Cornell University has been doing research and extension work on tree training systems and rootstocks for the past 13 years to help growers make informed decisions.
by Matt McCallum
Geneva, NY - Terence Robinson knows high density apple systems from top to bottom. The associate professor of horticulture at Cornell University has been doing research and extension work on tree training systems and rootstocks for the past 13 years to help growers make informed decisions.
Robinson's years of work and dedication were recognized when the International Dwarf Fruit Tree Association (IDFTA) gave him its Extension award for outstanding service to the fruit industry in late February at the annual convention held in Rochester, N.Y.
Working out of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva, NY, Robinson has been focusing mainly on orchard management systems since he arrived in 1984. When rootstock breeder Jim Cummins retired in 1993, he took over some of the responsibility for rootstock research.
Orchard Systems
Robinson's biggest impact on the fruit industry has come from his work with orchard systems. Through on-farm demonstrations and number crunching, Robinson feels he has been able to show that high-density systems have economical merit for New York's fruit growers. The on-farm work has been done on 10 farms statewide in conjunction with Steve Hoying and Warren Smith, regional Extension fruit specialists. Economic data has been developed with the help of Cornell University economists Jerry White and Allison DeMarree.
"With the high-density systems, growers have a fear of the potential for failure and the tremendous economic consequences that would follow. This leads them to believe there is an inordinate amount of risk involved," Robinson said. "A lot of this is because they are unfamiliar with the training techniques and rootstocks. Once they get past this and have some success they are more willing to go farther and plant higher densities."
New York growers are moving toward higher densities with the industry settling at about 500 to 700 trees per acre in the future, Robinson said.
"Certainly some growers will plant higher densities, but the law of diminishing returns applies if you go much higher than that," he said. The preferred planting system in New York at the 500 to 700 trees per acre density will be the Vertical Axis. There is also a lot of interest in the V systems for very high densities.
Rootstock Research
The Geneva series of rootstocks developed by Cummins is another bonus for growers putting in high-density plantings. These new disease-resistant rootstocks will lower the risk of loss from fireblight and phytophthora root rot, Robinson said.
There have been four Geneva rootstocks released including G.65, G.16, G.11 and G.30, and more are on the way.
"There are 10 other elite selections that have shown good promise," Robinson said. "Over the next four to five years some hard decisions will have to be made on what one or two of these have advantages over the ones already released."
Behind these elite selections are several hundred more clones that have been screened for fireblight and phytopthora root rot. None have been tested in the orchard. Trials will be set up over the next few years to look at these and in seven to ten years there should be some results.
To keep the rootstock breeding program going it looks as though Cornell will pass funding of the position over to the USDA so crosses can continue to be made at Geneva.
The money for the position was successfully lobbied for by the U.S. Apple Association research committee. Cornell and the USDA are in the process of negotiating the transfer of the position and it is hoped a person should be hired by next fall.
Developer of Accel
Robinson's other area of expertise has been in the thinning area with the development work on Abbott Laboratories Accel product. He had luck increasing fruit size with Benzyl Adenine (BA), one of the active ingredients in Accel, on Empire trials starting in 1986. Robinson and several New York fruit growers like George Lamont and Pete Conklin saw a real opportunity with the product for the state's growers. They lobbied Abbott to put the product on the market and, in 1995, Accel was labeled for use.
Fruit Background
A native of northern Mexico, Robinson grew up on his family's apple and peach farm about 100 miles south of El Paso. His great grandfather purchased the farm in the late 1880s. His two brothers are still operating the farm today. Robinson earned his B.S. in agronomy from Brigham Young University in 1978. He received a M.S. and Ph.D from Washington State University in horticulture in 1982 and 1984 respectively.
NOTE: This article originally appeared in the March 1997 issue of The Great Lakes Fruit Growers News.
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