11/25/2010. Easy Care. Hardy. Good Quality. For Landscaping

Transcription

1 V For Landscaping This presentation was sponsored by LANTA as part of the Green Industry Conference November 18 th, 2010 in Edmonton, AB Bob Bors Plant Sciences Department Popular Fruit Varieties 2010 Lists varieties an fruit season Prairie Fruit Summary 2010 Gives some key considerations about various fruit species Hardy Good Quality Easy Care U of SK Hort field plots: 30 acres fruit most at 3x normal density But growers have ~50 acres at normal density Grapes Apples Haskap //////// //////// Cherries Haskap Apples Haskap Choke Cherries Apples Misc. Haskap Saskatoons Sks 1.17 km 1

2 Fruit Breeding in Canada Haskap / Blue honeysuckles Saskatoons Seabuckthorn Black Currents Chokecherries Does it matter where a variety was developed? Plant Hardiness Zones of Canada 2000 Apples Sour Cherries Plums Pears Raspberries Grapes Strawberries Sandcherries Older branches often die back to snow line Sweet and/or Sour Good varieties: Most similar to Raspberries but different Fresh berry flavour Special zing Bad varieties or unripe: Bitter or grassy Like tonic water (Quinine) 2

3 Super hardy: Found in zones 1-6 in the wild in Canada Most Common in hardiness Zones 1&2! Problem in warmer areas (Oregon) Plants may bloom mid winter if extended warm periods occur Could this happen in a chinook? Winter bloom in Oregon happens with Russian Varieties not Japanese or Kuril types All U of SK varieties are hybrids Less likely winter bloom will happen Late blooming types under development Perhaps 5 years away Earliest varieties start blooming May 1st Can take -7 o C Berries start turning blue June 1 st Ripe by Mid to late June Does not Sucker Is not invasive Most cultivars 4 to 6 feet tall Bush shape nice with little or no pruning 3

4 Fruit eating birds are major pests Especially waxwings : flocks Robins : territorial It is the 1st fruit to ripen! Use ½ inch bird netting 1 inch netting = stuck birds Mildew: common leaf disease Especially common in Russian Varieties Bad in wet years, but some varieties have it every year Starts mid July outside but can be in greenhouses U of Sk varieties are highly resistant U of Sk variety (2008) Poor pollination = small fruit or none at all U of SK Borealis and Tundra are closely related New pollinator being released to propagators in 2011 Largest Fruit Best flavour Delicate fruit For home gardens U of Sk variety (2008) 2 nd Largest Fruit 2 nd Best flavour Durable Commercial potential 4

5 1 st varieties are from earliest breeding efforts Best of 1000 seedlings from 4 parents Now: Over 20,000 hybrid seedlings planted!!! More than 60 parents used in about 150 combinations Will grow faster and taller for more fruit sooner Some improvement in flavor Early-mid-and late varieties Fruit Quality Oversized fruit : too fragile for commercial use Dwarf and creeping bushes Oddly shaped fruit Dr. Maxine Thompson: Haskap Breeder in Oregon Plant was from Japanese seeds 5

6 Haskap Wine: grape/cherry like Saskatoon Germplasm from Native Fruit Program, cancelled in cultivars Replicated production trials Seedling Collection s began collecting cultivars 1980 s: Limited wild collection by botanists 1998 & 1999: Ads for send us berries of the best wild Saskatoons Western Canada s largest farming newspaper Resulted in ~2000 seedlings in 33 families 6

7 I visited leading Saskatoon farmers on the Canadian prairies Largest farms Presidents of grower associations Nurseries that also grew the fruit For a new Saskatoon grower manual My Chapters: Choosing Varieties Harvesting Methods Post Harvest Handling Written, Published next year? #1 Northline #2 Theissen #3 Smoky (a distant 3 rd ) Oldest variety Many insist it is the best tasting: more like almonds Sentimental value? #1 Smaller fruit, durable Shorter plants: easier harvesting & care Easy to propagate from seed True from seed! If seed from isolated source #2, losing popularity Largest size berries Tall fast growing plants Easiest cultivar to propagate in Tissue Culture Too vigourous Previous Research: Bush Shape of Cultivars Compiled from: Compact 16% Arching 21% Upright 63% Descriptions vague, often initially upright, later. 7

