Blake Slaybaugh Spoke at the 2022 Mid Atlantic Convention held in Hershey, PA.
Our Vice-President Blake Slaybaugh, alongside other regional growers, were part of the panelists that spoke about the various apple root stocks available to growers and their preferences. Their discussion was featured in a Fruit Grower News article.
Blake discussed his preference in rootstocks and the ones he was found are better to work with. He mentioned how he leans toward the G.11 rootstock because it produces branches at convenient crotch angles for orchard production. Different from the G. 41 which he has found to be more difficult to manage.
“It is very site-specific and depends on horticultural practices. Bud 9 on 10- by two-foot spacings work very well if you prune them back and things like that. If you are going into a 15- by five-foot planting, one where there’s so much space, a Bud 9 can’t do that. We’re looking at Bud 10. We’ve a lot of Fuji that work really good. We’re kind of a little scared on yield efficiency, but we’ll see. We definitely kind of steer away from B.11." - Blake Slaybaugh
During the discussion Blake shared our experience with G.41 and 935s and how when planted at our farm, at least 40% of them failed.
"I will probably not plant them again at Mt Ridge Farms. That’s probably something we will not continue. I don’t see enough benefit, either. The ones that did live didn’t produce to what a regular 337 or M.29, to be honest with you. So why pay extra for it?" -Blake Slaybaugh
He went on to mentioning how Bud 9 is great for Honeycrisp but essentially Bud 10 could be better depending on what apple size you're looking for. Furthermore, he shared his interest in trying Bud 10 with Gala sometime in the future.
Summary
In conclusion, our Vice-President Blake Slaybaugh, shared only part of the rootstocks we've used and tried thus fur at the farm, what has and has not worked for us here in Biglerville, Pennsylvania. Considering all the factors when choosing fruit tree rootstocks, it has not always being an easy decision but has been critical for long-term success.
Visit the link to read the full Fruit Grower News Article!
Comments