Cedar Meadow Farm Can vigorous rootstock be used to manage verticillium wilt? ‘Maxifort’ How does grafting fit in with fumigation? Additive or alternative Can we reduce economic constraints through cultural methods? Plant spacing
Cedar Meadow Farm Disease ratings Data collection Mid-October Fall Fumigation ‘BHN 589’ “Twin-heading” Disease ratings Data collection Mid-October
Grafting
Scion Rootstock
Marketable Fruit Weight Y YZ Z A B LSD based on P=0.01
Marketable Fruit Weight Marketable Yield (tons/acre) Non-grafted Maxifort (Max-Non) 18" Spacing 50.13 B 58.74 C 8.61 24" Spacing 48.50 56.87 8.37 36" Spacing 40.94 A 52.13 BC 11.19 LSD based on P=0.05
Yield Dynamics P<0.01 P<0.01
None grafted
Grafted
The Bottom line… 20% increase in yield Grafted-55.9 tons/A 4,472- 25lb boxes/A Non-Grafted-46.5 tons/A 3,720- 25 lb. boxes/A 20% increase in yield
The Bottom line… 9.4 more tones per acre Or, 752 more boxes per acre @ $12.00 per box (#1’s and #2’s) = $9,024 increase Or, $1.88 per plant increase
How much does it cost to graft? Healing chamber Labor costs Grow 2 sets of plants
Summary Fall fumigation did not reduce disease incidence and had no effect on fruit yield. Fumigation should have been done in the spring. ‘Maxifort’ rootstock increased yield across at all levels of plant spacing and fumigation. Fruit size and number Similar per acre yields were seen with half the number of grafted plants. Increased spacing and ‘Maxifort’ slowed early season production. Per plant yield was increased by 4-10 lbs/plant with ‘Maxifort.
Permanent Cover Cropping System Steve Groff Cedar Meadow Farm Holtwood, PA steve@cedarmeadowfarm.com www.cedarmeadowfarm.com