- COMPTON, W. COWGILL
DWARFING CHERRY ROOTSTOCKS / CULTIVARS EVALUATION
Established in 1995. Sweet cherries are a highly prized commodity that could provide an additional
source of revenue for commercial fruit growers in New Jersey. Sweet cherries are a vigorous growing
tree reaching 25 feet in height. Only a dwarfing rootstock will enable this highly valued crop to be
grown in NJ. Recent introductions from two breeding programs in Europe are being evaluated for the
adaptability to sweet cherry production in North Jersey in conjunction with cultivars that show promise
for commercial production in the east. Bacterial Canker has become the primary concern for the block.
An outbreak of Canker in 1998 has forced us to alter our management practices. A series of Bordeaux
sprays have been initiated in the fall and pre-bud dormant periods to control Bacterial Canker. The
humid conditions of the Northeast have also caused Bacterial Leaf Spot to be a disease we need to be
conscious of.
The dry conditions that persisted throughout the month of June made for ideal weather to properly
mature cherries. Roughly 1% of the crop suffered skin cracking, with a total 2-3% of the early crop
suffering from bird damage, while some of the later harvests have those numbers in the 5-7% range.
Hartland appears to be consistently the healthiest and most precocious variety in the block, with
Hartland on Gisela 7 (148-8) attaining the highest yields in this 1stseason of cropping. Supported with
Snyder Farm local needs grants.
- COWGILL, J. COMPTON, W. TIETJEN, M. MALETTA, N. VINCENT, G. DONATO
TART CHERRY CULTIVAR EVALUATION
Established in 1998. Montmorency is the standard Tart Cherry cultivar that is grown in the east, and
the only one recommended for New Jersey. Though it is a good variety, Montmorency does have its
drawbacks, which includes virus susceptibility. The introduction of new cultivars into the industry
allows for possible diversification by growers to improved cultivars. New selections from nurseries
are being evaluated for their performance as compared to Montmorency. Trial expansion is expected to
include advanced selections from some of the nations breeding programs.
J. COMPTON, W. COWGILL
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ASIAN PEAR HERBICIDE EVALUATION
An off farm herbicide trail was established at Pittstown Fruit Farms in Franklin Township, Hunterdon
County, NJ in 1996. Annual applications of twelve treatments continued through 1999. The trial was
to establish the safety of a range of standard tree fruit herbicides on Asian Pears in North Jersey. The
most effective combination to date has been a combination of Roundup[!], Solicam[!]DF, Princep[!]4L
and Sinbar[!]80WP applied annually in the spring. The four-year study has concluded with the final
application being applied in the spring of 1999. Data is being compiled for publication.
B. MAJEK, W. COWGILL, J. COMPTON
TYPY[TM]PLANT GROWTH REGULATOR STUDY
An off farm trial was established at Pittstown Fruit Farms in Franklin Township, Hunterdon County,
NJ in 1999 to evaluate the Plant Bioregulator (PBR) Typy[TM]in a randomized study with Promalin®
PBR for increasing calyx elongation in Red Delicious apples. Pittstown Fruit Farm, Inc. provided a 10
year old row of Red Chief®Red Delicious on M 26 for the experiment. This trial was also conducted in
a randomized complete block design containing seven replications with single tree treatments.
An increase in the L/D ratio (calyx elongation) was attained with the use of both GibberellinsA6-
benzyladenine containing compounds as compared to the Untreated Control in this trial.4A7 +
- COWGILL, J. COMPTON, G. DONATO, G. LEE
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