Semi-dwarf rootstocks typically produce trees that are about 60% to 90% of standard size, with a height of about 14 feet to 22 feet, depending on the rootstock.
… Apple Rootstock Info: B.491
| Characteristic | Detail | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Rootstock | B.491 |
A very dwarfing rootstock from the Michurinsk College of Agriculture, former Soviet Union. Bud. 491 is reported to be very winter hardy with brittle wood and requires tree support. It is too dwarfing for most commercial situations, the wood is pink, it produces few burrknots and root suckers, but it is very susceptible to fire blight and Phytophthora. Bud. 491 was evaluated in the NC-140 1994 rootstock trial at 18 locations with the scion cultivar |
Plum Curculio
The plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst), is an important early season pest of pome and stone fruits. They can cause considerable damage to apple, pear, apricot, peach, plum, nectarine, cherry, and other fruits. After codling moth, plum curculio is often regarded as the most serious pest of tree fruits in eastern North America.
Biology and Life History
Plum curculio adults are a type of weevil (or snout beetle), approximately 6 mm (¼”) in length with a mottled combination of brown, …
Choosing the Right Cultivar to Plant
Several variables should be considered when selecting apple cultivars to plant. Important factors include cold hardiness (some cultivars will not survive extreme winter low temperatures), heat tolerance, disease resistance, time of harvest, intended uses and time of bloom. Apples require cross-pollination between two cultivars that must bloom at the same time.
Commercial orchardists must consider cultivars for an intended market. For example, processors will pay a premium price for ‘Northern Spy’ for pie filling, but there is little demand for …
An Introduction to Hard Cider in the U.S.
By the simplest definition, hard cider is fermented apple juice. In the U.S., unfermented and usually unfiltered apple juice is referred to as cider or sweet cider. In many other countries, particularly in Europe, the fermented product is called cider and the unfermented product is called apple juice. In this article, we use the term cider to refer to the fermented product.
According to Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau data, production of hard cider in the U.S. has, …
Codling Moth
Codling moth, Cydia pomonella, is one of the most serious insect pests of apple in the United States.
Biology and Life History
Adult moths are approximately 10 mm (⅜”) in length, with a wing span of 18 mm (¾”). Wings are mottled gray with a distinctive copper-colored band at the tip of each forewing (Figure 1).
Female moths lay flat, oval eggs singly on developing fruit or adjacent leaves. Newly hatched larvae enter fruit, usually through the …
Jon Clements
Jon Clements is an Extension educator with 25 years experience in tree fruit production. Located at the UMass Cold Spring Orchard in Belchertown, Massachusetts, Jon is a part of the UMASS Fruit Advisor, whose mission is to assist fruit growers with all aspects of horticulture and integrated pest management.
Contact Information
UMass Cold Spring Orchard
393 Sabin St.
Belchertown, Massachusetts 01007
Email: clements@umext.umass.edu
Blog: http://jmcextman.blogspot.com/…
Alan Biggs, West Virginia University
Alan Biggs is a Professor of Plant Pathology and Extension Specialist in Tree Fruit Pathology at the Kearneysville Tree Fruit Research and Education Center in Kearneysville, WV. He has extensive knowledge of major tree fruit diseases and has developed several online resources to assist growers in the West Virginia region. In addition to conducting numerous research projects on apple disease, he also teaches tree fruit pathology to master gardeners and mushroom identification to master naturalists.
Contact Information
WVU-KTFREC
P.O. Box …
How Apple Fruit Size Is Determined and Affected
An apple’s size is determined by the cells that make up the apple. The number of cells, size of each cell, and air space between cells all can play roles in fruit size. An average-sized apple has about 50 million cells. Some apples achieve their larger size by having a larger number of cells, and some achieve their larger size by having larger-sized cells.
Most apple growers strive to produce larger-sized fruit. To achieve this goal, growers should consider the …
Apple Fruit Thinning
Fruit thinning is a management practice that reduces the number of fruits per tree in the current season, resulting in increased fruit size of the remaining fruits and increased return bloom and yield in the next season. Although it can be difficult to achieve, fruit thinning is the single most important management strategy in determining the annual profitability of apple orchards.
Intensity of Thinning
Management of crop load is a balancing act between reducing crop load sufficiently to achieve optimum …