Sep 2, 2011

Research continues at English facility

Modern apple growers owe their livelihoods to East Malling Research (EMR).

That was one of the refrains heard over and over again during the International Fruit Tree Association’s (IFTA) tour of England, The Netherlands and Belgium in July. East Malling rootstocks helped revolutionize the apple industry over the last few decades. In fact, more than 80 percent of commercial apple orchards worldwide are still grown on rootstocks that were developed at the English research center, according to EMR.

EMR’s history goes back to 1913, when an experimental station was established for the benefit of fruit growers in southeast England. Now a private company, EMR is recognized as the United Kingdom’s leading research center for the horticultural industry, according to its website.

Despite its worldwide fame, EMR owes its existence to the United States, said Will Sibley, chairman of the East Malling Trust, which provides financial support for EMR.

In the 1870s, poor economic conditions in Europe pushed many English farmers to migrate to the United States. At the time, fruit growing in Europe was “backyard stuff,” local and small-scale, Sibley said. In the United States, the transplanted English farmers got their first glimpse of large-scale fruit growing. Inspired, some of them eventually moved back to England, where they organized large commercial orchards of their own.

EMR has weathered the ups and downs of the fruit industry in the last century, especially the last few years, when budget cuts have pared facilities, staff and research capacity. There’s cause for optimism, however. People are more concerned than ever about the price, supply, safety and sustainability of food, and a research institution like EMR is in a good position to take advantage of that craving for knowledge, said Peter Gregory, EMR’s chief executive.
Moreover, it’s in the UK’s best interest to produce things, he said, an idea that’s gained credibility since the financial crisis of 2008.

If the UK is going to produce more of its own food, however, research is essential – which makes an institution like EMR essential.

What drives EMR’s research these days is what Gregory called the “science of perenniality.” Producing high-quality perennial crops in a way that counteracts climate change and enhances food security for the UK – all done sustainably – is the name of the game. The major plants the facility studies (planted on 202 hectares total) include perennial trees and non-food products, perennial fruits like apples, pears, cherries, plums, strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrants, and other crops like mushrooms, field vegetables, potatoes and garden plants.

Specific areas being studied by EMR researchers include resource-use efficiency, shelf life, adaptability to climate change, Integrated Pest Management and disease control, use of pheromones, residue-free production, postharvest control and handling, pest and disease forecasting, genomics, marker-assisted and conventional breeding, according to Gregory.

‘Concept’ pear orchard

The IFTA members observed a handful of EMR research projects during the tour, including the concept pear orchard – funded by EMR with assistance from Chingford Fruit Ltd. (a fruit supplier) and Sainsbury’s (a UK supermarket chain).
Using technology that has transformed the Dutch pear industry, one of the concept orchard’s goal is to achieve an optimal crop of 55 tons per hectare, compared to 20-22 tons per hectare in a traditional English orchard, according to EMR.

To Graham Caspell, EMR’s commercial farm manager, 50 or so tons per hectare sounds great, but if you have to spend time and money “turning leaves and stroking fruit,” like you have to do with a “concept” orchard, it eats into the bottom line – no matter how many tons per hectare the orchard can produce.

In Caspell’s opinion, a certain level of pests and weeds is acceptable if an orchard is profitable. But he’s thinking like a practical farmer.

“A ‘concept’ is completely different,” he said. “They want it to look all pretty and beautiful.”

According to EMR, the concept pear orchard is trialing four high-density planting regimes (traditional bush, multi-V, double head, single stem “Run Thru”) to determine which is the most productive in the southeast England climate.

Caspell said the multi-V system might produce the biggest crop, but he isn’t sure it will be the most cost-effective. The system’s openness affords excellent light penetration to the interior of the tree, but there’s a danger of building up a microclimate inside the arms of the V, which could lead to a higher incidence of pear sucker – probably the biggest pest problem for the UK pear, he said.

Mark Else, a physiologist at EMR, is using the concept pear orchard to study irrigation techniques, though his research started with strawberries.

A few years ago, EMR sent out a questionnaire to UK strawberry growers asking how much water they used to produce 1 ton of class-one strawberries. The average amount ended up being 78 tons of water (over two seasons). More water-conscious growers used between 45 and 50 tons, while others used up to 160 tons, Else said.

“Often, growers tend to irrigate just as they’ve always done,” he said. “They don’t necessarily know how much water they’re applying.”

EMR’s goal is to help growers improve their water efficiency without reducing yields or quality. Under various scientific conditions, EMR researchers have managed to lower the amount of water used to produce 1 ton of class-one strawberries from 78 tons to 10 tons – an 85 percent savings, he said.

“We found that by changing the way we irrigate – putting water on at specific times in the right place – we can not only maintain yield but also improve fruit quality and shelf life.”

Growers are currently testing EMR’s irrigation regime on their own farms. So far, they’ve saved between 30 and 35 percent of their water without affecting yields or quality (growers who add fertilizers to their irrigation water can save an equal amount of fertilizer), Else said.

EMR just started testing the same irrigation techniques in the concept pear orchard. In such a high-intensity orchard, water is a key factor. The four planting systems will have different water requirements, and each will need its own irrigation regime, he said.

Click here to watch a video clip on East Malling.

By Matt Milkovich, managing editor