WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST?
Seems to be a lot of rust or leaf diseases going around this year. We’re also getting quite a bit of calls about the lack of fruit. For the most part, it seems that the lack of fruit is due to last year’s abundant crop. Apple trees–regardless of frost–will tend to produce every other year or so. Commercial orchards get around this by chemically thinning the fruit earlier in the growing season. The only tree that really produced in my small orchard was yellow delicious. Anecdotally, it seems this variety–whether from grafting it onto members’ apple trees–or planting it, does seem to do well in the Catskills.
Ryan Trapani
Director of Forest Services
Catskill Forest Association