Sowing the Seeds for Apple Grower of the Year Award
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Robert Black
“When we planted ‘Gala’, people started eating more fresh apples. We want noisy apples – they have to crunch when you bite into them.”
– Robert Black, 2020 Apple Grower of the Year
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We’ve been proud to present the
American Fruit Grower
SM Apple Grower of the Year Award for the last 32 years. And if Greg Clarke is accurate in his assessment of young growers, we’ll be doing so for at least another 32 years.
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Clarke represents Valent U.S.A. as a Senior Field Development Specialist, based in Pennsylvania. Valent has sponsored the Apple Grower of the Year award since 2015 and is again doing so this year.
Why Grape Growers Are Turning to Biochar for Vine Growth
Growers can produce their own biochar by burning pulled vines from their fields.
Centuries of precedent, dating back to human prehistory, support the soil benefits of biochar. But it is the last two years that have really sold Doug Beck on the agricultural perks of terra preta, or the “dark earth.”
Beck, a Ph.D. soil scientist with experience across four continents, has spent the last four growing seasons in California monitoring a Salinas Valley-based trial to evaluate the impact of biochar and compost as soil amendments for wine grapes. Several factors are being assessed in an 8-acre block of newly planted ‘Pinot Noir’ vines, including vine growth, water use, yield, and fruit quality.
Investing in New Orchard Equipment Can Lead To a Fruitful Payoff growingproduce.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from growingproduce.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
‘Honeycrisp’ growers intent on preventing bitter pit might want to consider Bud-9 and G969 rootstocks because of their low rates of vigor.
Photo courtesy of Washington State University
A trial involving ‘Honeycrisp’ apple trees that were fruited for the first time in 2020 supports the premise that rootstock choice strongly affects bitter pit incidence in the popular but disorder-sensitive cultivar.
Lee Kalcsits, Associate Professor of Tree Fruit Physiology, Washington State University, concluded as much from a 2017 planting of ‘Royal Red Honeycrisp’ trees that were grafted onto one of 10 different rootstocks. The most successful of those rootstocks last summer were Bud-9 and G.969, both of which boast low rates of shoot growth, i.e., vigor.
Kemin Crop Technologies Connects with Audience Via Facebook
Kemin Crop Technologies has launched a Facebook page as part of its strategy to enhance its customer-focused culture.
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The page aims to increase Kemin’s social media presence to establish deeper relationships with industry fellows, increase touchpoints, and enhance brand credibility and recognition, the company said.
“We think that the Facebook page will offer our audience a way to become more connected to our team and learn about things happening in the field,” Product Manager Tatiana Giacinti said.
Kemin Industries is a global ingredient manufacturer that supplies more than 500 specialty ingredients for human and animal health and nutrition, pet food, aquaculture, nutraceutical, food technologies, crop technologies, and textile industries.