“Botany of Desire” Tour – McCarthy Farm
During this tour you will see the wild apple trees from seeds collected by USDA/ARS and Cornell scientists in 7 expeditions 1989-1999. Hear about the collection of wild apple trees collected in Kazakhstan that are described in the book “Botany of Desire” by Michael Pollan. On this tour you will observe more than 3,000 trees established from the seeds collected in the wild apple forests and hear what the significance of that collection is. In addition to trees from Kazakhstan, you will also see wild apple seedlings collected from Turkey and Russia in areas surrounding the Black Sea, as well as wild apples from Sichuan China. You will be able to visually see some very unique types of apple trees that make the collection of apples in Geneva the largest and most diverse in the world. Scientists are using these newly-acquired genetic resources to breed new and improved apples.
Grape Diversity/Apple Core Collection Tour – McCarthy Farm
During this tour you will see the “core” subset of the USDA /ARS apple collection. A “core” is an abbreviated sample of the entire apple collection selected to include the most diverse sample. Samples include nearly 35 wild species, heirloom and commercial varieties as well as edible and ornamental crab apples. Of the 260 types in the 'core', you will be amazed at the diversity of types from apples that range in size from pea-size to nearly 5" in diameter as well as some that have leaves that resemble those on maple trees.
During the grape part of the tour, you will see the USDA/ARS grape collection that is maintained in Geneva, NY. Another part of the USDA/ARS grape collection is held in Davis, CA. The grape collection in Geneva represents many of the wild grape species native to North America. The grapes held in Geneva are much more cold-hardy than what you would see in Davis. The collection is used to improve cold hardiness in grapes and these species from North America have a high level of resistance to grape diseases, such as powdery mildew, downy mildew and phyllexera. Scientists are using these genetic resources to breed new and improved apples and grapes.Vegetable Crops Production Tour – Wellington Farm
This is a tour of the germplasm regeneration activities for vegetable crops maintained at the Geneva site of the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS). Crops include tomato, onion, celery, cole crops: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and kale, winter squash, buckwheat and radish. You will be able to see the observation nursery showing evolutionary relationships of Brassicas (cole crops). Observe bees working in a transparent bee hive and see the use of bees for pollination of vegetables in cages.
There will also be a chance for taste-testing novel tomato varieties and selections from the breeding program.Apple Rootstock Tour – Loomis Farm
This tour explores the life of a dwarf apple tree from seedling to apple production. You will see the mother plants of the apple rootstock breeding program and the crossing block for the Geneva elite from which all the international material is developed. The tour will cover the apple rootstock layering beds that serve as the genetic population for the DNA lab and marker work is derived from. You will witness a pollination plot using cage covers and bees for pollinators. You will learn how the apple rootstock itself can control the size and percocity of the apple tree.