Illinois Specialty Crops, Agritourism, and Organic Conference

The “Scoop” on Rootstocks, Varieties and Fruit Tree Availability for 2013 and beyond. 1928--- Sliced bread is introduced

85 years later it still gets re-introduced! A good dose of skepticism is in order! The variety picture hasn’t changed greatly in the past few years, but rootstocks are where its at!

Still relying on the same programs:

• Public programs of the • Private breeders Universities and USDA Paul Friday-Flamin’Fury® Peaches , Zestar!®- U of M WineCrisp®--- U of IL Midwest Improvement • European and other off- Association- EverCrisp shore programs • Nursery introductions , , Royal Red Honeycrisp®- Willow Drive Nursery • Variety Clubs Doug Shefelbine’s work? Pink Lady®, ®, SweeTango®, Pinata®, ®, • Variety Management “WA” , “NY” apples companies Pink Lady®- Brandt Public & Private Money Funding Corail-Sonata- Dave Weil these clubs and developments. RubyMac®, Stellar® Peach series-- - IPM-Wally Hueser Recovering their investment. Royalties & “Clubbing”--- The system whereby innovators are able to recover their investment in research, patenting, trade-marking, virus-cleanup, stock maintenance, and marketing hopefully make a buck!

• Research--- can take 10-20 years to introduce a new rootstock or variety. 3-7 years to introduce a new “sport”. • Patenting & trade-marking--- $3-5000 or so. • Virus-cleanup & stock maintenance at Prosser, WA can cost several thousand dollars with annual fees. • Marketing, advertising, etc. • Commonly charged on rootstocks, but often added directly into the tree cost when priced-out by type of root. Range from $.25 to $3.35. (Geneva®, Gisela®, Krymsk™, etc.) • Often added as an up-charge on tree price, based on the particular variety or sport. Range from $.50 to $2.00 or more (NJF Peento varieties $4.50)

The “little guy”

• Most clubs are very restrictive. The “big boys” are buying up the rights to once open varieties: Pinova™ Corail™ Sonata™ Stemilt buys the rights. Pinata® “Clubbing” is another royalty scheme designed to help innovators maximize the return on their investment with growers hoping to optimize the profitability of a new variety.

Many different club types: • Pink Lady® type--- branded, patent-expired ( cv) whereby growers and handlers agree to cooperative marketing of Pink Lady® brand. • Pinata® type--- Pinova cv (aka Corail and Sonata) where the cultivar is removed from the open market and re-introduced as a club variety by the owner selling the exclusive rights someone else who forms a club organization. • Ambrosia® type--- Where the cultivar is developed by a public program (Canada), introduced as an open variety, and then removed from the open market and re- introduced as a club. • “WA” type--- Where the cultivar is developed in a “public/private” partnership and then offered on an “exclusive” license only to Washington growers who may then market it as “Whatever®” • “NY” and “SweeTango® type---Similar to above but with geographic limitations as an open release, but clubbed and marketed nationally by exclusive licensees. • EverCrisp® type--- a different twist on the open release method, whereby royalties are not based solely on a per tree purchase basis, but also payable each year for up to 20 years. Newer Apple & Peach Varieties Matt Moser’s “1 in 10 rules”! Try 10 new varieties and hopefully 1 will be good enough to replant!

We buy based on the 1 good characteristic that’s promoted, but learn about 10 bad characteristics in the next 10 years. Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF 1 -30 RH Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF-5B -25 RH New fresh market peach varieties – W. Shane Early Season Peaches

PF-5D Big -17 RH very little experience Earlystar (FA101)

-18 RH New fresh market peach varieties – W. Shane

PF Early 8 Ball

-17 RH Stellar® BRIGHTSTAR (-12)

• Ripens 12 days before Red Haven • Great Flavor is it's Outstanding Characteristic • Customers Return Because of The Flavor • Peach is Semi-Freestone with Firm Flesh for the Season • Fruit Size is 2 1/2" and up • Very Few Split Pits • Good Bacterial Spot Resistance • Great Peach For Early Season Roadside or Farmers Markets After Earlystar

Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF-7 -10 RH Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF 8 Ball -10 RH Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF 8 Ball White -10 RH Glenglo -7 RH

Seedling in Loring orchard, nice flavor, medium large, firm, maybe weak suture

poor excellent Red Size Splits Yield ? Flavor Firm Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF Late 8 Ball -5 RH Stellar® RISINGSTAR (-5)

