April 2019 - 1

Lights, steam tackle
strawberry disease,
pests
Fancy Farms adapts to
challenges in turbulent
strawberry industry
10
14
High-Tech Tools
2019
32
Biologicals industry says
it's growing past niche
uses
April 2019 | Volume 58 |
Issue 4
ORCHARD
INGENUITY
Paul Wafler's innovations
saluted by the industry
Paul, Susan and Kyle Wafler near Wolcott, New York. Photos: Stephen Kloosterman
By Stephen Kloosterman
Associate Editor
New generations of the Wafler
family are making a family tradition
of innovation by customizing
equipment and even improving the
tree structures in their west New
York orchards.
Paul Wafler, a second-generation
owner of Wafler Farms near Wolcott,
New York, was named Grower of
the Year by the International Fruit
Tree Association (IFTA) during its
annual winter conference and tours
in Rochester.
" I don't think he has ever met a piece
of machinery he couldn't improve, "
IFTA President Rod Farrow said.
" Every time I visit him, I leave with my
head spinning, wondering what I have
to do to keep up with this. "
The family
Wafler Farms was started in 1960 by
Fritz and Lois Wafler, and the nursery
followed in 1962. Lois remains involved
with the company as an owner. Paul and
his wife Susan handle much of the dayto-day
operations.
Fritz Wafler immigrated from
Switzerland to Canada when he was
26 years old, moving to New York to
establish the fruit farm. He traveled back
to Europe 8-10 times after establishing the
farm, and would take other growers with
him to learn new or advanced growing
techniques. He also spent a lot of time
See WAFLER, page 6
Fast road to Geneva sales
By Stephen Kloosterman
Associate Editor
Last summer, when Cornell
University applied fruit crop
physiologist Terence Robinson returned
from a three-year sabbatical from
Northeast apple orchards, a surprise
was waiting for him.
Adoption of Geneva rootstocks
released by Cornell had exploded. And
yet growers in Cornell's backyard of
west New York - some of whom had
their own nurseries - weren't trying to
grow them.
Geneva rootstocks are bred for
productivity and disease resistance,
including replant disease complex and
fire blight, through a joint program
of Cornell and USDA's Agricultural
Research Service. A few years ago, just
a couple of million Geneva rootstocks
were sold each year - now, about eight
million rootstocks were sold during the
2018 calendar year. The G.31 variety
was the most popular with about four
million sold, while the G.35 variety sold
2.5 million.
And yet, seemingly, growers can't get
them quickly enough. That's something
Robinson
has tried to
remedy.
The
relationship of
Cornell-bred
rootstocks and
the west New
York growers
who don't use
them seemed
somewhat
ironic at the
TERENCE ROBINSON
See GENEVA, page 8

April 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2019

April 2019 - 1
April 2019 - 2
April 2019 - 3
April 2019 - 4
April 2019 - 5
April 2019 - 6
April 2019 - 7
April 2019 - 8
April 2019 - 9
April 2019 - 10
April 2019 - 11
April 2019 - 12
April 2019 - 13
April 2019 - 14
April 2019 - 15
April 2019 - 16
April 2019 - 17
April 2019 - 18
April 2019 - 19
April 2019 - 20
April 2019 - 21
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April 2019 - 23
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April 2019 - 29
April 2019 - 30
April 2019 - 31
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April 2019 - 34
April 2019 - 35
April 2019 - 36
April 2019 - 37
April 2019 - 38
April 2019 - 39
April 2019 - 40
April 2019 - 41
April 2019 - 42
April 2019 - 43
April 2019 - 44
April 2019 - 45
April 2019 - 46
April 2019 - 47
April 2019 - 48
April 2019 - 49
April 2019 - 50
April 2019 - 51
April 2019 - 52
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/november-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/october-2024
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/buyers-guide-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/november-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/october-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/september-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/august-2023
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/december-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/november-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/buyers-guide
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/october-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/september-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/august-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/july-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/june-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/may-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/april-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/march-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/buyersguide-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/january-2022
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/november-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/october-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/august-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/july-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/june-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/may-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/april-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/march-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/buyersguide-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/december-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/november-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/october-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/september-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/august-2020
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/december-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/november-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/october-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/september-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/august-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/july-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/june-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/may-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/april-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/march-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/FGN/february-2019
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