8 Survey of 772 Saskatoon seedlings 775 seedlings evaluated Bush descriptors from Ag Canada, PBR Office Arching 3% Bushy Rounded 17% Upright Bushy 57% Narrow Upright 23% Desirable Bush Shapes were 20% of the population Arching 3% Bushy Rounded 17% Native Fruit program noted it had disease resistance By far, best Saskatoon at U of SK in 2010 All others had major disease problems Uniform ripening True from seed Machine adapted Highest yielding family But only ok flavour 8

9 number of cultivars Previous Research: Heights of Cultivars Compiled from: Height (m) 6 5 Heights of Cultivars Compiled from: 90 Heights of 772 Saskatoon Seedlings Never pruned, 6 & 7 years old number of cultivars Number of seedlings Height (m) Height (m) Number of seedlings Heights of 772 Saskatoon Seedlings Never pruned, 6 & 7 years old Height (m) Open canopy Better airflow: less disease Better sunlight: More even ripening Better fruit quality Shorter Bushes Easier to maintain, better fit for machines and easier picking by hand Lower yield/bush 9

10 Originally released as a variety trial, Marketed by number Later given names Variety trial Originally Marketed by number Later Named Varied in characteristics Varied in characteristics New Prairie Sour Cherries 70 Years in the making Dwarf sour cherry or Tart cherry or Pie Cherry or Processing Cherry or Prunus cerasus Les Kerr Cecil Stushnoff Stewart Nelson Rick Bob Where did our breeding stock come from? Centre of Diversity Cold Hardy Mongolian cherries Breeding material for improved fruit quality 10

11 +No Winter damage Slight damage Best Flavour +Tart enough for pies +Good Size +Productive +1 st to go dormant in fall +Good Mech Harvest - 1 st bloomer - (we didn t lose any) + Darkest Cherry + Earliest to ripen + Good Flavour + Productive + Good Mech Harvest - Slight winter damage - Uneven bloom and ripening 2009 & Smallest fruit size 11

12 + no winter damage in recent years +sweeter than previous evaluations +/- average bloom time +/- only bright red one +/- most productive due to larger bush size - - not as flavourful as others in the series + Darkest Cherry + last to bloom + Good Flavour + Productive + Good Mech Harvest + No winter damage +/- Fruit so large ½ of fruit wouldn t fit in pitting machine holes (specialized use?) - Needs extra year to come into production? + Excellent flavour + No mech harvester damage + production a year earlier than other varieties +/- average bloom time +/- medium red - 25% winter damage (overproducer?) + Excellent flavour + Best firm cherry - 25% winter damage - low vigour & slow to root: - Smaller plants>poor establishment - Lower yields? Might be best for gardeners 12

13 Ease of harvesting five cherry selections in 2000 Soluble solids of five cherry selections in 2000 Fruit retention force / g Date 27 Jul 31 Jul 4 Aug 8 Aug 12 Aug 16 Aug 20 Aug SK C.J. Evans 24 Aug Soluble solids (Brix) Jul 31 Jul 4 Aug 8 Aug 12 Aug 16 Aug 20 Aug 24 Aug Date SK CJ Evans 13

14 Photo by Bob Mason Photo by Bob Mason Photo by Bob Mason 14

15 Many test selections in SK Girly names Prairie Sun Prairie sensation New in 2010 Bright red exceptionally crisp and juicy. good storability excellent winter hardiness semi-dwarf in vigour. New in 2010 Sweet good flavour texture is firm, crisp and juicy flesh colour is white ripens around September graceful appearance of tree. We have not seen fire blight or mildew on it. Alberta Hort Congress funded: 2 years of his MSc studies And gave him a small grant during his undergraduate thesis Healthy compound in red wine much higher in Vitus riperia wild grape species in Canada species we need for cold hardiness Thanks! 15

