To help the Northern New York apple industry with a farm gate value of $16 million, the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is funding orchard improvement research and grower education focused on improving fruit quality through systems management, precision orchard thinning, and precision irrigation techniques.
Apple grower Tom Everett says:
“Dr. (Terrence) Robinson has had trials comparing four different growing systems in our orchards since 2002. His research work has been the clearest indicator of what types of systems work best for our operation. He has calculated the best return on investment for the different systems and that has helped us and all the growers in the region.”