Location: Plant Genetic Resources Unit (PGRU)
Project Number: 8060-21000-033-001-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jan 1, 2022
End Date: Aug 31, 2024
Objective:
The proposed project has been developed to support the organic apple industry and to address legistlatively defined goals for the National Institute for Food and Agriculture Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative including Goal 1. Facilitating the development and improvement of organic agriculture production, breeding, and processing methods. The Geneva® apple rootstock breeding program is the only breeding program in the world that has delivered organic management friendly rootstocks in the world by providing apple rootstocks that are resistant to crown rot, fire blight, wooly apple aphid. The proposed project would support and enhance the breeding and selection of apple rootstocks under organic management.
Objective 1: Leverage existing apple rootstock trials under certified organic management to determine best rootstocks for apple growers among newly released and unreleased advanced test selections from the Geneva apple rootstock breeding program.
Objective 2: Determine rootstock traits related to performance under organic management especially ones that affect nutrient uptake efficiency of apple rootstocks.
Approach:
ARS intends to leverage apple rootstock field trials under organic management in New York state that feature newly released genotypes and advanced selections in the breeding program to understand their productivity performance in relation to innate nutrient uptake potential. This knowledge will enable ARS to select/recommend new rootstocks for organic production as well as begin to develop more accurate nutrient management recommendations for organic growers in the Northeast.
