Feb 13, 2016

IFTA post-conference tour: Day 2

On the second day of the International Fruit Tree Association’s (IFTA) post-conference tour to northwest Michigan, the bus stopped at Williams Orchards in Cedar to see Greg Williams’ high-density sweet cherry plantings.

Most of the trees were planted in 2010 – Regina, Attica and Benton mostly on Gi12, with some Attica on Gi6, as well as a row of Benton on Gi6 trained to the UFO system. There’s also a 2011 planting: Black Pearl on Gi3.

The second stop was VerSnyder Fruit Farms in Lake Leelanau, where Kevin VerSnyder grows hard cider varieties. He’s an early adopter of cider apple plantings, and will help provide critical information for cider apple producers.

The third stop was the Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center in Traverse City. The tour learned about experiments with high-density tart cherries, as well as the efforts of the Michigan Tree Fruit Commission.

The last educational stop was Ligon Farms on Old Mission Peninsula. Lenard Ligon was one of the earliest adopters of high-density apple plantings in northwest Michigan. The region was primarily known for processing fruit, but he saw the potential efficiency and profits of high-density systems.

His first higher-density planting was planted in 1991. He planted his first super spindle system in 2006. He planted high-density Honeycrisp blocks in 2008, 2009 and 2010. He uses RAM tubing for irrigation, with one emitter every 1 foot instead of every 2 feet, because his region is one of the driest in the state in midsummer.

Ligon has been exploring dormant and summer hedging, and pruning hard to cut tops back on trees that are too vigorous.

– Matt Milkovich