News of the world • Production and market developments • Research news • Company news • Growers tell growers

European

5 – 2020 (136)
Fruitgrowers Magazine
No.

In this edition:
PL-ISSN 1689-8583

Honeycrisp and its offspring

Higher plant densities in

Lake Constance area

New change in assortment in

South Tyrol

Intelligent
Spray Application®
New plantings from H.S.S.

And much more ...

 LIST OF CONTENTS
Articles:
Honeycrisp and its offspring...................................6
Ever higher plant densities in
Lake Constance area......................................................8
40% of trees planted in South Tyrol
new (concept) variety................................................. 12
Treat trees individually using
H.S.S. Intelligent Spray Application®............. 14

News:
®
EFM today...............................................................................4

NOW ALSO IN News of the world......................................................... 17

Rootstocks & berry fruit ORGANIC QUALITY Production and market developments.......20
Research news..................................................................22
Prisdorfer Weg 1 · 25436 Tornesch
Phone +49 41 20 / 70 67 80 · Fax +49 41 20 / 70 67 811 Company news................................................................24
[email protected] · www.baumschule-stahl.de
Growers tell growers...................................................25
Agenda...................................................................................28

COLOPHON
Website:
www.fruitmagazine.eu
Publisher:

PLANTPRESS Sp. z o.o.

J. Lea 114a
30-133 Kraków www.facebook.com/
Poland EuropeanFruitMagazine/
www.plantpress.pl
Design / DTP:
LeafMedia Krzysztof Pilch Desk Editor:
Multikolor Mariusz Bibik Debora Havenaar
Edited by: [email protected]
FruitMedia B.V.
Rooimond 23 Advertisements:
NL- 4197 BS Buurmalsen Information:
Nederland Gerard Poldervaart,
Gerard Poldervaart Phone: +31 (0)6 180 54231 or e-mail:
Phone: +31 (0)6 180 54231 or e-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]
Plantpress/ Adam Paradowski ISSN: 1689-8583
e-mail: [email protected] Circulation: 3.500
This magazine has been carefully compiled by the authors and the publisher. However, the publisher accepts
no liability for damage of whatever nature, resulting from the actions taken by readers based on its content.
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and/or allowed in all countries. The publisher also wishes to point out to the reader that he/she should always
adhere to the legislation and regulations applicable in his/her own country.
Nothing from this publication may be copied, stored in electronic systems or made public without the prior
written approval of the publisher
 Food has deserved a prize
In the fight for the consumers’ favour compa- indignant farmers and growers blocked the local
nies try to distinguish their products from those main office of the supermarket with 250 tractors.
of their competitors. ‘My product is better, be- Instead of a fair price for farmers and growers, su-
cause …’, ‘Renewed with even stronger effect’, permarkets prefer to opt for as cheap as possible
‘Now with a new design’, ‘Now with less sugar/ ‘kilo stunners’ from a distant foreign country and
fat’, ‘Even healthier’, etc. Companies also try to hardly worry about food miles, labour conditions,
create a certain image around the product and animal welfare and fair trade.
in doing so try to move the consumer to choose
for their product. In addition to his virtuoso football playing, the
(late) well-known Dutch football player Johan
Competing on price is something a normal com- Cruijff is also well-known for his remarkable state-
pany does not like to do. How different this is for ments. A familiar one is: ‘Every disadvantage has
supermarkets. Appearances are that for them its advantage’. This also seems to be applicable
it is only about the price: ‘3 for the price of 2‘, to the present coronavirus crisis. Consumers are
‘x% discount, ‘The cheapest supermarket in the forced to face the facts and experience that the
country’. It does not happen very often that in a food supply is not something to be taken for
commercial or advertisement a supermarket rec- granted. They do not see regionality as a fad
ommends itself with products of the best quality, for wealthy people, but as a valuable system
as the most customer-friendly, environmentally that sees to it, that also in times of crises, peo-
conscious or socially responsible supermarket. ple are fed well.
No, again and again, the cheapest one … Let us hope that the achievements of the crisis
are not blown away when the coronavirus has
The German EDEKA supermarket chain is going been expelled. Let us hope that the corona cri-
to extremes. On the occasion of the 100th an- sis also brings in something beautiful, namely a
niversary of an EDEKA branch, an advertising greater awareness as to the origin of our food
campaign was launched with in large letters and being prepared to pay a fair price for that.
the text: ‘Essen hat einen Preis verdient: den Let us beat the supermarket over the head with
niedrichsten’ (Food has deserved a prize: the its own slogan ‘Food has earned a prize: the
lowest). With fresh-food producers, the cam- lowest’ by changing it into ‘Food has deserved
paign has completely gone down the wrong way. a prize: a fair one’.
Immediately after the launch of the campaign,

Gerard Poldervaart
Editor in chief EFM
 EFM today

EFM TEMPORARILY ALSO to us. For the duration of the coronavirus frost was, on average, on 21 October.
DIGITALLY AVAILABLE crisis, the issues concerned can also be During the past 30 years it has been on
downloaded from the website www. 2 November
In connection with problems with postal fruitmagazine.eu At the same time, spring starts ever ear-
deliveries due to the coronavirus, the lier. According to the KNMI, a day with an
next few EFM editions will also be digi- WINTERS ONE MONTH average temperature of 15 degrees can
tally available. In various European re- SHORTER IN 100 YEARS’ be considered a spring day. Until 1931,
gions postal deliveries are disrupted. TIME the first day of spring was, on average,
Therefore, Plantpress, the Polish pub- on 30 March, but since 1988, the first
lisher of the European Fruit Magazine Observations by the Nederlands mete- day of spring has, on average, been on
will send the present and coming EFM orologisch instituut KNMI (Dutch Mete- 11 March. (EFM, GP)
issues both in printed form by post and orological Institute) show that at pre-
make them digitally available. Subscrib- sent, winters are, on average, one month EFFECT ‘BIOLOGICALS’
ers will receive a mail containing a pdf or shorter than a century ago. The first day OFTEN DISAPPOINTING
a link to a pdf. Of course, this is only pos- of frost occurs later and later in the year.
sible if a current mail address is known Between 1901 and 1931, the first day of The package of chemical crop protection
products fruit growers have at their dis-
posal is getting ever narrower. All hope
GERMANY: EXPANSION OF NATYRA® PLANTINGS is focused on natural crop protection
techniques, such as antagonists or prod-
According to German researchers and in the pipeline according to Baab and ucts of natural origin. There are many
consultants Gerhard Baab and Anke Fi­ Fischer, during a presentation at the so-called ‘biologicals’, but their effec-
scher of DLR Rheinpfalz, at the moment, Rheinische Obstbautag on 4 February tivity often seems to be disappointing.
(spring 2020), at German fruit growers’ in Dernau in the German Rhineland. For instance, during a period of 26 years,
farms, there are 578,300 Natyra® trees. At According to Baab and Fischer, in the the Landratsamt Karlsruhe in Germany,
a planting density of 3,000 to 3,500 trees Netherlands this spring, there were tested 56 different preparations on the
per hectare, this would correspond to 70,700 Natyra trees in the ground. In basis of 35 active ingredients against
165 to 190 hectares. Natyra is the brand Belgium this was 55,800. (EFM, GP) fire blight (Erwinia amylovora). Only two
name for organically grown SQ 159. For preparations turned out to be sufficient-
the coming three planting seasons an- ly effective against the bacterium. “With-
other extension with 240,000 trees is out effective crop protection products,
it will in future no longer be possible in
Germany, to grow some types of fruit in
a commercially viable way”, according to
researcher Arno Fried during the 25th Au-
gustenberger Obst­bautag on 26 Novem-
ber in Karlsruhe (Germany). The required
amount of sprayings as well as the price
are very high for most ‘green’ products.
(EFM, GP)

ENEMY OF BENEFICIAL OF
STINK BUG FOUND
In various places in Europe, a beneficial
of the brown marmorated stink bug
(Halyomorpha halys) has been found.
The Samurai parasitic wasp (Trissolcus
japonicus) parasitizes the eggs of the
brown marmorated stink bug. The para-
sitic wasp is slowly spreading from the
Natyra® is the brand name for organically grown apples of the SQ 159 variety. The non-orga- south-side of the Alps to the north. It
nic apples are sold as Magic Star®. EFM is hoped that this naturally occurring

4 EFM 2020-05
EFM today

parasite will finally suppress the popula-

tion of harmful brown marmorated stink APPLE BLOSSOM EIGHT TO TEN DAYS EARLIER
bugs. Another possibility is raising these
beneficials and deploying them in the At the end of March, Laimburg research the flowering data of the past 45 years
control of the brown marmorated stink station in South Tyrol (North Italy) re- are looked at, a clear trend towards ear-
bug. In addition to the question whether ported that this year apple blossoming lier flowering can be observed (see fig-
there will be an authorisation to raise would be eight to ten days earlier than ure 1). The 2020 flowering is one of the
these beneficials, there is the further the multi-year average. The mild winter earliest of the past decades.
question whether these are effective is one of the most important causes Also the Kompetenzzentrum Obstbau
enough to prevent the damage caused of the early development. Since 1975, Bodensee (KOB) in Germany signals an
by the brown marmorated stink bug. Laimburg research station has been eight to ten days earlier flowering this
The bad news is, that in the meantime, gathering data on the flowering of the year than the multi-year average. (EFM,
a hyper parasitoid (a harmful insect that apple varieties grown in the region. If GP)
parasitizes the beneficial) of the Samurai
parasitic wasp has been found. (EFM, GP) Figure 1. Dates of full flowering of the Golden Delicious variety at the Laimburg re-
search station in South Tyrol (1975-2020)
TAKING APPLES TO SOUTH 29. Apr.

TYROL 27. Apr.

25. Apr.

Do you know the saying ‘Carrying 23. Apr.

coals to Newcastle’ or ‘Taking sand to 21. Apr.

8. April 2020 prognostiziert

the desert’? Both actions are rather ab- 19. Apr.

surd, aren’t they? Parents of children at 17. Apr.

schools in South Tyrol think the ‘Healthy 15. Apr.