• Ripens 5 Days Before Red Haven, Between Garnet Beauty and Red Haven • Fruit is 80% Bright Orange-Red, with a slight stripe • Flesh is Firm and Melting with a Pleasing Peach Flavor • Risingstar is Semi-Freestone with Very Few Split Pits • This excellent cropper will require heavy thinning most years because of it's Very Hardy Buds • Fruit size is 2 3/4" and up, • With 2 to 3 pickings • Tree is Medium Vigor, Hardy, Productive with Good Resistance to Bacterial Spot and Peach Canker • Risingstar gives Growers a Beautiful, High Quality Peach for the Early Season

New fresh market peach varieties – W. Shane

poor excellent Red Size Splits nearly Yield ? freestone Flavor Firm

PF 11 Peach -4 to 0 RH

poor excellent Red Size Splits Yield ? freestone Flavor Firm

PF 9A-007 -2 RH Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF 11 Nectarine -5 RH Main Season Peaches

Redhaven is still the “Gold Standard”

New fresh market peach varieties – W. Shane JOHN BOY +3RH

• Highly colored, firm yellow, generally freestone peach maturing about 4 days after Red Haven

• Limb sport of Loring poor excellent poor excellent Red Red • Slightly better color than Red Size Size Haven & less split pits Splits Splits

Yield Yield Flavor Flavor • Maybe slightly less hardy than Firm Firm Red Haven

John Boy Red Haven New fresh market peach varieties – W. Shane

Blazingstar Starfire Redstar +2 RH +3 RH +3 RH

poor excellent poor excellent poor excellent Red v* Red Red v* Size Size Size Splits Splits Splits Yield Yield Yield Flavor Flavor Flavor Firm Firm Firm

some fuzz Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF Lucky 13 +5 RH Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF-15A +7 RH New fresh market peach varieties – W. Shane

+12 RH CORALSTAR

• Fair to decent red skin color, yellow freestone ripening in the Loring season • Nice size, generally productive • Good bact spot resistance, generally low fuzz • Good flavor

poor excellent Red Size Splits Yield Flavor Firm fuzzy some years New fresh market peach varieties – W. Shane PF 20-007 +12 RH

attractive, freestone, 70 – 80% medium red skin, relatively large, low fuzz, retains firmness, light crop some years

poor excellent Red Size Splits Yield ? Flavor Firm

fine texture Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF 17 +16 RH Mid-Season Peaches

Lots more effort going into breeding and introducing new varieties--- mainly Flamin’Fury® and Stellar® Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF 19-007 +17 RH Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF 19-007 +17 RH Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF 22-007 +17 RH Late blooming Stellar® ALLSTAR (+18)

• Ripens Before Cresthaven or 18 Days After Red Haven • Fruit is Large 2 3/4" to 3" and Firm Flesh With Good Shipping and Storage Qualities • Color is 80% - 100% Bright, Red, Rich Blushed Fruit. • Flesh is Clear Yellow and Freestone • Wonderful Sweet Peach Flavor • Tree is Hardy and Precocious for Early Production • High Bud Density for High Yields 2 to 3 pickings • Resistance to Bacterial Spot • Widely Planted in Ontario

Stellar® BLUSHINGSTAR (+20) WHITE PEACH

• Blushingstar is an Incredible High-Quality White Flesh Peach That Ships and Stores Very Well • Ripens Before Cresthaven season or 20 Days After Red Haven • The Flesh and Skin is is Firm Enough to Pick, Pack, and Ship Just Like The Other Stellar Yellow Flesh Peaches • Color is 80% Deep Pinkish-Red With a White Background Color • Size is 2 3/4" and up when properly thinned • It Has a Unique Wonderful Distinctive Full Flavor of an Extra Sweet but Slightly acidic White Flesh Peach Plus a Penetrating, Pleasing Aroma • Flesh is White, Tinged with Pink and Does not Brown • Completely Freestone • Blushingstar has very Hardy Buds and Trees so many years it must be thinned heavily to achieve desired size • Tree is open growing with Some Resistance to Bacterial Spot New fresh market peach varieties – W. Shane

PF 23 +14 RH

Attractive, 80% dark red skin on yellow back, very good firmness retention, few pickings, little or no split pits, decent to good fruit size potential, semi-showy blossoms bloom between showy & non- showy types poor excellent Red Size Splits Yield v Flavor Firm Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF 23 +20 RH New fresh market peach varieties – W. Shane Mid to late season fresh market peaches Older peach Newer peach Newest peach varieties varieties varieties Cresthaven 24* Allstar 18 Beaumont 18 ^ Redskin 26 PF 24-007 18 PF Lucky 24B 20 ^^ Glowingstar 24 PF 24C 20 ^^ PF 22-007 20 ^^ Madison 28 PF 25 28 PF 27A 30 ^ Harcrest 28 PF 28-007 32 ^^ Fayette 28 PF 35-007 35 ^^ Encore 31 Autumn Star 37 ^ Laurol 41 PF 36-007 40 ^^

