Tree Fruit and Small Fruit Jon Traunfeld Extension

Tree Fruit and Small Fruit Jon Traunfeld, Extension Specialist jont@umd. edu

College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Reasons to grow fruit • Flavor and quality, high store price, versatility, health benefits • It’s a challenge – lots to learn (science, art, and mystery) – long lived plants that require timely care and attention each season • Start small; start with small fruit

Fruit plants grown in Maryland Tree fruit Major- apple, European pear, peach, plum (Asian and European), sweet and tart cherry, fig Minor- Asian persimmon, Asian pear, lemon, lime, orange, banana, pawpaw* Small fruit (take less space, more forgiving, can be grown organically, less expensive to maintain and easier to dig up) Major- strawberry, blackberry*, raspberry, * blueberry*, grape* Minor- currant, gooseberry, jostaberry, hardy kiwi, elderberry*, beach plum*, chokeberry*, medlar, citron *Native to mid-Atlantic

Will I have to spray a lot? Pest problems (commercial growers spray): Peach (many pests) Apple (many pests) Sweet cherry Japanese plum Grape Can grow these organically: Fig Raspberry/blackberry Currant Strawberry Blueberry Asian pear Asian persimmon European plum (maybe) Sour cherry (maybe)

Plan ahead • Do I have enough room? Enough time? What’s practical for me? • Start planning one year before planting • Select a full-sun, well-drained site • Amend soil to achieve correct p. H and increase organic matter content

Picking cultivars • Select well-adapted, recommended cultivars with good disease resistance. Buy high quality plants- “certified”, “registered” • Bareroot plants will catch up to container plants • Do I need a special rootstock? • Do I need more than one cultivar for pollination?

Pollination • Most fruit plants in MD require bees to pollinate flowers and produce a crop • Native bees (pollen bees)- bumble bees and solitary bees; responsible for more than ½ of pollination • European honey bees AND native bees need our help! • Avoid or reduce pesticide use and don’t spray when flowers are open

What if my plants arrive too early? • Keep roots moist and keep plants cool • “Heel in” plants outdoors OR • Keep plants in garage or refrigerator

Hydrating an apple whip in a bucket of water for 12 hours prior to planting 3 -year old bare-root apple whip has just arrived from the nursery. Notice graft union where the scion is joined to the rootstock.

Water and fertilizer • Regular watering throughout the year is essential • Shallow-root small fruit plants are especially vulnerable to drought stress • Fertilize with 1 inch of compost each spring • Use fertilizers according to recommendations • Be careful not to over-fertilize

Weeds and mulch Grass and weeds compete with fruit plants for water and nutrients. • Use an organic mulch to – conserve soil moisture – prevent weeds and soil temperature extremes • Keep mulch away from plant crowns • Avoid herbicides

Wildlife “issues” Deer scat Vole feeding

Common problem… snake trapped in bird netting Solution: Keep netting >4 -inches above the ground

Pruning • Control size and shape • Invigorate- stimulate new fruiting wood • Improve air circulation and increase sunlight interception

Strawberry Two main types for Maryland gardeners: “June-bearing” and “everbearing” (a. k. a dayneutral)

Blackberry • Perennial crown; biennial canes • Very well adapted to all parts of Maryland • Four types: – Thorny erect (excellent flavor) – Thornless trailing (rampant canes; large fruit) – Thornless erect – Primocane-bearing, thorny erect – Primocane-bearing, thornless erect (newest!)

‘Prime-Jim’ thorny erect blackberry that bears on first-year canes in late summer through frost.

Raspberry • Perennial crown; biennial canes • Less heat-tolerant than blackberry, but ok for all parts of MD • Types: – Red, purple, black; June bearing – Red, yellow; primo-cane or “fall-bearing. ” Cut them back to the ground in late winter or early spring.

Black raspberrynew shoots (primocanes) are thinned to 6 inches apart. Red raspberry plant tied to a single wire between posts.

Tip rooting New raspberry plant from tip rooting Landscape fabric laid down to suppress weeds and raspberry suckers

Bramble problems Orange rust Botrytis (gray mold)

Cane borer White drupelet disorder

Spotted wing drosophila

Grapes • Vitis vinifera- European wine grapes (less cold-hardy than native grape and more prone to diseases) • Vitis labrusca- native fox grapes (seeded and seedless). The source of table grape cultivars like ‘Concord’

Seedless table grape cultivars ‘Himrod’ ‘Mars’ ‘Canadice’

Black rot- #1 problem in backyard grapes

Blueberry Plant a mixture of Northern Highbush and Southern Highbush cultivars Use elemental sulfur and iron sulfate to reduce soil p. H to 4. 5 Mix large amounts of compost and sphagnum peat moss into planting area Space plants 5 ft. apart

Fertilize with ammonium sulfate (21 -0 -0) at flowering and 2 weeks later. Blueberry plants produce flushes of growth periodically during the growing season.

