Annual Report for NC-140 Committee Meeting.
Citation
Blatt, S. 2022. Annual Report for NC-140 Committee Meeting. Auburn, Alabama, November.
Plain language summary
Each apple tree is the product of 2 trees: the rootstock which is the root system of the tree and the scion which is the upper part of the tree and contains the cultivar, eg. Honeycrisp. An international group of researchers study how rootstocks impact fruit production and fruit quality across numerous sites as part of an NC-140 project. Nova Scotia is one site of over 30 across Canada, the United States and Mexico that participate in these plantings and provide information to industry on rootstock performance. Nurseries and growers can use the information from this project to decide which rootstocks to plant in their area or region.
Abstract
This report covers the progress of 2 plantings located in Nova Scotia: Modi and Buckeye Gala. Both plantings continue to do well and provide high quality fruit of moderate size. There is some evidence that Modi is susceptible to European Apple Sawfly and this impacted harvest during 2022 as the population was higher than in previous years. The Buckeye Gala planting is showing good resilience to our climate. The rootostocks in both plantings show some promise for use in Nova Scotia.