* = harvest relative to Red Haven, - = days before, + = after ^ = early evaluation, ^^ = very early evaluation Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF 24-C cold hardy +24 RH New fresh market peach varieties – W. Shane PF 24C Cold Hardy

+ 24 RH

poor excellent Red Size Splits Yield Early evaluation Flavor Firm Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF 24-007 +20 RH New fresh market peach varieties – W. Shane PF 24-007 & Glowing Star

poor excellent Red Size Splits v Yield v Flavor Firm PF 24-007 +18 RH

poor excellent Red Size Splits Yield Flavor Firm

Glowingstar +24 RH Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF Paramount 24 +24 RH Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF 25 +26 RH Hittin’ Labor Day

Late season varieties are being improved as farmer’s markets still are going strong and customers want flavor! Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF 27A

+30 RH New fresh market peach varieties – W. Shane PF 27A

+ 30 RH

poor excellent Red Size Splits Yield Flavor Firm PF27A New fresh market peach varieties – W. Shane

poor excellent Red v Size Splits Yield Flavor Firm

PF 28-007 +32 RH Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF Fat Lady TM patented as PF 35-007 +35 RH New fresh market peach varieties – W. Shane

poor excellent Red v Size Splits Yield Flavor Firm

PF Fat LadyTM +35 RH patented as PF 35-007 New fresh market peach varieties – W. Shane

poor excellent Red Size Splits Yield ? Flavor Firm

Autumn Star (FA-42) + 37 RH Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF Legendary

+42 RH Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF Legendary

+42 RH Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF Big George

+50 RH New fresh market peach varieties – W. Shane

poor excellent Red v Size Splits Yield ? Flavor Firm

PF Big George +56 RH Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF Ka-Ching Nectarine

+50 RH Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF Fashionably Late

+54 RH Paul Friday’s Flamin’ Fury® Peaches

PF Fashionably Late

+54 RH Wrapping peaches up!

• Don’t bet the farm on any one new variety. • First, try a few trees of every variety that interests you. • Look at them for at least three fruiting seasons before expanding the planting greatly. • Expect to find a new bad characteristic every year! Be glad when you don’t. • Remember the 1 in 10 rule. Pear, Peach, Nectarine, Cherry & Stone fruits rootstocks.

With the exception of cherry, dwarfing rootstocks are not yet commercially available or proven in commercial orchard systems for stone fruits or pears.

Cherry--- Gisela® rootstocks--- Gi 5 (~50%) and 6 or 12 (~70%) are worth the investment versus standard Mazzard or Mahaleb. 200-400 per acre. Earlier production. Similarities in production methods and systems to dwarf apple orchards. Most Gisela® roots will require some support.

Pear--- OHxF 87 or 97--- Best semi-standard, precocious and productive roots. OHxF 333 and other semi-dwarfs really meant for backyard orchardists at this time. High density systems have not been developed yet.

Peach & Nectarines--- No dwarfing roots available. Bailey is highly recommended if available, but don’t be afraid of any of the other peach seedling roots--- Lovell, Halford, Tennessee Natural, Stark’s Redleaf. AVOID WET FOOT SYNDROME.

Plum & Apricot--- Typically available on Myrobalan, Marianna, peach or apricot seedlings. Learn to live with them as that’s all we got!

Krymsk® rootstocks--- Becoming more available for testing. May have better adaptability to specific soil conditions where conventional roots may not work as well. Some dwarfing. Peach Tree Availability

• Hilltop and C&O Nurseries quit peach production in 2011. Columbia Basin Nursery will be discontinuing their business in 2014. • Van Well Nursery & Willow Drive in Washington, Dave Wilson, Fowler & Sierra Gold in CA. • Adams County & Boyer on the East Coast • Stark Bros, Freedom in the Midwest. Let’s go onto apples! My daughter Valerie, who accompanied me this October to Washington and Oregon and was the “official photogragher”. “New” Apple Varieties

• Still relying mostly on the old formula of “redder is better”. • Most new genetics are being clubbed, with “royalty” schemes that essentially limit production to larger growers/handlers. • Some varieties being released by private/public partnerships (university breeding efforts) are being restricted geographically.

