March 2020 - 33

our community. We want to encourage
him in his work. "
Growers believe growing conditions
in west-central Michigan are much
different than those around the existing
tree fruit research stations, Riley said.
" We have a lot more sand up here,
which is why we can grow asparagus
so well, " Riley said. " When we plant an
apple tree up here, the rootstock has to
be a lot stronger. " Other apple-growing
regions in Michigan, such as the Fruit
Ridge area in Sparta, have heavier soils.
He said the west-central sandier soils
have been found effective for avoiding
bitter pit in Honeycrisp. The soils on
the 40-acre new facility can support
apples, cherries and plums, although
it's currently planted with pears,
cherries, peaches and corn. The climate
is also different than some of the other
regions - with Oceana and Mason
counties, on the Lake Michigan coast.
Jones referred to the sandy-soiled
country as " ancient sand dunes. " The
soil drains well, but growers who
don't choose the right rootstock can
wind up with runty, undeveloped
trees. The sandy soil has less ability
to hold heat, and so there's a greater
variation in the temperature, which
can affect color formation.
Jones said MSU Extension does have
an office in the area, and some trials are
conducted at grower orchards in the
area, but there's a limit to what can be
accomplished in that way.
" The lack of a research station
means it's difficult to do large-scale
field experimentation, " he said. The
first reason is that it's very difficult
to convince growers hosting an
experiment to do an " untreated
control " - depending on the
experiment, it often means sacrificing
trees in the name of science.
" What a research station allows
you is to do things to trees that you
know will damage them because it's
important for the statistical robustness
of the work, " Jones said. The other
difference of a tree research station is
that the quality of the final fruit isn't of
importance to the grower, he said - for
instance, harvests don't cut ripening
experiments short.
Jones said variety and rootstock
trials are an objective for his research.
Some Geneva rootstocks and new
" strains " of popular apple varieties like
Gala and Honeycrisp are relatively new
to the region and growers want them
tested. Another research objective the
control of spotted wing drosophila is
another priority for the local growers.
" The growers' desire for a new
research station really speaks of a
respect for the existing research
stations, " Jones said. " It's certainly
not that they view those already to
be in existence to be insufficient.
They just look at how awesome
those places are and what they do
for the communities that they're
placed in and they understandably
they want the same thing for their
own community. The facility isn't
being proposed out of a frustration.
It's being proposed out of respect
and excitement. " FGN
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March 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2020