13. Apr.
break’ project just as absurd.
11. Apr.
In a region where a million tonnes of 9. Apr.
apples are growing and where every 7. Apr.
village is surrounded by apple orchards, 5. Apr.
children at school are handed out plastic 3. Apr.

bags containing rasped carrots or ap- 1. Apr.

ples cut into pieces. Moreover, the ap-

87
75

79

83

91
85

11
89
77

97

17
03
81

05

09
01
93

13
95

99

15

19
07

20
19

20
19

19

19

19

19

19

20

20

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19

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ples do not come from the immediate Source: Versuchszentrum Laimburg, Südtirol
surroundings, but from a more distant
supplier in Italy. The reason: an Italian
firm has won the tender to supply fruits
and vegetables at schools in South Ty-
rol. The autonomous province of South
Tyrol is subsidising the project.
What is especially annoying the parents
is, that at a time when everybody is talk-
ing about sustainability and pushing
back the use of plastic, fruits and veg-
etables pre-packed in plastic are being
distributed. On top of that, every child in
the class gets a bag, whether they want
it or not. It regularly happens that chil-
dren throw away he bags, because they
do not like the contents, according to a
parent at www.unsertirol24.com. She
pleads for putting a crate with apples
from South Tyrol in the classroom in-
stead of bags with apple slices. (EFM, GP) This year apple blossoming was eight to ten days earlier than the multi-year average.
 EFM

EFM 2020-05 5
 Gerard Poldervaart
EFM editorial board
[email protected]

Honeycrisp and its offspring

Info The Honeycrisp apple variety is very popular
with growers in the United States. Honeycrisp Very high prices
FOB is one of the varieties that is most difficult to
FOB (Free on Board) grow, but the price growers get for the ap- In the 2018/2019 sales season, according to the
is a term from the ples, which are sold under the Honeycrunch® same report, 12.13 million boxes of 18.5 kilos (a to-
shipping trade, which
brand name, is high. tal of almost 225,000 tonnes) of Honeycrisp were
means that the sales
price includes costs sold. The FOB price (see explanation) for Honey-
for transport to the During the 2018 Bundeskernobstseminar in 2018 crisp, at an average of 53 US Dollars (€ 48.50) per
port and for loading in Ahrweiler (Germany), American Ines Hanrahan, box (€ 2.68 per kilo!) was considerably higher
on to the ship. In the who works at the Washington Tree Fruit Research than that of other varieties. By way of compari-
United States, the Commission, already told about the popular- son: the FOB price for Red Delicious, in the same
term FOB is also used ity of Honeycrisp. “During the past few years, season, was on average $ 17.70, for Gala $ 25.60,
for road transport.
Honeycrisp has been the most grown variety in for Fuji $ 25.70 and for Granny Smith $ 28.80
An FOB price is then
often a price off Washington State by far. In 1999, the first Hon- per box. So, the price for Honeycrisp apples was
packing station. eycrisp trees were planted in Washington State. more than double that for the other varieties.
Since then, the hectarage has been expanded In American shops, the apples are regularly of-
into a total of 9,152 hectares now”, she then told. fered for sale at prices from $ 8.- to $ 10.- (€ 7.30
According to a recent Washington State (WSU) to € 9.15) per kilo.
publication, in the 2018/2019 sales season, Hon-
eycrisp was the fifth variety in terms of volume in The Honeycrisp offspring
the United States, after traditional varieties such
as Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji and Granny Smith Especially the very juicy and crispy flesh is the rea-
with a 10% share in the sale of apples. son why the apple is so popular and distinguishes
itself from almost all other apple varieties. There-
fore, Honeycrisp is a much-used cross parent in
breeding programmes. Meanwhile, word-wide,
a great number of varieties with Honeycrisp for
one of its parents, has been introduced (see ta-
ble 1). By far the best-known ones are Minneiska/
SweeTango® and WA 38/Cosmic Crisp®. During the
past few years, some Honeycrisp strains have also
been found such as Pazazz and Juicy. During the
next few years, more Honeycrisp offspring will
undoubtedly make their appearance.

Many cultivation and storage

problems
In the United States, Honeycrisp has grown into the fifth variety. “Honeycrisp is a variety that has various cultiva-
 EFM tion and storage problems. A 30% failure rate

6 EFM 2020-05
during storage is certainly no exception. Su-
permarkets very much like to have the variety
in their assortment, however”, Hanrahan told in
2018. The main problems are the susceptibility
to biennial bearing, bitter pit, sunburn, bruis-
ing and mildew and magnesium, manganese
and phosphorous deficiency. Colouring of the
fruits is difficult, which makes four to five picking
rounds necessary. The apples are rather big and
sometimes too big. During storage, problems
with bitter pit, softscald and flesh browning dis-
order may occur. On the other hand, Honeycrisp
is not very susceptible to fruit tree canker, has a
Apples sold under the Honeycrunch® brand name, fetch high prices.
good resistance to winter frost, stores well and  EFM
has a long shelf-life.

Fruit growing in Washington State

The American state of Washington is well Increase in organic apples hectarage
Origin of Honeycrisp
known as being the home of global concerns In 2016, 11.3% of the apple hectarage in Wash-
Honeycrisp originates
including Boeing, Amazon and Microsoft, but ington State was certified as being organic or from a cross between
also as an apple growing region. Apples are the being converted to organic growing. Undoubt- the Keepsake and
most important agricultural product grown in edly, the climatic conditions play a major role MN 1627 varieties.
the state, they are even more important than here. There is little precipitation, meaning that The latter variety
milk, meat, potatoes and wheat. The history of there is hardly any scab. It is expected that the is a cross between
fruit growing in Washington State dates back organic hectarage will rise from the current the Oldenburg and
to 1826, when the first trees were planted. 6,000 hectares to more than 10,000 hectares Golden Delicious
varieties.
Washington State accounts for 65% of all the in 2020. Since 2008, the price for organic ap-
apples produced in the United States. ples, in spite of the increased production, has
According to Hanrahan, in 2017, the ap- almost doubled. Customers are putting grow-
ple hectarage was 72,497 hectares and ers under pressure to convert at least a propor-
2,513,600 tonnes of apples were produced. tion of their hectarage to organic.
This is approximately two and a half times The organic certification criteria are less strict
what is produced in, for instance, Germany or than in Europe. For instance, within the USDA
South Tyrol (Italy). Organic programme, conventional crop pro-
Red Delicious is the most frequently grown va- tection products are allowed to be used if there
riety, followed by Gala and Fuji. However, the are no alternatives available. Moreover, it is al-
Washington
hectarage of Red Delicious will rapidly shrink lowed to plant conventionally produced trees Washington State has
in favour of club varieties including Honeycrisp 6 million inhabitants,
and in particular Cosmic Crisp. 4.1 million of whom
live along the
coast. The state is
approximately half
Table 1. Varieties with Honeycrisp as one of their parents the size of Germany
Variety  Brand name Cross parents and lies at the same
latitude as Milan
Minnewashta in Italy. Agriculture
Minneiska SweeTango® (Zestar!®) x Honeycrisp (Honeycrunch®) accounts for 12% of
WA 38  Cosmic Crisp® Enterprise x Honeycrisp the gross national
MN55  Rave® Honeycrisp x AA44 (MonArk) product, with fruit
growing accounting
Maia1 Evercrisp® Honeycrisp x Fuji for half of this 12%.
NY1 Snap Dragon® Golden Delicious x NY752 (Monroe x Melrose)
GS 66  Fräulein® Honeycrisp x ? (possibly Braeburn)
WUR 029 Honeycrisp x SQ 159 (Natyra®/Magic Star®)
ZIN 143 Honeycrisp x Gala
Pia 41 Honeycrisp x Nicoter (Kanzi®)
Source: Gerhard Baab/Anke Fischer, DLR Rheinpfalz, Germany

EFM 2020-05 7
 Wouter van Teeffelen
Freelance editor WTE Fruitadvies, the Netherlands
[email protected]

Ever higher plant densities in Lake

Constance area
Info High investment costs for modern varieties
and cultivation protection such as hail nets
Economic aspects and rain covers require big productions to be
During his able to recover the investments quickly. Dur-
presentation at the ing the past few years, at the Kompetenzzen-
Fruchtwelt Bodensee
trum Obstbau-Bodensee (KOB) in Bavendorf
2020, Dr Manfred
Büchele of the KOB (Germany), various trials have been set up with
elaborated on the high density plantings. The aim is a high finan-
business economic cial return per hectare through better fruit
aspects of planting quality and bigger productions per hectare.
systems in apple.
During the 39th Bodensee-Obstbautag (Lake Con-
stance Fruit Growing Day), director dr Manfred
Büchele of the KOB told about intensification in
apple growing. This lecture programme was or- During the Fruchtwelt Bodensee, dr Manfred Büche-
ganised in parallel to the Fruchtwelt Bodensee le told about developments in the field of intensifica-
tion in apple growing.
trade fair, mid-February in Friedrichshafen, on
 Fruchtwelt Bodensee Friedrichshafen
the German side of Lake Constance.

Business economic reasons for

intensification
With the help of business economic figures from
benchmarking in North Germany, Büchele, who
is also a business economist in addition to be-
ing director of KOB, showed that production per
hectare is very important for profitability. In the
period 2004 to 2013, the one-third of best per-
forming farms achieved an average production
of 38.2 tonnes per hectare, whereas the one-third
of worst producing farms did not get any further
than 28.6 tonnes per hectare. A quick calcula-
tion tells us that in case of a yield of 35 tonnes
per hectare, the cost price, including cold stor-
age and grading comes down to € 0.53 per kilo.
In case of a yield of 55 tonnes per hectare, the
A much-used training system in apple growing in the Lake Constance area is the high cost price at € 0.43 per kilo is quite a bit lower.
slender (super)spindle. With a planting distance of 3.00 by 0.60 metres (5,500 trees Subsequently, Büchele showed, that in the case
per hectare) high productions in the second and third leaf are guaranteed. of 35 tonnes per hectare, in most years, the in-
 KOB come of a fruit farm is insufficient to earn an en-