Blondee® Zestar!® A “golden gala”--- Gala season. Late summer in Paulared season. Very dense. Should store well. Sweet-tart. Good eating Well flavored. Coming back for a second look. Will it be marketed as a “Golden”? Flamin’ Early Red™ It ripens 2 weeks before Honey Crisp. It has excellent texture, color, sweet flavor and is a consistent bearer. The tree is naturally spreading and bears fruit on both spurs and tips. It's origin was a very heavily laden spury sport of Mollies Delicious. It has remained stable after 3 generations of propagation and 25 years.

RubyMac® Sport of LindaMac® that is more fully colored all over and earlier coloring. Has improved McIntosh look than LindaMac®

Gala Are we red enough yet?

Gale Gala®--- One of the best of the “redder” strains. A Pacific Gala®---Still a great strain in my darker shade than Pacific, but doesn’t ever seem to get book that retains that “Gala” glow. “black”. May be less prone to stem cracking. Lots of good choices out there, with new ones still coming on.

Jonagored Supra® Red Jonaprince® Early A good choice to meet the “sweet tooth” market early in the season. Good flavor and keeping quality, but not meant for long-term storage. More strains coming out all the time--- most are look-alikes. Meant to put the dollar in your pocket, earlier in the season!

Auvil Early Fuji® September Wonder® Fuji Main Season Fuji A revolution in redness! Original BC #2 Fuji Myra Red Fuji® Muddy background color Improved red, but still a little muddy

Aztec™ Fuji is where its at! Honeycrisp™ The patent is now off--- so the race is now on for “redder”strains. Hence Royal Red® Honeycrisp® (Willow Drive) and Firestorm® Honeycrisp (Cameron) Still the most difficult apple to grow. EverCrisp® Apple Will this one become the best thing since sliced bread? Only time and the marketplace will tell. SnowSweet® Suffers from “gender” identity. Doesn’t really fit into a category. Colors late--- wait for the red. Disease Resistant Varieties

• “Co-op” varieties • New ones from Europe--- many being “clubbed” by Washington handlers. • Rezista® varieties • Scab-resistance is the most dominant trait. • Fire-blight can be a big problem still. • Not many seem to fit into a category such as “Gala-like”, “Fuji-like”, “Honeycrisp-like”, etc. New and Old

CrimsonCrisp™ ‘Co-op 39’ cv. GoldRush ‘Co-op 38’ cv. A “Gala-like” one? Mid-season. A “Golden” for the very late season. Best sold when it develops full flavor. Rezista® Goldstar WineCrisp™ ‘Co-op31’ cv Interesting lemony flavor. “-like.” Keeps well, but bitter pits. From University of Illinois Fire-blight susceptible. Too new to know all its faults . “Club” varieties! To “club” or not to “club”. That is the question! Pink Lady®” type clubs: – Easier to get into them. – Mostly marketing restrictions. – Moderate royalties. – “Maslin” cv.--- a new early “Pink Lady® – Can only be procured on special order and approval by “Pink Lady” and the nurseries. SweeTango® Ambrosia® Jazz® Pacific Rose® …………………… • Most of us are little guys and we can’t get’em! • The idea of a managed variety makes sense. • Breeders and discoverers want more return on their investment. • Growers want to maintain higher returns. • How much is just plain greed? • How many can survive the cut! • How much money will be lost? • Who is going to lose the money?

Geneva® rootstocks

Geneva® series rootstocks starting to be introduced in the 1990s. • Generally fire-blight immune or resistant. • Generally phytophthera resistant. • Tend to show good success in re-plant sites. • Problems with some releases being wrong. • Nursery friendliness is a big issue! • Difficulties in the production by the rootstock companies. • Tissue Culture will help.

Newer Geneva® roots Still very much in the “works” and unproven. Very limited production at the rootstock nurseries. Essentially no speculative budding at the nurseries. Join the waiting list!

In the “9” class--- (25-40%) In the “26” class (40-50%)

• Geneva® 11 --- available • Geneva® 16 & Geneva® 11? • Geneva® 41--- hard to get • Geneva® 214--- not available • Geneva® 16--- on its way • Geneva® 935--- hard to get out. Virus sensitive--- must • Geneva® 202--- hard to get use only certified wood. • Geneva® 222--- not available

Geneva® 30 & other Semi-dwarf Geneva® 210, 890 & 969 Geneva® 30 proves fire blight immunity in 2000 in Michigan versus EMLA 7. • G. 30 is not nursery friendly! • Liner losses in the field can approach 30%. • Willowy, thorny, brittle! • Poorer bud takes? • Crooked liners. • Poor availability--- only by contract or pre-ordering. • Rootstock producers don’t really like it. • I believe it will remain a minor player.

