time tba) to adjust bud load of Honeycrisp trees at pink and to discuss topics related to blossom thinning, early Calcium sprays, tree fruit nutrition, apogee use, pollination, and timely IPM practices. More details will be announced via Fruit Notes and Fruit Facts once green tip arrives in WNY.

Dr. Robinson will discuss the basics of precision pruning and determining how many flowering spurs to leave for Honeycrisp in 2020, along with much more, coming pruning meetings in March 23 and 25. Don't miss the opportunity to learn more about the benefits of precision pruning of Honeycrisp. Later (at the early pink stage) we will count the actual amount of flower buds/tree and possibly readjust the pruning severity at the "Spring Meetings", later this year. This is the season to try to precision prune Honeycrisp trees to 1.8 flower buds per final target fruit number per tree (you can also use 1.8 for Fuji trees and 1.5 for Gala trees). We hope to see many of you at both meetings this year!

The Honeycrisp mini-school at the 2020 Winter Fruit Schools started by emphasizing the importance of precision pruning due to the poor bloom most of the NY orchards had in 2019. For many farms that have planted a lot of Honeycrisp, that was a large financial setback. Bloom is likely to be excessive in 2020, which will lead to poor bloom in 2021. Thus, 2020 is a critical year for managing Honeycrisp.  

In the next two weeks, we will start a new educational effort specifically designed to manage Honeycrisp in a critical year with a heavier bloom, such as this one. The first meetings, which will be run by Dr. Robinson (March 23 in Wayne County and March 25 in Orleans County, see Table 1 below for details) will show growers and orchard employees how to implement precision pruning. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to learn to differentiate a vegetative bud from a floral bud by dissecting buds with a microscope (Janet, Liz, and Mario will help participants with bud dissection and identification on site).  

Once green tip emerges and we can better predict bloom time, there will be a second meeting, the "Spring Meeting", at the same location (date/time tba). In the Spring Meeting, we will look at the same trees we pruned in March, in order to readjust bud load and to discuss bloom thinning for Honeycrisp in 2020. There we will also deliver timely information about the benefits of early Calcium foliar sprays, apogee use, and the release of a 2020 Cornell protocol for peel SAP analysis to be offered to all growers and their packinghouses willing to sample Honeycrisp blocks in July. The spring meeting will also provide an update about wild pollinators, best pollination strategies, and timely insect and disease management reminders and updates. 

Table 1. Coming 2020 LOF pruning activities and the new "Spring Meeting" format for managing Honeycrisp in a critical year in Western NY.

Monday March 23^rd, 2020  Wayne County (1:30pm-3:30pm)

• Pruning workshop with Dr. Terence Robinson and hosted by grower Scott VanDeWalle.
• Location: VanDeWalle Fruit Farms, 8191 Brick Church Road, Alton, NY. Follow the Cornell signs for parking.
• Note for the "Spring Meeting": This pruning demonstration will be followed by a "Spring Meeting" at this same location (date/time tba) to adjust bud load of Honeycrisp trees at pink and to discuss topics related to blossom thinning, early Calcium sprays, tree fruit nutrition, apogee use, pollination, and timely IPM practices. More details will be announced via Fruit Notes and Fruit Facts once green tip arrives in WNY.

Wednesday March 25^th, 2020  Orleans County (1:30pm-3:30pm)

• Pruning workshop with Dr. Terence Robinson and hosted by grower Shane Nesbitt.
• Location: Nesbitt Fruit Farms, GPS: 43.371363, -78.166232 Lakeshore Rd, Kent, NY.  98 North (toward Pt. Breeze), turn right on Lakeshore Rd. Follow the Cornell signs for parking.
• Note for the "Spring Meeting": This pruning demonstration will be followed by a "Spring Meeting" at this same location (date/time tba) to adjust bud load of Honeycrisp trees at pink and to discuss topics related to blossom thinning, early Calcium sprays, tree fruit nutrition, apogee use, pollination, and timely IPM practices. More details will be announced via Fruit Notes and Fruit Facts once green tip arrives in WNY.

Dr. Robinson will discuss the basics of precision pruning and determining how many flowering spurs to leave for Honeycrisp in 2020, along with much more, coming pruning meetings in March 23 and 25. Don't miss the opportunity to learn more about the benefits of precision pruning of Honeycrisp. Later (at the early pink stage) we will count the actual amount of flower buds/tree and possibly readjust the pruning severity at the "Spring Meetings", later this year. This is the season to try to precision prune Honeycrisp trees to 1.8 flower buds per final target fruit number per tree (you can also use 1.8 for Fuji trees and 1.5 for Gala trees). We hope to see many of you at both meetings this year!