8 EFM 2020-05
 Historical development
Dr Manfred Büchele, who has been connected to the Kompetenzzen-
trum Obstbau-Bodensee (KOB) as director for years now, during his
lecture at the Fruchtwelt Bodensee 2020 first looked back at develop-
ments in the past few decades. Round about 1970, extensive planting
with about 1,250 trees per hectare (4 by 2 metres) was still common.
On average production was between 20 and 25 tonnes per hectare.
From a business economics point of view, ever higher investments in
plantings, irrigation, hail nets and covers made intensification important.
Pruning activities before the harvest can quite well
The aim was, in this way, to meet the ever-higher costs and risks that
be done by casual (harvest) workers. are inherent in a longer payback time, the higher hail damage risk, the
 KOB high land cost and the higher cost of labour. New cultivation systems are
entering the picture to be able to further mechanise and robotise prun-
trepreneur’s income. In the case of 55 tonnes per ing, fruit thinning and harvesting. The most important demands made
hectare, it is exactly the other way around and of a modern planting system are high productions and high pack-out.
income is only insufficient in some years to be Through the years, this development has resulted in ever higher planting
able to earn a standard entrepreneur’s income. densities, which also caused Büchele, who is also a business economist,
to state that with regard to plant density, the law of declining returns
Intensification and higher trees also holds good. The optimum plant density and optimum plant dis-
tance are determined by factors such as dwarf rootstocks, early starting
The need for a further increase in production productions, the desired tree-height and balanced trees that are less
and data on the relation between the number susceptible to biennial bearing, producing more quality fruit.
of trees and potential production (see table 1
in text box), were reasons for the KOB, starting
in 2005, to carry out trials with shorter plant- trees, according to Büchele, no significant loss
ing distances than the usual 1 metre in the row of quality lower down in the tree has been ob-
and with higher trees than the usual 2.5 metres. served. This means we have said farewell to the
Meanwhile, at many farms on Lake Constance, old ‘formula’ – the tree height is half the distance
the standard is the high slender spindle of about between the rows plus 1 metre. However, accord-
3.5 metres high with a planting distance in the ing to Büchele, in biennial bearing years, after too
row of about 80 centimetres. In spite of the high heavy a crop load, you do see that branches at

Bigger productions through intensification

KOB director dr Manfred Büchele showed the theoretical production of various tree shapes and planting systems. Higher
plant density and higher trees lead to higher productions. At the moment growers on Lake Constance, mostly opt for
the high slender spindle, planted at high density. For a further production increase, a high-density planted double-row
system enters the picture.
Table 1. Theoretical increase in production with an increase in plant-density
  Planting distance (m) Planting dencity Production

  row distance tree distance (trees/ha*) per tree t/ha

Extensiv 1970 4 2 1,125 20 23

Spindle 3.5 1.2 2,143 20 43
Slender spindle 3.2 1 2,813 18 51
Jonagold; Fuji 1  trial results
st
3.5 1 2,571 20 51
(High) slender spindle 3.2 0.8 3,516 20 70
(High) slender spindle 3.2 0.6 4,688 17 80
High slender superspindle 3 0.5 6,000 15 90
Double row 3.5 0.3 8,571 13 111
* Trees per hectare at 90% use of surface area.

EFM 2020-05 9
 Pruning before the harvest
It is getting more and more usual to prune trees
just before picking. This pre-harvest pruning can
quite well be carried out by casual (harvest) work-
ers. Basically, this hand-pruning activity consists
of cutting the growing shoots just behind the
last apples. Heavier branches without apples are
pruned back to the central leader.
As a way of pruning, pruning just before the har-
vest is effective. Research carried out by professor
Link in Bavendorf in the previous century had
already shown that so-called August pruning
in apple results in weaker trees with less long
one-year-old shoots and more flower buds than
In the case of a narrow Bibaum® tree fruit-wall, the ‘holes’ between the trees are at
the cost of production, according to Manfred Büchele.
winter pruning. Meanwhile, fruit growers apply
 KOB this pre-harvest pruning for the same reasons.
According to Büchele, pear trees can also be
pruned in summer. However, this must be done
the bottom produce fewer flower buds. Accord- at a much earlier time in summer, namely before
ing to him, this pleads for adapted thinning and the massive laying of eggs of the pear sucker.
not for a lower tree. Büchele also supports fitting
a yoke, so that the bottom branches with fruits Not positive about Bibaum® and
no longer sag to the ground. Another important Guyot
advantage of this is that as a grower you pick
more kilos from the bottom branches. Büchele is less enthusiastic about new tree
In the meantime, winter pruning has also shapes, such as the Bibaum® and the Guyot sys-
changed into longer pruned trees with longer tem. Instead of a closed wall with fruit-bearing
branches, hanging down. These trees require wood, in the case of Bibaum there are holes in
considerably less pruning labour. An important the plantings in places where apples could have
learning experience was, that the fear of less light grown. He thinks the big disadvantage of 2D-
in the canopy in the higher trees, is not justified systems such as Guyot and the like, is the long
when pruning is done correctly. time it takes to realise a fully-grown planting.
This is at the cost of, from a business economic
Lecture Büchele point of view, desired big productions in the
In addition to many exhibitors at the trade fair, Fruchtwelt Bodensee 2020 first few years.
also had an interesting lecture programme. Researcher dr Manfred Büchele Büchele is no supporter of trees planted at an
of the Kompetenzzentrum Obstbau-Bodensee (KOB) in Bavendorf presented angle such the Drapeau for neither apple nor
the current development concerning the intensification of planting systems
pear. It takes too long before the fruit wall is fully
on Lake Constance. With common planting densities of about 5,000 trees
per hectare, the Lake Constance region belongs to the growing regions grown and requires too much time for tying the
with the most intensive apple plantings. branches to the trellis. According to him, this
system offers more opportunities for stone fruit.
In a trial on apple, the production of a slightly

Table 2. Production of various planting systems in comparison with the standard high slender spindle for the Jonagold trial variety
2013 2014 2015 Yield Investment in trees
  Planting Difference
  distance (m) kg/ kg/ kg/ Ʃ € 4,50/
tree t/ha tree t/ha tree t/ha production € 0,35/kg number tree
(t)

Standard 3,20 x 1,00 3.6 10.1 17.4 49 12.7 35.7 94.8 € 33,184 2,813 € 12,656 € 20,528
At an angle (60°) 3,20 x 1,00 4.8 13.5 14.8 41.7 9.1 25.6 80.8 € 28,274 2,813 € 12,656 € 15,618
Drapeau 3,20 x 2,00 5.3 7.4 19.7 27.7 20.4 28.7 63.8 € 22,342 1,406 € 6,328 € 16,014
straight 3,20 x 0,60 4 18.6 12.3 57.9 15.3 71.7 148.2 € 51,872 4,688 € 21,094 € 30,779
At an angle (60°) 3,20 x 0,60 3 14.3 10.6 49.6 11.7 54.8 118.7 € 41,549 4,688 € 21,094 € 20,455

10 EFM 2020-05
more extensively planted Drapeau system, was
considerably lower than for the more intensive
fruit-wall systems. After subtracting the (lower)
costs of the trees, the difference in favour of the
fruit-wall was still big (see table 2). The more in-
tensively planted trees at an angle in an inten-
sive planting system are more beautiful, but this
planting system turned out to be no better than
trees planted straight with a view to production
per hectare and economic profitability.

Latest development: double-row

sytem
The double row is very much in the picture with
Manfred Büchele is not very much captivated by trees planted at an angle such as
a great theoretical production (see table 1). It Drapeau. It takes too long for the fruit-wall to be fully grown and requires much
seems that this puts the multi-row system back tying down.  KOB
on the agenda. Before this, in the nineties and
later, the multi-row systems disappeared due
to disadvantages such as being more difficult intensively planted double row with staggered
to mechanise, more difficult crop protection, trees and a relatively narrow tree-strip.
more awkward for hail protection nets and un-
satisfactory colouring. Now Büchele is digging High slender (super)spindle
up the multi-row system again. By means of With a high slender super spindle at a distance of 3.00 by 0.60 metres and
better-colouring strains, pre-harvest pruning a production of 14 to 17 kg per tree, high productions per hectare are
and manual thinning in places that are not eas- possible. Also without Regalis and root pruning the trees grow steadily and
ily reached by the thinning machine or spraying require little cultivation work. At about 25 pruning hours per hectare, the
liquid, the old, negative experiences have to be need for labour is very low. Picking performance is very high. The pruning
overcome. The multi-row system is quite differ- method in the picture is pruning just before harvesting.
ent from what it used to be, though, namely an

As a new planting system the multi-row system has entered the picture with even higher (potential) productions.
 KOB

EFM 2020-05 11
 EFM editorial board
[email protected]

40% of trees planted in South Tyrol

new (concept) variety
Info During the past few decades, in South Tyrol, 727 hectares planted
North Italy, the apple assortment has changed
40% new varieties at a rapid pace from Golden Delicious and Red Every year, the two South Tyrol marketing or-
Of all trees planted in Delicious to Gala, Cripps Pink/Rosy Glow and ganisations VOG and VI.P keep a careful record
South Tyrol in 2019,
Fuji. Now South Tyrol is on the threshold of of what their members are planting. At the mem-
almost 40% is a new
a new change in assortment. About ten new bers of the two cooperatives, in 2019, a total of
(concept)variety. This
is an exceptionally concept varieties are about to make their ap- 727 hectares was planted. This means that 4.5%
high percentage. pearances and bid for the consumer’s favour. of the surface area was replanted. In the VOG
If Rosy Glow is also region 517 hectares were planted. In the VI.P
counted, it is even Up till 1999, year after year, Golden Delicious region this was 210 hectares.
more than 50%. was the most planted variety in South Tyrol. In
2019, according to figures compiled by the South Rosy Glow replaces Cripps Pink
Tyrol advisory service, only 4% of all apple trees
planted was still Golden Delicious. A remarkable In 2019, after Gala, Rosy Glow with a share of
thing is, that Gala, the most planted variety of the 12.6%, was the most planted variety (see ta-
past ten years, is also losing ground. In 2019, with ble 1). Rosy Glow replaces Cripps Pink. The ap-
a share of 24.3% Gala was still the most planted ples of both varieties are sold under the Pink
variety, but this share is falling year after year. Lady® brand name. The variety manager does
Another remarkable point is that with the excep- not want to extend the Cripps Pink/Rosy Glow
tion of the Cripps Pink strain Rosy Glow, there is hectarage in South Tyrol. Growers who have
not one single variety that was much planted, Cripps Pink trees, are allowed to replace these
but as many as fifteen varieties all account for by the better-colouring Rosy Glow and leave
Scilate/envyTM is the hottest a share in the new plantings, varying from 1% the ‘old’ Cripps Pink trees in their orchards for
most planted new variety in to 7.7% (envyTM). three years, until the new Rosy Glow trees start
South Tyrol. producing well. As a result, in 2019, 70 hectares
 EFM of Cripps Pink were grubbed.

