UK: Key industry event for tree fruit growers announced
Growers will be provided with insights by industry experts and PhD students into research being undertaken to tackle the key challenges faced by the tree fruit industry and will include recommendations on how to implement findings in orchards.
Richard Colgan, Research Fellow at Greenwich NRI says: “We will be presenting an overview of the newly awarded project on factors that influence the accumulation of dry matter in apples. We know that for apples such as Gala, high dry matter content at harvest tends to retain better eating quality for longer, because much of the dry matter content is made up of sugars. We hope to optimise agronomic practices such as thinning and pruning techniques and methods to increase light interception into tree canopies that will maximise the eating quality of UK grown fruit.”
Some of the other research projects covered at the event will include; managing apple canker and cherry canker, pest control research on Spotted Wing Drosophila, spider mite in cherry, codling and tortrix moth in apples and pear bud weevil, as well as looking at improving the long-term storage of apples and non-invasive techniques for measuring apple maturity.
Speakers will include experts from NIAB EMR, FAST, Greenwich NRI and University of Southampton.
Scott Raffle, Knowledge Exchange Manager at AHDB Horticulture says: “The Tree Fruit Conference is a key date in the industry calendar, as we’re able to showcase the incredible breadth of critical research AHDB is funding to help address the many challenges growers face, from pest and disease management to efficient storage of fruit. We believe growers will really benefit from the fantastic research being showcased at the conference, which is of the highest priority for the industry.”
“The AHDB/EMR Tree Fruit day is an excellent opportunity for growers, advisors and others working in the tree fruit industry to get the latest updates on research and to discuss the challenges of transferring research outputs into practical advice that can be adopted on farms. Moreover, it’s an opportunity for growers to flag up problems that they are facing on their farms and discuss possible solutions,” added Dr Colgan.
The Tree Fruit Conference will be held on Tuesday 28 February 2017 at Orchards Events Venue, East Malling, Kent.
For more information:
Lauren Colagiovanni
AHDB
Tel: +44 024 7647 8781
[email protected]
horticulture.ahdb.org.uk