• Geneva® 210, 890 & 969--- so new they are not really available for testing yet that I know of. Unknown characteristics in the rootstock and fruit tree nurseries.

Dwarfing Geneva® Rootstocks: the learning curve is steep!

My impressions: Rootstock and fruit tree nursery concerns and 1. There appears to be two types of impressions: characteristics in the nursery: 1. Demand far exceeds available supply of Upright types- G. 11 and G. 202. Maybe not as rootstock. brittle of a bud union or root as G. 30, 41, or 935. 2. More difficult to produce in the layer beds. Floppy types: G 41 and G 935. Looked like the 3. Tissue culture should be able to produce rootstock was more brittle and the bud union was good quantities but at a higher cost. more susceptible to blowing out. 4. Potential for hard/soft wood cuttings. 2. Short shanked tissue culture trees--- what 5. Much more labor involved in the fruit tree will the grower think and how will they perform? nurseries at this time. 3. None of the nurseries have really started 6. Losses higher than other common to price them out realistically at this time--- still rootstocks. learning how to deal with them and accepting 7. Have been “hyped” too much at this time higher than normal losses. by their promoters, creating more demand 4. Almost all Geneva® roots are contracted than suppliers of the rootstocks can fulfill. out a year or more ahead. We are still years away 8. Misidentifications of some of the Geneva® from every meeting demand. releases has cost them plenty. 5. The Geneva® royalty picture keeps 9. The nurseries will learn to grow them, but changing--- 16 % to 20% to a flat $.25 will have to charge accordingly based on The grower eventually pays the bill. their experiences and the extra costs involved.

I saw this on several of the Geneva rootstocks. My question is whether it is an incompatibility issue or just a EMLA 26 swelling type issue?

Nurseries are going to likely lose Tiburon® as a feathering agent, and are looking at new ones. Geneva® may be the best thing since sliced bread BUT when the nurseries finally do an actual cost analysis of producing Geneva® trees, I predict the prices will be several dollars higher in the future! The New Nursery Reality!

Don’t miss the bus! Why trees are getting harder to find! Nurseries are farming a crop just like fruit, with just as many potential downfalls. They are reducing their risk, just like everyone else is.

Speculative Budding Contract Growing • Same overhead costs as contract growing. • Same overhead costs basically for contract • Higher costs for budding a smaller number of growing as speculating. trees per variety rootstock. • Lower costs to bud a larger block of a variety. • Usually higher percentage loss in field or • Lower losses in the field because you have a from trees that don’t make the grade. larger block of the same variety to deal with. • Unknown sales --- it is a guessing game! • Known sales--- after all they are contracted. • Most nurseries need to sell 80-90% of their • Known sales--- after all it likely is the “hot” trees to make a profit. variety on the market. • Bigger burn piles! • Large orders & large block of the same • Smaller orders are more expensive to handle. variety/root combo are cheaper to bud, • Higher overhead for maintaining more maintain, dig, store, and ship. varieties in scionwood blocks. • Fewer varieties to maintain in scionwood • Worry factor! block, and less licenses to deal with. • May not be a salesman involved to pay in the really large contracts. • Smaller or NO burn piles in the spring. • Worry factor! What to do!

Plan your plantings a year or more ahead.

Contract if you can--- 1000 or more per variety / root. Do it NOW through this Spring for 2014 delivery. Get first crack at well-feathered trees. Get first crack at your choice of dwarf roots. Get your ONLY chance for Geneva® roots. Get your ONLY chance for something that is “odd” or “off-the-wall”.

Pre-order at least a year ahead if you are not absolutely sure of your needs. Do it NOW for Spring 2013. Things are already sold out.

Working through a broker can often help take the grief out of trying to find the material, as they usually work with many of the best sources.

FastFruitTrees™ • Still a developing technology. • Won’t replace conventional trees. • Targeted to smaller orders of custom budded varieties. • Keeps me out of trouble, I think! Otherwise, I would spend more time in the bar. Moser Fruit Tree Sales, Inc. Matt Moser 5329 Defield Road, Coloma, MI 49038 Toll Free 800-386-5600 FAX 269-468-6510 www.ForFruitTrees.com www.MosersNursery.com www.TheNewFruitGrower.com