56 hectares of Scilate/envyTM
Red Delicious
Red Delicious, for
years after Golden
A remarkable newcomer in the list of most plant-
Delicious the most ed varieties is Scilate (brand name envyTM. Of this
planted variety in concept variety about 56 hectares have been
South Tyrol, in the planted. Scilate does particularly well in the high-
2019 statistics is only er regions of South Tyrol. The variety has pushed
in 12th place. In 2019 Fuji out of third place.
only 20 hectares of In fifth and sixth place are again two new concept
this variety were varieties, namely Ambrosia and MC38 (brand
Gala still is the most planted variety in South Tyrol,
planted, whereas name Crimson Snow®). These two newcomers
North Italy. A bit more than half of the newly-planted
110 hectares were
Gala trees replaces old, badly colouring Gala or- are followed by the good old, well-known Gran-
grubbed.
chards. ny Smith variety with a share of 4.9% of newly
 EFM planted trees. The 36 hectares of newly planted

12 EFM 2020-05
Granny Smith is about the same as the surface Lana/Merano and Bolzano. The VI.P coopera-
area of Granny Smith that was grubbed. tives are all in Vinschgau. This valley starts at an
altitude of 500 metres above sea level and the
Great number of newcomers fruit growing area ends at an altitude of about
1,000 metres. In this area, traditionally, much
Granny Smith is followed by some varieties with Golden Delicious and Red Delicious were grown.
a share of about 4%. A remarkable thing is, that The VOG area mainly comprises the low-lying and
clearly more Nicoter/Kanzi® was planted in 2019 warm areas of South Tyrol. Here, traditionally, in
than in 2017 and 2018. Another remarkable point addition to Golden Delicious and Red Delicious
is the great number of newcomers in the list of heat-loving varieties such Granny Smith, Fuji and
varieties planted. In addition to the earlier men- Cripps Pink are grown.
tioned Scilate/envy and MC38/Crimson Snow Also in the case of the new varieties there are
these are, among others, Bonita, Shinano Gold/ heat-loving varieties or on the other hand varie-
yello®, Cripps Red/Joya®, CIVM49, Ipador, WA 38/ ties that show up better in the higher regions of
MC38/Crimson Snow is a typi-
Cosmic Crisp® and SQ 159/Natyra®. South Tyrol. For instance, MC38/Crimson Snow
cal example of a variety suited
is mainly planted in the VOG region (see table 2) to the warm growing areas in
Differences between the VOG and in the VI.P region Ambrosia is very popular South Tyrol.
and VI.P regions (see table 3). This variety is even the most planted  EFM
variety in that area, before Gala. Also Scilate/envy
The cooperatives associated with the VOG are and Bonita are examples of varieties that on the
in the eastern part of South Tyrol: from Brixen contrary show up better in the higher mountain
in the north to Salurn in the south and between regions than in the warm valleys and are there-
fore also planted more in the VIP region

Table 2. New plantings in the VOG region in 2019

Gala
Total hectarage 517 hectares A bit more than half of the newly-planted Gala trees serves as a replacement
share per variety (in %) for older, badly colouring Gala orchards. In addition, other varieties– especially
Golden Delicious, Red Delicious and Braeburn – have also been grubbed
Gala 27.0
and replaced by Gala.
Rosy Glow 18.0
Fuji 9
MC38/Crimson Snow® 8 Table 1. New plantings in South Tyrol per variety in 2017, 2018 and 2019
Granny Smith 7 2017 2018 2019
Scilate/envy™ 6 Total hectarage 667 hectares 673 hectares 727 hectares
Nicoter/Kanzi® 4.5 share per variety (in %)
Shinano Gold/yello® 4.5 Gala 42.2 36.4 24.3
Red Delicious 2.2 Rosy Glow/Pink Lady® 12.0 15.5 12.6
Golden Delicious 1.3 Scilate/envy TM
- - 7.7
Cripps Red/Joya® < 2.0 Fuji 6.8 11.2 6.8
CIVM49 < 2.0 Ambrosia 3.6 2.9 6.0
WA 38/Cosmic Crisp® < 2.0 MC38/Crimson Snow® - - 5.5
Granny Smith 2.6 6.4 4.9
Table 3. New plantings in the VI.P region in 2019 Nicoter/Kanzi® 1.9 0.4 4.3
Total hectarage 210 hectares Bonita 3.2 5.2 4.2
share per variety (in %) Golden Delicious 4.3 3.0 4.0
Ambrosia 21 Shinano Gold/yello® 2.0 2.4 3.7
Gala 18.6 Red Delicious 12.2 6.0 2.8
Scilate/envy™ 12.3 Cripps Red/Joya® - - 1.8
Bonita 11.3 CIVM49 - - 1.8
Golden Delicious 10.8 Pinova 3.3 2.6 1.6
Pinova 5.6 WA 38/Cosmic Crisp® - - 1.1
Nicoter/Kanzi® 4 SQ 159/Natyra® - - 0.7
Red Delicious 4 other varieties 6.1 8.0 6.0
Source: Obstbau/Weinbau

EFM 2020-05 13
 Bert van Sonsbeek
Freelance reporter Agrotechnology, The Netherlands
[email protected]

Treat trees individually using

H.S.S. Intelligent Spray Application®
Info Hol Spraying Systems from Meteren, the
Netherlands, has created a sophisticated
Digital orchard in sprayer for the fruit sector. Using the appro-
Agromanager priate sensors, every tree, dependent on
It is rather easy to
shape and size, receives a specific amount
use Google Maps to
display the outside of spray liquid. The measurement data from
contours of the the sensor is rapidly sent to a management
orchard. The GPS program. The fruit grower can then exactly
data obtained when track the growth and development of every
spraying can then be individual tree and or an entire orchard, and
used to identify the make application maps that are used to con-
location of the rows trol the amount of liquid sprayed dependent
and the first and last
tree of each row. For
on the location during the next spray session.
new orchards, there
is increasingly more Working with new techniques and opportuni-
digital positioning ties is in line with the philosophy of Hendrik Hol,
data available related from Hol Spraying systems (H.S.S.). Within the According to calculations made by Wageningen Uni-
to rows and trees. Dutch projects ‘Fruit 4.0’ and ‘Nationale Proeftuin versity & Research, the H.S.S. I.S.A. sprayer can redu-
These data are Precisielandbouw’ (see NPPL), the company col- ce the amount of spray product used by 25%.
easy to enter into
laborates with other research partners to create a  Hol Spraying Systems
the Agromanager
management smart sprayer. This has resulted in an interesting
program. concept incorporating a smart sensor, new spray The sensor measures this reflected light and can
nozzle technology and effective data manage- use the information to distinguish the leaves from
ment. This combination of technologies allows the surroundings. In practice, this means that
the fruit grower to address every tree individu- the sensor can measure the tree shape, the leaf
ally, dependent on shape, size and vigour. The density and the open spaces between the trees.
first machines will start to operate in the field in
H.S.S. will launch the sensor with its own label
Website 2020 and allow the project partners to observe H.S.S. I.S.A. on the market, where I.S.A. stands
More information the results and to search for further optimisations.
for Intelligent Spray Application®. H.S.S. equips
about the H.S.S.
a single row sprayer with six of these sensors,
Intelligent Spray
Application® (I.S.A.) Smart sensor three on each side. This allows the data concern-
and other sprayers ing foliar density to be recorded at three heights
from Hol Spraying Together with Wageningen University & Research and on both sides of the tree. The measurement
Systems can be found (WUR; the Netherlands), H.S.S. searched for the results obtained can then be used in two ways.
on the website www. most suitable sensor for measuring tree shape The most direct way is to use this data at the same
holsprayingsystems. and foliar mass. They found a company that has moment to control the spray nozzles. In practice,
com.
many years of experience in recognising foliar this means that the volume of spray liquid is im-
mass against certain backgrounds. The sensor mediately adjusted to the foliar density at three
shines a beam of light on a tree and the chloro- tree heights. WUR found that this can result in
plasts in the leaves reflect a small amount back. savings of approximately 25% of spray products.

14 EFM 2020-05
 NPPL
Within the Dutch
The H.S.S.  I.S.A. sensor shines a light beam on the Nationale Proeftuin
tree and measures the reflected light. The amount of Precisielandbouw
reflected light is related to the foliar mass. (NPPL) project,
farmers and growers,
 NPPL/Stadje Media helped by experts
from Wageningen
Of course, this depends on the age and density University & Research,
of the trees in the row, but the type of fruit and are experimenting
The light emitted by the H.S.S. I.S.A. sensors can be with various types of
the variety also play a role.
clearly seen at dusk. precision agriculture
The sensor measurement data can also be stored
on their farms. The
in a management program, which can combine  Hol Spraying Systems group also includes
them with the exact location, determined by two Dutch fruit
an accurate GPS system. Every time the sprayer amount the nozzles spray in the inner bend and growers. On his farm,
sprays the orchard, details of the orchard are to increase it in the outer bend. This technique Martijn Slabbekoorn
recorded that provide insight into the develop- uses a constant spraying pressure. from Kapelle applies
ment of the individual trees. The H.S.S. sprayer uses Lechler IDK nozzles with crop protection
the following orifices 015, 02, 025 and 03. The products dependent
on the location.
Variable nozzle emission at lower nozzle is an IDKC nozzle that ensures that
Sander Verstegen
constant pressure less spray liquid ends up on the herbicide strip from Neerijnen
under the trees. The spray pressure is a constant prunes the roots of
To be able to control the amount each nozzle 3 bar. Fast electronic signals allow the electronic his trees using an
sprays, H.S.S. decided to equip each nozzle hold- valve on the nozzle holder to switch 25 times application map that
er with an electromagnetic valve that operates per second. In this period of 0.04 second, the indicates the vigour of
using Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). This tech- opening and closing time can be variably ad- each tree.
nique is already used in agricultural sprayers to justed. For instance, the nozzle can be open for
control the spray volumes, to adapt the amount 0.02 seconds and closed for 0.02 seconds. This
sprayed at specific locations and to reduce the halves the volume sprayed. Therefore, by adjust-

What is the benefit?

