We were able to attend the 24th annual Fruit Field Day at the University of Idaho's Parma Research and Extension Center. While much of the research is geared toward commercial growers and there is plenty of focus on chemical pesticides and fertilizers, there is still a lot of good information to be gained for a home orchardist wannabe like me.
The number of species and varieties that are researched is here is well beyond the scope of the home orchardist or food forester. In the photos above it's easy to see grapes, peaches, apples, plums, quince, and pears. The center also conducts research on nectarines, cherries, almonds, walnuts, jujube, haskaps, persimmons, pawpaws, strawberries, blackberries, and maybe some fruits and nuts I've forgotten or don't know about.
Research often starts with 20 or more new varieties of a given species to see how each variety performs over many years in this climate.
We did get some suggestions for some of the fruit varieties that can be grown successfully in a home orchard in this part of Idaho, including:
- Buckeye Gala apples
- Kikusul asian pears
- Tomcord grapes
- Flame nectarines
- Golden Nectar plums
I'll keep my eyes open for these varieties.
This is the wall of apples. Apple trees are placed just three feet apart and are espaliered along seven wires strung at 15-inch intervals. They are working on different angles and different material between rows. They are also using interesting pollinators like manchurian crabapples. The center is doing similar high-density research with table grapes.
Here is some research that I'm pleased to see is happening even though there is no direct benefit my gardening system. This area controls 21 stations where water and nitrates are measured in order to determine the minimum amount of each needed to produce apples. It makes me feel good to know commercial orchards are using the results of this research to minimize water and nitrate use which should lead to fewer nitrates in our groundwater.
This was my favorite research project: a table grape that has been given no irrigation water at all. It's a variety from Iran that is already proving to grow well in Idaho.
All in all I enjoyed the field day. It's good to see research being done and results disseminated to commercial growers and home orchardists alike.
Related Material:
This was my favorite research project: a table grape that has been given no irrigation water at all. It's a variety from Iran that is already proving to grow well in Idaho.
All in all I enjoyed the field day. It's good to see research being done and results disseminated to commercial growers and home orchardists alike.
Related Material:
