The issue of varietal innovation is a focal topic of the 66th Fruit Farming Conference on 10 January from 8.30 in the Kursaal in Merano. Traditionally, the Alumni Association of Agricultural 
Schools (ALS) is opening the financial year for all South Tyrolean fruit growers with the Fruit Farming Conference in Merano. One focus of the conference this time -at least in the morning- is on the theme of varieties. After the opening by ALS chairman Stefan Pircher and government official Arnold Schuler, Italian marketing expert Claudio Scalise will present a market analysis of apple range development in food retail in Italy.
Walter Guerra from the Laimburg Experiment Center will then present global trends in varietal innovation. Then, Dieter Peterlin will comes over from the Weather Service, to speak on the role of weather forecasts in connection with agriculture in South Tyrol.
Organic appreciation of apples
After the lunch break, more subject-specific topics are on the agenda, as usual. The ecological enhancement of South Tyrolean apple orchards and the attempt to achieve an objective survey on organic farming are the subject of a presentation by Philip Hillebrand (advisory for orchards and viticulture) and Dietmar Battisti (Bioland South Tyrol). Christian Andergassen from the Laimburg Experiment Center will present new and innovative tree forms.
Finally, Robert Immer (advisory for fruit and wine growing) and Werner Rizzolli (Laimburg Experiment Center) will discuss how the insecticide imidacloprid will help growers to combat aphids in apple cultivation.
South Tyrolean orchardists meet in Merano on 10 January 2019