Hendrik Hol from H.S.S. is well aware that tech- a single-row H.S.S. sprayer equipped with the
niques such as the Intelligent Spray Applica- I.S.A. system. The results show that not only
tion® (I.S.A.) are not cheap. The sensors and is it possible to save on crop protection prod-
the associated nozzles on a single-row sprayer ucts, but also that there is a 45% increase in
cost approximately an additional € 27,000. “Our the deposition of the products on the trees.
H.S.S. single-row sprayer equipped with this The sprayer also reduces the drift percent-
technology lets you save 25% on crop protec- age by 99% when compared to the reference
tion products. For the fruit grower this means sprayer that WUR uses in drift trials. In the 2020
a saving of approximately € 500 per hectare. season, four H.S.S. I.S.A. sprayers are active in
You can spray approximately 27 hectares us- the field. One of the machines will work at the
ing one single-row sprayer”, according to Hol. Randwijk research station in the Netherlands.
A simple calculation shows that the additional It will be extensively tested by WUR and the
costs can be recovered in about two years. Dutch Fruitconsult.
Hol also refers to the results of various trials
carried out by Wageningen University & Re-
search (WUR; the Netherlands) in 2019 using

EFM 2020-05 15
 In 2020, REGpro, the Dutch registration program,
has been included in Agromanager with the
name Spuitschrift (spraying notebook). This has
given Agromanager a geographical component
that is extremely suitable for storing and provid-
ing insight into the data from the sensor, GPS po-
sitions and the amount the H.S.S. I.S.A. sprayer’s
nozzles dispense. This allows the fruit grower, us-
ing a PC, tablet or smartphone, to quickly consult
the data from an entire orchard, an individual
row or even an individual tree at three heights.
The amounts sprayed are also available per tree,
row or orchard. Experience has also been gained
The nozzle holder has a fast magnetic valve that can switch 25 times per second.
By controlling the opening and closing times, the nozzle can dispense a variable
in processing drone images to gain insight into
amount of liquid at a constant operating pressure. the flower density. Agromanager can optionally
 NPPL/Stadje Media create application maps to allow the measure-
ment data to be processed for various location
ing the opening and closing times of the nozzle, specific activities, including root pruning, ferti-
the volume sprayed can vary between 0% and lisation and chemical fruit thinning.
100% at a constant spray pressure. The technique
New business has been tested and has proven its value for ag-
premises ricultural sprayers and in industrial applications.

From data to application map

Laurens Tack, a fruit grower from Sint-Gillis-Waas
in Belgium, together with a programmer friend,
has created Agromanager, a management pro-
gram specifically designed for fruit growing.
Bert van Sonsbeek Agromanager already has many users in the
Netherlands and Belgium due to its modular
In January 2020, Hol structure and online data processing. The devel-
Spraying Systems opment team is now working on an English ver-
(H.S.S.) moved to
sion and other translations will certainly follow.
a new building
in Geldermalsen,
the Netherlands.
The company Initial practical experience
had outgrown its
existing location in In 2019 in Kapelle-Biezelinge, the Netherland,
nearby Meteren and within the framework of the Nationale Pro-
therefore needed to eftuin Precisielandbouw (National precision
expand. H.S.S.’s fruit-
agriculture project - NPPL) fruit grower Mar-
growing sprayers are
assembled at the new tijn Slabbekoorn has gained experience with
location. the single-row H.S.S. sprayer equipped with
the I.S.A. system. Slabbekoorn was extremely
pleased with the Agromanager management
program and its online link with the sprayer.
“As the season progresses, the stored images
provide a clear picture of how the foliar mass Martijn Slabbekoorn
develops at the tree level”, says Slabbekoorn.  NPPL/Stadje Media
He thinks that the data obtained can be ef-
fectively used to perform variable interven- mixing the correct amount of spray liquid for
tions, including fertilisation, root pruning and spraying dependent on tree volume.
the application of chemical thinning products
such as Brevis. During the 2020 growing sea-
son, Slabbekoorn mainly wants to focus on

16 EFM 2020-05
News of the world

EUROPE: not cause serious problems. During the

COMBINATION OF flowering of the apple trees, although
MEASURES AGAINST bacteria were present, due to low atmos-
BROWN MARMORATED pheric humidity and a lack of precipita-
STINK BUG tion, the conditions for infection were
not met. During petal fall temperatures
Researchers are diligently looking for an fell, as a result of which no infection took
effective chemical-synthetic product to place in this period either. In Switzerland
control the brown marmorated stink bug during the summer, only a couple of
(Halyomorpha halys). If the many obser- cases of infection were found. The Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica)
vations have made one thing clear it is In Steiermark, in the east of Austria, there  Wikipedia
were seven cases and in the rest of Aus-
tria hardly any fire blight occurred. This country of origin Japan and on the east
also holds good for the region north coast of the United States, but has also
of Lake Constance in Germany. South been present in (Northern) Italy since
Tyrol is an exception. Here 141 cases of 2014. From here the beetle has crossed
fire blight were registered. These were the border with Switzerland.
mainly infestations in orchards that were The 10 to 12 mm long beetle species
planted in the spring of 2019 and flow- looks a lot like the well-known maybee-
ered later than normally in a period in tle (Melolontha melolontha), but has a
which conditions were favourable for green, metal-glossy coloured thorax and
blossom infection. (EFM, GP) copper-brown front wings. Among other
plants, the Japanese beetle strips grape-
SWITZERLAND: vines, fruit trees and fruit bushes. Ripe
The brown marmorated stink bug CONSUMPTION OF fruits, such as plums and berries are also
 Wikipedia CHERRIES AND CULINARY on the menu. The beetles can be con-
PLUMS VERY LOW trolled with insecticides, but world-wide,
that solely the deployment of chemical organic products, such as bacteria, fungi
products will not be enough. In addition Swiss consumers buy only few cher- and nematodes are also being looked
to products, bait (Attract & Kill), deploy- ries and culinary plums. According to at. (EFM, GP)
ment of beneficials and protecting the data provided by the Swiss association
orchard by means of insect repellent of fruit growers and processors (SOV), EUROPE:
nets are being investigated. In the case in 2017/2018, of all Swiss households, FRESH PRODUCE
of the insect repellent nets, there is the 39% bought cherries and 16% culinary POPULAR; WINE IN CRISIS
problem however, that the brown mar- plums. In 2018, the consumption of cher-
morated stink bugs already before flow- ries was 0.58 kilos per capita, whereas Throughout Europe, during the past few
ering, at the moment the nets are not that of culinary plums was 1.13 kilos. By months, farms with a farm shop wit-
yet closed, migrate to the orchard from way of comparison: in Germany 2 kilos nessed an increase in their turnover. As
their winter refuges. The long period of cherries per capita are eaten. (Source:
during which H. halys can cause damage SOV/EFM)
and the great mobility of the insects, are
other factors that make control more ITALY:
difficult. (EFM, GP) NEW INVASIVE DAMAGE
CAUSING INSECT ON THE
ALPINE REGION: WAY: JAPANESE BEETLE
NO GREAT PROBLEMS
WITH FIRE BLIGHT After the brown marmorated stink bug,
(Halyomorpha halys), another damage Many farms with a farm shop saw a sharp
In 2019, in the fruit growing areas and causing invasive insect is knocking at increase in their sales as a result of the co-
countries in and around the Alpine re- the door: the Japanese beetle (Popillia rona crisis.
gion, fire blight (Erwinia amylovora) did japonica). This insect mainly occurs in its  EFM

EFM 2020-05 17
 News of the world

a reaction to the corona crisis, consum-

ers mainly bought especially more du- Table 2. Number of RoHo 3615/Evelina®
trees in Europe in the spring of 2020
rable (fresh) products such as oranges,
onions and pasta. Online shops also see Country Number of
trees
a sharp increase in demand as a result
of the corona epidemic. The trade in Germany 974,704
apples and pears was not very much Italy 1,248,345
affected in most countries by the crisis. The Netherlands 49,931
However, sales of wine fell sharply, be-
Belgium 165,722
cause the catering industry ran dry as a
sales channel. France 355,792 The production of RoHo  3615/Evelina® is
being steadily extended. In the coming
Slovakia 175,548
two years (2020/2021 and 2021/2022) an
EUROPE: Austria 678,587 expected 265,000 more trees will be plan-
3.65 MILLION EVELINA® Source: Gerhard Baab/Anke Fischer, DLR Rheinpfalz, ted.
Germany
TREES IN EUROPE  EFM
apples of the Pinova strain RoHo 3615 are
In the spring of 2020, there are 3.65 mil- sold. By far the most trees are in Italy (see trees in the Netherlands and Belgium
lion Evelina® trees in Europe. This ap- table 2). Due to its low susceptibility to were mainly planted before 2011. Be-
pears from figures presented at the scab, Evelina has been mainly planted tween 2011/2012 and 2018/2019, in the
Rheinische Obstbautag on 4 February here by organic growers. Netherlands no trees and in Belgium
in Dernau in the German Rhineland. Eve- In Germany and Austria as well, there are only a limited number of trees (42,500)
lina is the brand name under which the great numbers of trees. The numbers of were planted. In the Netherlands this is

EUROPE:
PLANTINGS OF KIZURI TREES
This spring (2020), in Europe, more than 10 hectares (35,000 trees) in
742,500 trees of the Kizuri variety (brand 2016/2017. In 2018/2019 and 2019/2020,
name Morgana®) will have been plant- the North Italian marketing organisation
ed. This appears from a presentation by Melinda planted rather big amounts
German researchers Gerhard Baab and of trees. (see table 1). Other partners
Anke Fischer at the Rheinische Obstbau- in the Morgana club are the Belgische
tag, on 4 February in Dernau (Central Fruitveiling (BFV) (Belgian Fruit Auction)
Germany). and the Nederlandse Fruitveiling Zuid-
Trading company Krings in the Ger- Limburg (Dutch Fruit Auction South
man Rhineland was the first to plant Limburg). (EFM, GP)
Table 1. Number of planted Kizuri trees at the four partners in the Morgana con-
cept
Germany Italy The Netherlands Belgium
Year
(Krings) (Melinda) (Fruit Veiling (Belgische
Zuid-Limburg) Fruitveiling) 

2016/2017 35,000 500 - -

2017/2018 38,000 100,000 5,000 4,000
2018/2019 44,000 140,000 77,000 36,000
2019/2020 53,000 150,000 30,000 30,000

Spring 2020 170,000 390,500 112,000 70,000 At the moment (spring 2020) there are an
estimated 250  hectares of Kizuri in Euro-
pe. EFM
Source: Gerhard Baab/Anke Fischer, DLR Rheinpfalz, Germany