16 Possible Table and juice grapes Valiant and bet grape varities are about 50 years old! Harder Wine grapes Steadfast for gardeners low suckering = lower yield = easy care Red Mammoth & Red Bounty For fruit farmers Higher yield but spreads Steadfast Can spread out season if cut to different lengths Lower cuts delay bloom and ripening time Summer and fall possible with same variety Need to figure out faster propagation 16

17 Raspberry Breeding: Cooperative breeding With Ag Canada (Andrew Jamieson) Long term Using different/unusual species More flavour More Hardy More difficult to make large berries! 17

18 Need 1 or 2 generations Program to get more seedlings planted We have a small project: PFRA has North America s best collection Some Russian varieties are greatly improved Chokecherries 18

19 Sandcherry Fruit Yellow Sandcherry X Yellow Plum Hybrid Waiting for 300 trees to grow up Want Bigger fruit Flavour Easier to eat skin Red colour throughout Don t drop from tree as fast 19

20 This can help to delay the bloom date Some years a delay of a few days can make a difference Early bloomers in order of earliness Apricots Plums Saskatoons Haskap is an early bloomer but has frost resistance so planting on North sides doesn t matter For plants that sucker too much Suckers in east-west rows get sunshine all day long and can be more vigourous Suckers in north-south rows are shaded during the middle parts of the day We saw dramatic differences in Cherry seedling fields. ~3x more suckering in East-west rows! If plants are still making new leaves they are in danger of winterkill If still growing, perhaps you can reduce watering and fertilizing the next year to help shut them down earlier Useful for judging hardiness of new varieties and species Cessation of growth was better that leaf drop as an indicator to predict winter damage (MSc Student Qiuju Lu thesis) 2 yrs or more in the ground are a better judge for variety differences 1 st spring after establishment partial dieback common especially if summer or fall planted Greenhouse plants out of sync with season? Too much water and nutrients causing late growth? Uneven bloom indicates partial damage Random branches blooming late Not up and down variation evenly over the tree/bush Late blooming branches can repair themselves or might just die in a few weeks Late bloomers will have delayed and smaller fruit May be best prune out the later blooming branches 20

21 Crimson Passion Juliet Carmine Jewel Romeo Crimson Passion Valentine Cupid Shades of gray not just black or white, dead or alive. This observation helps to guide progress in improving winter survival How are you growing it? Is the environment optimum? Do you have the right variety? Is it just a bad year? } Side shoots form here Reduced suckering More likely to heave during 1 st winter Single trunk more vulnerable Increased suckering / bush growth habit Less likely to heave during 1 st winter Multiple trunks less vulnerable 21

22 Suckers in a line May establish roots faster Will it work on any fruit crop? 22

23 Very easy to use Messy grafting compound not needed No knots or tucks needed Buds can grow through it 23

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25 But the highest concentration: 10K ppm. It the same price as lower concentrations! Can dilute hormone concentrations to whatever you want. Longer dipping time = higher concentrations of hormones Tricky Foliar spray Faster than dipping Can deliver more hormones for species that need it example Hazelnut Second Chance for plants that failed to root No roots? just spray on more Use on plants that you have no idea what concentration to use with traditional methods Start with 5 to10% of normal dipping solution Include wetting agent and possibly a fungicide Example If: usually cuttings are dipped in 5000 ppm solution Then: Make a 250 or 500ppm spraying solution Let plant sit a while before going to mist bed 1 hour? Until dry? Also at that website: Calendar of events Workshops, Tours, Events, Festivals Articles, pictures Listing of propagators Our fruit program has been funded by: Current Technicians Rick Sawatzky Pete Reimer Ellen Sawchuk Marylee McArthur Students Tyler Kaban Eric Gerbrandt James Dawson Plant Sales & workshops & Royalties The Alberta Horticultural Growers Congress and Foundational Society + Volunteers 25