April 2019 - 8

GENEVA
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
latest International Fruit Tree Association
(IFTA) winter conference and tours held
in February in Rochester, New York. The
day after a full afternoon of presentations
on rootstocks by academics - most of
whom touted the many benefits of Geneva
rootstocks - attendees toured some
orchards of prominent IFTA growers who
were not using them.
" Don't plant another B.9, or don't plant
Cornell University's Terence Robinson speaks during an International Fruit Tree
Association tour in an orchard. Photos: Stephen Kloosterman
another M.9 or another M.26, " Robinson
said during his own presentation,
referencing some industry classics. He
emphasized the superior traits of Geneva
rootstocks, especially increased yields
that, he said, growers could hardly afford
to refuse. Geneva rootstocks include
royalty fees; but a Cornell economist
gave a separate presentation at the IFTA
conference attempting to show growers
it was more than worth the investment,
even if the royalty rates were increased.
Another common complaint from
growers has been that the rootstocks are
not readily available.
" Some of you have planted rootstocks
just because you could get them, or
because you didn't want to pay that 25-cent
royalty to Cornell, " Robinson said. " That's
peanuts, nothing. We're talking millions of
dollars here. "
It's not just about the raw yields. Highvalue
varieties are important; Robinson
urged growers to choose apple varieties
that will pay more than $300 a bin. But
getting those cultivars to grow vigorously
enough is also an issue. Slow-growing
trees or new plantings affected by orchard
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replant disease, mean lost harvests.
" Planting rootstocks that can fill the
space in 2-3 years is critical, " Robinson
said. " Pick the rootstocks that will fill the
space you've given that tree by the end of
the second year or by worst at the end of
the third year.
" It's not just that I'm from Cornell, "
Robinson said. " These are clearly superior
genetics. They're thoroughbreds. Now, like
any child, they all have their problems.
Not one of them is perfect - G.41 has a
brittleness, you have to treat it with kid
gloves; G.935 seems to have trouble with
some varieties that have either rubbery
wood or some other viroid in them - but
the kind of dollars that are involved would
lead us to try to figure out how to grow
these rootstocks. "
A large number of Geneva rootstocks
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have been released so that growers can
pick one ideal for their soil, climate and
apple-bearing cultivar, but the other side is
there's no one-size-fits-all.
" Some people are tired of so many
Geneva rootstocks, " Robinson said.
" Nurserymen hate the idea because it
requires them to carry lots of inventory. "
Robinson said that 20 nurseries are
licensed to grow Geneva rootstocks, but
stool beds for growing them need three
years of setup time, and most growers don't
place orders that far in advance.
But Robinson said there's now something
of a shortcut. A number of tissue cultivators
in North America can deliver plants to a
nursery within eight or nine months. The
plants are roughly a foot tall, either with a
few leaves or a dormant stick.
" The ability to grow rootstocks by tissue
culture has opened up the panorama
to be able to order essentially order any
rootstock you want, " Robinson said.
" It's something you can do quicker. The
turning around time is shorter. "
Robinson listed a number of producers
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8 | FruitGrowersNews.com
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who do tissue cultivation: North American
Plants of Lafayette, Oregon; Sierra Gold
Nurseries of Yuba City, California;
Phytelligence of Seattle, Washington;
and Skagit Horticulture of Mabton,
Washington.
" It's no longer a situation where you call
up and the nurseryman says, 'Sorry, don't
have it,' " Robinson said. " Every grower
should be able to get the rootstock they
want. " FGN

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April 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2019