18 EFM 2020-05
News of the world

going to change with the coming of a portant. Only scab-resistant varieties will Copa-Cogeca reports that 2019 was a
new partner in the Evelina club, namely do”, according to Knieling. On the basis bad year for European beekeeping. As
fruit growing and trading company Van of tests carried out between 2012 and a result of bad weather conditions, Euro-
Kessel Fruit. In 2018/2019 and 2019/2020, 2019 he drew the following conclusions: pean beekeepers were faced with a fall
35,000 RoHo 3615 trees were planted 1. The trials show that it is possible to in the production of honey. At the same
in the Netherlands. The planning for produce apples that are free of crop time a rise in prices did not materialise.
2020/2021 and 2021/2022 is to annually protection residues. The most important reasons for the un-
plant 30,000 trees. For Germany (two 2. There is a third way between organic usual market situation were the large
times 45,000 tress) and France (two times and IP: the zero-residue strategy. amounts of honey from China, that have
55,000 trees), too, an extension of the 3. In the case of the zero-residue strat- been competing with European hon-
Evelina surface area is in the pipeline. egy, the application of chemical-syn- ey since 2013 and make life difficult for
(EFM, GP) thetic products is dispensed with if European beekeepers. It is impossible
natural conditions are favourable. The for European beekeepers to produce
GERMANY: use of products is allowed, however, at the price of Chinese honey (on aver-
LACK OF PRODUCTS in case of a strong and spontaneous age € 1.24 per kilo). The report men-
pest and disease pressure to safeguard tions, that in 2018, production costs for
“Due to the coming of new and the ex- production. European honey were about € 3.90 per
tension of existing damage causing in- (Source: SZOW) kilo. This difference in price can only be
vasive pests, the availability of effectively explained by the massive addition of
operating insecticides is becoming more CHINA: sugared syrup to Chinese honey. This
and more important. However, the num- CHINESE SUGARED WATER product is cheaper than honey and dif-
ber of insecticides available further de- HONEY WORRIES EU ficult to detect in border checks.
creases every year. “Anyway, the prom- BEEKEEPERS Among other things, the Copa-Cogeca
ised zonal EU authorisation of products ‘Honey’ working group, demands that
is not as yet working in Germany”, ac- Imported honey from China, does not honey imported from various countries,
cording to Uwe Harzer of DLR Rheinpfalz. only lower the price of honey in Europe, including China, meets the European
During the Rheinische Obstbautag on but also the mood among European standards for honey. In addition, the la-
4 February in Dernau (Germany), Harzer beekeepers. They are demanding an bel must mention, whether it is a honey
denounced the limited availability of emergency rescue plan. mix instead of pure honey. (Source: LID.
crop protection products in general and CH)
insecticides in particular. Especially vari-
ous old, effective substances are depart-
ing the scene. (EFM, GP)

SWITZERLAND:
GROWING APPLES
WITHOUT RESIDUE?
‘Apples without residue, dream or real-
ity?’, was the title of the lecture given by
Sven Knieling of the Amt für Obst- und
Gemüsebau des Kantons Wallis during
the 18th Obstkulturtag on 21 January in
Martigny (Switzerland). He compared a
low-input strategy and a variation with-
out chemical-synthetic crop protection
on apple. Under a high pressure of dis-
eases and harmful insects, problems
may arise if crop protection is reduced.
“Without chemical-synthetic products, Chinese sugared water honey worries EU beekeepers
the choice of varieties is even more im-  Pixabay

EFM 2020-05 19
 Production and market developments

VARIETY CHOICE FOR ORGANIC GROWING MONTHLY

CONTRIBUTION ON
Planting of the new orchards is behind ventional to organic growing. In doing ORGANIC FRUIT
us. Where we decided to topwork trees, so, the existing assortment moved over GROWING IN EUROPE
it has been done. We can now start too. In addition, it became clear quite
thinking about the variety choice for quickly that well-known varieties are With the increasing interest of fruit
the next planting season. easier to sell than unknown produce. growers in organic cultivation, the
When considering the pros and cons of need for information and knowl-
planting what variety, in the past the Conventional varieties not always edge in his field is also rising. Like
following classical considerations were suited to organic growing no other, Fritz Prem, organic fruit
often made: During the past few years, it has be- grower in Steiermark (Austria) and
Ÿ What variety is at the moment the come clear quite quickly what conven- chairman of the European Biofruit
most expensive/ in demand? tional varieties are somewhat suited to Forum (EBF), is well-informed on
Ÿ What variety is most planted at the organic cultivation and what varieties developments in the organic sec-
moment (what colleagues are doing require too much effort to be produced tor in Europe. The organic expert is
is seldom wrong)? well organically. At the moment organic prepared to keep readers of the Eu-
Ÿ What variety is fertile and easy to fruit growers in Europe are at a turning ropean Fruit Magazine informed on
grow? point. The consumption of convention- developments in European organic
Ÿ Does the variety have particular re- ally grown apples is stagnating through- fruit growing every month.
sistances to pests or diseases? out Europe. At the organic markets in
Ÿ Does the variety look inviting? Europe that have been around for a bit
Ÿ Does the variety have a good flavour? longer, there is a rise in turnover of 5 to New trends in choice organic apple
In the organic sector, some additional 7% per year. However, this also presents varieties
criteria are added to this and some of organic growers with a new challenge. We signal various trends in the choice
the criteria mentioned above are less If you innovate orchards now, or adapt of varieties in the organic sector and
important for the organic sector. the assortment, this must correspond in the varieties being bred in fruit tree
to future market developments. nurseries.
Organic apple assortment up till Ÿ All main varieties that are convention-
now ally grown in low-wage countries, had
In terms of volume, at the moment, on
the European organic market the most
important varieties are: Gala, Golden
Delicious, Jonagold, Topaz, Elstar, Brae-
burn and Pinova. Only one single variety
has managed to profile itself as a typi-
cally organic variety: Topaz.
Fruit growers have been able to see
with their own eyes how the about six-
ty club varieties have fared that were
introduced world-wide. Introducing a
new variety, promoting it and creating
the demand for it, takes a lot of time,
money, knowhow and personal dedi-
cation. Many small initiatives to intro-
duce new organic varieties have already
failed in the initial phase, just like many
half-heartedly managed varieties in con-
ventional cultivation. This explains the
present assortment in organic growing.
Many organic orchards in Europe came
into being through switching from con- Fritz Prem Prem

20 EFM 2020-05
Production and market developments

better be grubbed as fast as possible season with European produce. To

in organic growing. achieve this, an appeal is made to
Ÿ In organic growing preference should those regions that due to their favour-
be given to varieties that are spe- able climate conditions can produce
cifically suited to organic growing apples that can be stored long.
(robust against pests and diseases).
Ÿ Traditional varieties that up till now If we consider the criteria mentioned, a
have been in demand, are part of the handful of varieties is left that qualify for
organic growing assortment, because the future renewal of the variety assort-
the consumer already knows them. ment in organic growing. Idared should
Ÿ If there are varieties not everybody be eliminate from the bio-assortment
has access to, it is more likely, that of quite quickly. In the case of Jonagold
those varieties, in the longer term, the economic position in organic grow-
there will not be all too extreme fluc- ing will mainly depend on the question
tuations in supply. how much Jonagold is switched to or-
Ÿ There is no need to discuss the im- ganic in Eastern Europe. The planting of
portance of a good flavour and an Topaz and resistant Topaz crosses will
attractive outward appearance. This be boosted. For professional organic
is simply expected of a new variety. growers, Gala is a successful variety. Planting of the new orchards is behind us.
Ÿ Organic produce from overseas is Therefore, this variety will remain in the  EFM
exchangeable with European pro- assortment for the time being. Pinova/
duce. Until recently, on the European Evelina remains an interesting variety Variety choice is a theme without an
market during the last three to four provided there is a good Gloeosporium end. If during the next five years we are
months of the sales season, mainly treatment. Due to its good flavour and going to wait until we find the ‘really
import fruit from the southern hemi- very good storage properties, Natyra good’ variety, we will be standing still.
sphere was sold. Because organic and will probably get a fixed place in the
transport over great distances are not assortment. In addition, there will be Fritz Prem
a good emotional match, it is good to room in the assortment for an organic
plug the hole at the end of the sales snack apple.

Natyra will probably get a fixed place in the organic assortment. EFM

EFM 2020-05 21
 Research news

BEES AND BUMBLEBEES

NO GREAT HELP IN
CONTROL OF FIRE BLIGHT
In many countries the Blossom Protect
product is authorised against fire blight
(Erwinia amylovora). The effect of Blos-
som Protect against fire blight is based
on the yeast producing fungus Aureo-
basidium pullulans colonising the pistil
and the receptacle, as a result of which
there is no place for the harmful fire
blight bacterium which cannot infect
the flower then. The fungus is sprayed,
just like a crop protection product, but
can only reach the pistil and the recep-
tacle when the flowers are open. When
the flowers are not open yet, no product
reaches the right place and, therefore, By forcing bumblebees to walk through a powder containing BCOs when leaving the nest,
these flowers are not protected against they are supposed to be able to spread them in the orchard. EFM
E. amylovora.
From the moment of opening, a flower The Belgian pcfruit research institute mentioned try to visit these flowers as
is susceptible to fire blight infection investigated, whether honeybees, bum- quickly as possible to collect nectar and
for three to four days. Depending on blebees or mason bees (Osmia) could pollen. If when doing so they take the
the weather, on average, during the possibly help in the spread of Biologic BCOs, they can quickly deposit them
first eight (pear) to twelve (apple) days Control Organisms (BCOs) such as A. pul- in the right place. This can be done in
of flowering, flowers are continuous- lulans in the orchard. After all, between two ways:
ly opening. So, to protect all flowers, the moment of the first and the last 1) By forcing bumblebees to walk
spraying has to take place frequently. flower opening, the pollinating insects through a powder containing BCOs

MARSSONINA CONTROL
Marssonina leaf blight (Marssonina coronaria) especially causes research into the control of this fungus. In a trial in 2019, a test
damage in orchards that are not or hardly treated with fun- schedule with Syllit (strategy D in table 1) appeared to offer
gicides, such as standard tree orchards or organically treated the best control of the Marssonina fungus. (Source: SZOW/
orchards. In serious cases as much as 90% of the leaves may EFM editorial board)
have been affected and fallen on the ground, even before
picking. Agroscope in Switzerland, among others, is doing
Table 1. Treatments against Marssonina coronaria in a trial in Switzerland in 2019; till the end of May, all objects were treated in
the same way with fungicides
Strategy A Strategy B Strategy C Strategy D
0.5% Myco-Sin* + 0.015% Slick** +
01.06.2019 1.2% Curatio**** 0.12% Syllit***** 
0.3% sulphur 0.03% Delan***
0.5% Myco-Sin + 0.015% Slick +
25.06.2019 1.2% Curatio  0.12% Syllit 
0.3% sulphur 0.03% Delan
0.5% Myco-Sin + 0.015% Slick + 0.5% Myco-Sin +
11.07.2019 1.2% Curatio 
0.3% sulphur 0.03% Delan 0.3% sulphur
* Myco-Sin (active ingredient: sulphuric clay);  ** Slick (active ingredient: difenoconazole)
*** Delan (active ingredient: dithianon);  **** Curatio (active ingredient: lime sulphur);  ***** Syllit (active ingredient: dodine)