Sensitive to environmental stress

Potted blueberry plants showing leaf scorch due to small container size, lack of water, and “hot site” Grow bags require regular watering and winter protection

Underused small fruits Elderberry- Sambucus Ribes spp. • Currant- red, black and white • Gooseberry- American, European and crosses • Jostaberry

Black chokeberry. Aronia melanocarpa

• Beach plum- Prunus maritima • Native to U. S. Atlantic Coast • Named cultivars produce larger fruit

Wineberry- very invasive! • Rubus phoenicolasius- China native that displaces native plants • Spreads by seed, suckers and tip rooting • Delicious fruit- but Do Not dig up and transplant into your landscape

Some keys to apple success: – Dwarfing rootstock- BUD 9, EMLA 26 – Disease-resistant cultivars (scions); e. g. ‘Liberty’, ‘Goldrush’, ‘Enterprise’ – Support with stakes and wire (vertical and oblique cordons work well) – Close attention to pruning, pest monitoring – Don’t over-fertilize

Apple Pruning Suggested Pruning Cuts A. Suckers. B. Stubs or broken branches. C. Downward-growing branches D. Rubbing or crisscrossing branches E. Shaded interior branches F. Competing leaders G. Narrow crotch H. Whorls From Clemson Univ. Extension fact sheet

Apple problems and growth stages Codling moth larva; eggs are laid on young fruits by adult females at petal fall stage. Silver tip stage Pink stage

Plum curculio Photo credit: U. of KY Extension Photo credit: U. of MN Extension Photo credit: NHFruit. Growers. org Photo credit: Oklahoma State U.

Commercial apple bags (paper) Commercial maggot barriers (nylon)

Bagging the fruit to protect it from codling moth. Illustration by Valerie Winemiller University of CA/Statewide IPM Program http: //ipm. ucanr. edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pni 7412 -2. html

Cedar apple rust- a common fungal disease that is difficult to control. Requires Eastern red cedar as the alternate host. Fireblight- a bacterial disease that can move through the vascular system of apple and pear, killing branches and trees.

What’s wrong with my apples? Can I eat this apple?

Surround is a pulverized kaolin clay product that suppresses and repels some fruit insect pests such as codling moth, plum curculio, and apple maggot. Photo credit: nmfruitgrowers. wordpress. com (7/2/12)

Above: ‘Olympic’ Asian pear- good alternative to apple and European pear but can have insect pest and disease problems. Quince rust fruiting bodies on ‘Bradford’ pear fruit.

Pearleaf blister mite Environmental injury

Brown marmorated stink bug injury

Peach fruits need to be hand-thinned to increase fruit size and decrease disease problems. Peach is best pruned to an open vase shape to maximize captured sunlight and fruit production.

Peach leaf curlfungal disease; prevent with fungicide application when buds swell in early spring. Black knot of plum and wild cherryfungal disease; prune out symptomatic wood to prevent spread.

Bacterial spot disease Gummosis- peach trees exude sap naturally and when stressed by insects, diseases and abiotic factors.

Brown rot- a major fungal disease of stone fruits. Dried, infected fruits are called “mummies” and must be removed from trees and ground.

Peach tree borer (PTB) larva feeding on cambium. Sap mixed with frass (sawdust-like excrement pushed out of entrance hole by larvae) indicates PTB presence.

“Portable” fig in ½ whiskey barrel is moved into garage for winter rest. Protected Baltimore City fig with Southern exposure.

Shrub form with multiple fig stems pulled to center, tied and covered for winter protection. Same plant during growing season.

Resources • Grow It! Eat It! http: //www. extension. umd. edu/growit – We have all types of practical food gardening tips and information. Check out our popular blog! • Home and Garden Information Center http: //www. extension. umd. edu/hgic – Here you will find factsheets, photos, and videos. You can also subscribe to the free monthly e-newsletter. – We answer gardening questions 24/7…just click “Ask Maryland’s Garden Experts” • Maryland Master Gardener Program http: //www. extension. umd. edu/mg – Consider becoming a trained MG volunteer!

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