Today in the orchard
I spent the morning at the Maine Pomological Society (Pom Soc) spring meeting, early afternoon watching a webinar on DNA by Cameron Peace, and then rounded out the afternoon pruning pear trees. What a day!
The Pom Soc meetings provide excellent opportunities to meetup with other Maine growers, hear the latest research on growing apples, learn about other fruit crops (this year, hardy peach cultivars) as well as changes in state and federal policy.
Cameron Peace (center) with Gayle Volk and John, Appleton, Maine 2024
The University of Idaho Annual Heritage Orchard Conference presents once-a-month talks from October to April by knowledgeable fruit growers, researchers, breeders and historians from around the US. Cameron's talk focused on the genetics of apples and the use of DNA technology in cultivar identification. All the past talks are archived at the University of Idaho website (https://www.uidaho.edu/cals/sandpoint-organic-agriculture-center/conference). If you don’t know about the series, check it out. It’s excellent.