22 EFM 2020-05
Research news

when leaving the nest. The BCOs stick ing later research, the second method FIRE BLIGHT CONTROL
to the fur and feet and are carried by also turned out to be insufficient for
the bumblebees to the flowers they the spread of the BCOs. This happened In research carried out at Agroscope in
visit. in spite of a combined deployment of Switzerland in 2019, with the products
2) The BCOs are sprayed, after which bumblebees, honeybees and mason available (among others Mycosin, LMA
honeybees, bumblebees and mason bees in the orchard. and Blossom Protect) in combination
bees take the BCOs from one flower During the research, apple trees of the with Squall, a relatively good control of
to another during their pollination Jonagold variety and pear trees of the fire blight could be achieved. In spite of
work. Conference variety were sprayed with the very high infestation level of 40% in
Research in 2016 already showed that Blossom Protect. After that, the spread the untreated object, with strategies of
the first method was insufficiently ef- of A. pullulans to surrounding trees was the products mentioned before, an effi-
fective. The reason was to be found in looked at. Researchers think, that when cacy of 71% could be reached. (EFM, GP)
too little bumblebee activity, too few the spray has dried, insects are hardly
flower visits and too long a time pe- able to take up the BCOs any longer.
riod before the bumblebees returned (Source: pcfruit, fruit growers’ magazine
to their nests to get ‘new’ BCOs. Dur- Fruit/EFM, GP)

OPERATING MECHANISM OF PRODUCTS AGAINST D. SUZUKII

In the fight against spotted wing dros- Effect on eggs and larvae on the fruits, in those fruits no eggs of
ophila (Drosophila suzukii) products with In 2019 not only shoots, but also fruits D. suzukii were found. However, in fruits
the active ingredients spinosad (among (in this case blueberries) were used. sprayed with Exirel as many eggs were
others Tracer) and cyantraniliprole Just as had been done in 2018, shoots counted as in the fruits sprayed with wa-
(among others Exirel) take up an im- and fruits were sprayed with Tracer and ter. The eggs in the fruits sprayed with
portant place. Research has shown, Exirel and placed in cages after that. Exirel did not develop into larvae, how-
however, that the operating mecha- After three days, all adult flies on the ever. (Source: WUR/EFM editorial board)
nism of the two products is quite differ- shoots and fruits sprayed with Tracer
ent. The Tracer residue present on the had died. In the case of the shoots and
leaves, has a great effect on the adult fruits sprayed with Exirel one third of the
flies. Trials show, that Exirel mainly has flies survived. In the control treatment,
an effect on larvae. sprayed with water, all flies survived.
For the cherry grower it is also espe- Due to the good killing effect of Tracer
cially important to know, how long both
products are still active after spraying.
To find an answer to this, Wageningen
University & Research (WUR) has inves-
tigated this. At different moments after
spraying, in various orchards under rain
protection cover, shoots were cut. These
were subsequently put in cages made
of netting. In these cages spotted wing
drosophila were released. From two
days after spraying it was determined
whether these were still alive.
In the case of Tracer, up to 10 days af-
ter spraying more than 90% of the flies
died. After this the effect quickly dis-
appeared. In the case of Exirel, up to
10 days after spraying between 30 and The Dutch WUR did valuable research into the effect of products against Drosophila suzukii.
50% of the flies died.  WUR

EFM 2020-05 23
 Company news

THE TREND IN APPLES AFTER THE LOCKDOWN COMPANY NEWS

The Italian VOG Consortium analy- so the orders for apples we received Some of the texts on this page have
ses large-scale distribution sales in from large-scale distribution fell, while been provided to the EFM editorial
March: trends in Europe reflect those still above the average for the time of board by companies as press releas-
seen in Italy. There is a rise in demand year,” VOG sales manager Klaus Hölzl es, some have been written by the
for pre-packaged product. tells us. “This switchback effect only EFM editorial board. The texts pro-
  stabilised towards the end of March, vided by companies are, in principle,
A dash to buy in supplies followed by when consumers finally understood not translated by the editorial board,
a downturn, and then a return to more that there was no risk of apple stocks but published in the language in
or less normal. March 2020, with the running out.” which they were submitted. Under
start of the lockdown first in Italy and   every text the source is mentioned
then, gradually, in many other European Similar behaviour all over Europe (company name or EFM editorial
countries, coincided with a particularly Similar behaviour also occurred on the board).
turbulent period for the apple sector, other European markets where VOG is
with see-sawing demand on both the a consolidated presence. “We informed
Italian and the export markets. our customers in Spain, Germany and Remarkable change in sales
  the United Kingdom about what we This was demonstrated by the sharp
Analysis had already experienced in Italy,” Mr rise in online sales and home deliver-
The VOG Consortium analysed the sales Hölzl explains, “but the reaction was ies of fruit and vegetables, previously
trend in this period, which was highly the same: a dash to stock up when the almost unheard-of in Europe. Not to
unusual due to the health emergency lockdown was announced, a drop the mention the increase in demand for
caused by Covid-19. After the Italian next week as people used their stocks, pre-packaged product.
Government’s first lockdown Decree and stabilisation the third week.” “For businesses, the ability to listen to
came into effect on 8 March, Italian “The VOG Consortium’s long-standing the markets and react swiftly is proving
chains virtually doubled their orders strategy of diversifying its sales mar- fundamental,” Mr Pardatscher points
for apples: consumer demand grew ket has proved to be very far-sighted, out. “However, we must not lose sight
strongly, partly due to the emotional especially in the particularly difficult, of our medium and long-term goals. For
response to the images of half-empty complex times we have experienced in VOG, pre-packaged product accounts
supermarkets, which led to a kind of the last few weeks,” Walter Pardatscher, for an average of 25%. Our innovation
buying frenzy. “However, the next week CEO of VOG, comments. “It has certainly team is working on the possibility of in-
consumer demand, although high, confirmed our belief that buying habits creasing this percentage share. We are
turned out to be lower than forecast: can change, and sometimes very fast.” assessing the scenarios to make sure
we are ready, but we will have to wait
for the next few months to see which
trends stabilise and become permanent
and which prove to be only transient.
This is another case where balance is
important.”
In the meantime, in early April the VOG
Consortium has 25% fewer apples in
stock than last year. “Market demand
is continuing to be strong at present,
and we will have to plan our sales care-
fully in the coming months to serve our
customers’ needs until summer,” Walter
Pardatscher concludes. (press release
VOG)

CEO of the VOG consortium Walter Pardatscher VOG

24 EFM 2020-05
Growers tell growers

CHERRY PRUNING MAINLY AIMED AT BIG CHERRIES FROM YOUNG FRUITWOOD

The aim of every cherry grower is a high production of big cherries. However, insights differ on how this aim is to be
achieved. In 2019, the Belgian pcfruit research institute started a trial in which some experienced Kordia growers
had to prune their ‘own’ trees every year. At the start of the trial the trees were five years old. After some years the
balance will be drawn up.

During the cherry pruning day at pcfruit, thick side-branch to a stub. They both one-year-old shoots on the branch. Ex-
on 2 March in Sint-Truiden (Belgium), try to achieve a tree shape that is broad cept for one single one-year-old shoot,
visitors could look at the pruning of towards the bottom, with a slender top because this is going to be the two-year-
the trees and the growers could explain that ends well below the cover. old branch that has to bear fruit one year
their methods of pruning. Vaes prunes very much according to later. Claes prefers to leave the end of
the insight of the expert, where every the fruit-bearing branches unpruned,
Results 2019 branch gets its specific treatment. Claes so as not to stimulate the formation of
Before the start of the pruning demon- prunes his cherry trees very systemati- new shoots on the outside of the tree.
stration, the 2019 results were discussed. cally, as a result of which his method Moreover, the leaves of the shoots at
It was first remarked that 2019, just like of pruning is easily passed on to in- the end of the branch contribute to the
every other year, had been a special experienced (foreign) workers. Claes growth in diameter of the cherries at
year. Thanks to the beautiful flowering emphasised that his pruning is aimed the end of the branch.
weather and the absence of severe night at making it possible for casual work-
frost, fruit set and as a result production ers to prune cherry trees well, where Unanimous approach to central
was high. At more than 9 kg per tree, every branch is pruned in a compara- leader
the highest production was realised in ble manner. He drew parallels with the As to treatment of the top, the pruners
the object that had not been pruned in pruning of Conference trees accord- were reasonably unanimous: prune the
2019 of cherry grower and consultant ing to the 1-2-3-system, with a mix of thickest and broadest branches and
Bart Liesenborghs. Productions in the one-year-old shoots and two-year-old limit the height of the top by converting
objects of strong pruners such as con- and three-year-old branches (where this to a fertile young branch. None of
sultant Ruben Claes and cherry grower the three-year-old branches are pruned the pruners applied klick pruning in the
Karel Vaes, at 5 kg per tree, were con- away again after the third year). In short, top. Claes advised against click pruning
siderably smaller. By leaving much more Claes leaves a two-year-old fruit-bearing in the top due to the fact that he pre-
young fruitwood on the tree, Claes ex- branch on every branch and prunes the ferred to maintain sap pressure lower,
pects to realise a considerably higher
production in the years to come.
The fruit size of the non-pruned trees
was logically smaller. The extra pro-
duction of the non-pruned object for
the greater part consisted of cherries
smaller than 26 mm. These small cher-
ries contribute little to nothing to the
financial result.

System-oriented approach
Both Claes and Vaes emphasised the im-
portance of good, well-balanced prun-
ing, where the creation of continuously
young vital fruitwood is perhaps the
most important point. They prefer not
to see new fruitwood growing on the
outside of the tree. By means of well-
aimed cutting, they try to get the shoots
a bit more towards the centre of the Ruben Claes’s method of pruning is aimed at being able to prune cherry trees well with casual
trees. Both sometimes cut back a very workers.  Wouter van Teeffelen

EFM 2020-05 25
 Growers tell growers

down in the tree – certainly in the case

of Kordia –, to create new shoots from
the dormant buds, if possible.
Liesenborghs did not plead for winter
pruning the top of the tree; immediately
after picking he pulls and tears away a
great deal of the new shoots and breaks
a too high-growing top. In the case of
older trees this is still done at his own
farm after picking, but it is more often
done with the secateurs now.

Pruning date
In 2019, pcfruit set up a trial in which
cherry trees were pruned at different
moments in the year. There were not
many results to report as yet, but one
point that drew the attention during the
falling of the leaves was that in the case As a trial, some twenty-year-old Kordia trees were cut in half with a chainsaw
of the trees that had been pruned after  Wouter van Teeffelen
picking, the leaves remained greener
for much longer than in the case of the Six leaves per fruit You have to anticipate on this through
trees that had been pruned in winter. Researcher Vincent van Kerckvoorde of winter pruning.”
This supported Liesenborghs’s philoso- pcfruit started by explaining that for big Just like Claes and Liesenborghs, Van
phy that pruning in summer results in cherries, a minimum of five to six good Kerckvoorde attaches great value to
better flower buds on the fruitwood. Af- leaves are necessary per cherry. “If you young fruitwood with sufficient growth.
ter all, summer pruning provides more look at a branch full of spur buds then, He preferably sees much wood of dif-
light for the fruitwood on which the you know that it will never be possi- ferent ages in the tree. “If you take care
cherries will grow in the year after. ble for enough leaves to come out of of annually removing one fifth of the
the buds to allow the great number of branches, you continuously have a part
cherries to grow into big sized cherries. of one-, two-, three-, four-, and five-year-
old wood in the tree, but never wood
that is older than five years. This makes it
necessary to prune every year, because
if you prune strongly once every cou-
ple of years, you do not or hardly have
so much diversity in the ages of the
branches of the tree.”

Pruning with a chainsaw

What cherry grower does not recognise
this: the challenge to keep old cher-
ry trees so low that they still fit under
the cover? As a trial, the people at pc-
fruit opted for a radical solution: in the
spring of 2019, some twenty-year-old
Kordia trees were sawn off just above
the frame branches and at the same
time the frame branches were cut back
strongly.
Bart Liesenborghs In another object in the trial, the central
 Wouter van Teeffelen leader above the frame branches had

26 EFM 2020-05
Growers tell growers

been cut into two times, halfway to the

middle of the stem with a chainsaw. In
this way they want to try to offset the
characteristic problem with Kordia of
weak growth lower down in the trees
and vigorous growth in the top.
As a rule, cherry growers are fearful of
sawing into the central leader due to
the risk of Pseudomonas. According to
Van Kerckvoorde, up till now there have
been no signs of massive infestation by
Pseudomonas or dieback of the trees. In
a Belgian grower’s large orchard, some
time ago, a great number of trees re-
ceived the same treatment and not a
single tree has died.

Usefulness of cover under discussion

During the pruning demonstration, By sawing into the central leader in two places, they want to try to strengthen growth lower
Liesenborghs expressed some reser- down in the tree and weaken growth in the top. Wouter van Teeffelen
vations about the usefulness of cherry
covers. The general opinion is that, in trees under a cover must be adapted. is (only) 10% less loss through cracked
view of the great losses due to rain in “If you do not do that, you get the prob- cherries. According to researcher Ann
some years, and the high investment lems sketched by Liesenborghs. Grow- Gomand of pcfruit, in the case of Kor-
in planting, a cover quickly becomes ing under a cover, simply demands a dia, on average in the past three years,
profitable. If you moreover take into tree that is somewhat more open.” Vaes without cover there was 37% loss and
account the supply security to buyers, attaches more value to rain covers than with cover 24%. (Wouter van Teeffelen)
it seems that growing cherries with- Liesenborghs, but at his farm too, he
out a cover is no longer interesting. Yet still grows a lot of cherries without a
Liesenborghs maintained that for him cover. Pcfruit figures show, that with-
it is sufficient to pick only a part of his out a cover, in an average year, there
cherries. Moreover, the danger is get-
ting ever greater, that due to climate
change, during a storm damage oc-
curs to the cover. Especially with older
plantings, Liesenborghs observes that
trees lose their vitality due to lack of
light and are earlier ready for grubbing
or produce smaller cherries.
Even the representatives of the two big-
gest fruit auctions in Belgium later at
the seminar, nuanced the usefulness
of covers. They stated that some cus-
tomers in a season with little rain, on
the contrary, prefer cherries that were
not grown under a cover, because the
flavour is sweeter

Adapting pruning
Cherry grower Vaes stated that just as
is the case with apple trees under hail The usefulness of cherry covers was discussed.
protection nets, the pruning of cherry  Wouter van Teeffelen

EFM 2020-05 27
 Kalender und Aktivitäten / Agenda en activiteiten / Agenda and activities
Breitenhoftagung Perendag
Land: Schweiz Land: Nederland
Datum: 23. Mai 2020 Datum: 25 juni 2020
Zeit: 9.00 - 16.00 Uhr Locatie: Vogelaar Fruitcultures in Krabbendijke
Ort: Agroscope Steinobstzentrum Breitenhof, Programma: Demonstraties van machines en bedrijvenmarkt
Wintersingen Organisatie: Delphy, ZLTO en NFO
Programm: Tagung, Treffpunkt der Steinobst Branche Info: www.perendag.nl
Veranstalter: Agroscope Steinobstzentrum Breitenhof
Info: www.agroscope.admin.ch
Kosten: kostenlos
Anmeldung: keine Anmeldung möglich oder notwendig

25 juni 2020: Perendag in Nederland EFM

Tag der Technik im Obstbau

Land: Italien (Südtirol)
Breitenhoftagung 2020 Stefanie Lapcik Datum: 15. Juli 2020
Ort: Gutshof „Ladstätterhof“ des Agrarbetrieb Laim-
burg, Sinich/Meran
Kirschentag Rheinland-Pfalz Programm: Bei der Veranstaltung werden Maschinen und Ge-
räte die im Obstbau eingesetzt werden, vorgeführt
Land: Deutschland Veranstalter: ALS – Verein der Absolventen Landwirtschaftlicher
Sprache: Deutsch Schulen
Datum: 18. Juni 2020 Info: www.absolventenverein.it
Ort: Obstbauversuchsfläche „Am Schlittweg“
(Navigation: 55276 Dienheim, Mitten im Feld,
N 49,8274; E 8,3305)
Zeit: 09.00 - 12.00 Uhr
Veranstalter: DLR Rheinland Pfalz

15. Juli 2020: Tag der Technik im Obstbau in Südtirol EFM

Fruit Focus
Country: Great Britain
Language: English
Date: 22nd July 2020
Location: NIAB EMR, New Road, East Malling, Kent, ME19 6 BJ
Kirschentag Rheinland-Pfalz: 18. Juni 2020 EFM Info: www.fruitfocus.co.uk

28 EFM 2020-05
Kalender und Aktivitäten / Agenda en activiteiten / Agenda and activities
Pflaumen- und Aprikosentag Rheinland-Pfalz International open day Proeftuin Randwijk
Land: Deutschland research orchard
Datum: 5. August 2020 Country: the Netherlands
Zeit: 09:00-11:30 Uhr Language: Dutch/English/German
Ort: Versuchseld „Am Schlittweg“, 55276 Dienheim Date: 20 August 2020
Veranstalter: DLR Rheinpfalz, Peter Hilsendegen Location: Proeftuin Randwijk, Lingewal 1, Randwijk
Info: www.dlr.rlp > Fachportale > Pflanze > Obstbau > Time: 13:00-20:00
Service > Termine Organized by: Partners Proeftuin Randwijk

Prognosfruit
Country: Serbia
Language: English
Date: 5-7 August 2020
Location: Conference centre
Info: www.prognosfruit.eu

International open day Proeftuin Randwijk: 20 August 2020 EFM

Macfrut 2020
Trade fair for professional fruit and vegetable growers
Country: Italy
Date: 8-10 September 2020
Prognosfruit, 5-7 August 2020 EFM Time: 09:30 – 18:00
Location: Rimini Expo Centre, Rimini
Info: www.macfrut.com
Güttinger-Tagung Due to the progressive spread of the Covid-19 virus, the board
of directors of Cesena Fiera decided to move Macfrut – the
Land: Schweiz international trade fair for the fruit and vegetable sector – to
Sprache: Deutsch 8-10 September 2020 in Rimini, instead of holding it on 5-7 May.
Datum: 15. August 2020
Zeit: 9:30 - 12:00 Uhr
Ort: Güttingen
Veranstalter: Agroscope und BBZ Arenenberg
Info: www.agroscope.ch

Güttinger Tagung am 15. August 2020 EFM Macfrut: 8-10 September 2020 EFM

EFM 2020-05 29
 Kalender und Aktivitäten / Agenda en activiteiten / Agenda and activities
National Fruit Show 2020 Interpoma 2020 Exhibition and Congress
Country: United Kingdom International trade show for production, storage and marketing
Language: English of apples
Date: 22and 23 October 2020 Country: Italy
Location: Kent Event Centre, Detling, Maidstone Date: November 2020
Info: www.nationalfruitshow.org.uk Location: Messe-Bozen/Fiera Bolzano, Piazza Fiera 1,
39100 Bolzano
Info: www.interpoma.it

41. Bundeskernobstseminar
Land: Deutschland
Sprache: Deutsch
Datum: 12. bis 14. Januar 2021
Zeit: Anfang: 08.30/09.00 Uhr
Ort: Gustav Stresemann Institut e.V., Langer Graben-
weg 68, 53175 Bonn-Bad Godesberg,
www.gsi-bonn.de
Seminarleitung: DLR Rheinpfalz
Anmeldung: DLR Rheinpfalz/KoGa
E-Mail: [email protected]

Fruit Logistica 2021

Land: Deutschland
Datum: 3. bis 5. Februar 2021
Ort: Messe Berlin, Messedamm 22, 14055 Berlin
Programm: www.fruitlogistica.com
National Fruit Show: 22 and 23 October 2020 EFM
Veranstalter: Messe Berlin, www.fruitlogistica.de

Advertisements in EFM

EFM is published 12 times a year, at

the start of the month

The closing date for advertisements

for the June 2020 edition of EFM is
Multisafe When risks become
Thursday 14th May 2020.

covering systems opportunities The closing date for advertisements

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Nursery / Baumschule /
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KOB storage day • Red Jonaprince • Canada • Cost price pears • Bruises • Cherry growing in Chile • DCA • Topaz • Crop estimate

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