IFTA Heads To The ‘Heart Of Pennsylvania Orchard Country’
May 6, 2013 
Members of the International Fruit Tree Association will head to Gettysburg, PA, for the 2013 Study Tour, held July 16-17. This year’s focus is on heritage and innovation, and the study tour takes attendees to the “heart of Pennsylvania orchard country.”
Growers will get an up close view of innovative practices in orchards, nurseries and the Penn State Fruit Research and Extension Center in Biglerville, PA. While in Gettysburg, attendees can explore tours and activities focusing on the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War in Gettysburg, PA.
Tuesday, July 16
The first stop of the tour will be at Three Springs Fruit Farm in Aspers, PA. Growers will learn about how the farm employs the idea of diversification, innovations in scab control, and automated pheromone traps. Bear Mountain Orchards, Inc., in Aspers, PA, is the second stop of the day. Mechanical thinning of peaches, trellising of a Fuji block and innovations in the packinghouse are among some of the topics addressed at the stop. At R&L Orchard Co., in Gardners, PA, growers will get a firsthand look at an original apple training system, “the Weak Leader Spindle Bush.” Apple training systems will be the topic when the tour swings by Kuhn Orchards, LLC, in Cashtown, PA. Growers will hear about innovation in heating and mechanical thinning at Twin Springs Orchard. GPS-guided planting system and growth habits of cultivars in the tall spindle system are among the topics to be addressed at Knouse Fruitlands, Inc., in Arendtsville, PA.
Wednesday, July 17
The first stop of the day is at Hollabaugh Bros., in Biglerville, PA, where growers will learn about the technologies inspired by the NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant and Specialty Crop Research Initiate projects at the farm. The next stop on the tour will be McLeaf’s Orchard in Biglerville, PA. Visitors to McLeaf’s Orchard will hear how Corey and Vicky McLeaf grow sweet cherries under high tunnels and how they use solar panels to help power their cold storage. At Adams County Nursery in Aspers, PA, visitors will hear about the automated tree grading system used. At the Penn State Fruit Research and Extension Center Field Day, presentations will focus on the brown marmorated stink bug and spotted wing drosophila, the science of dormant pruning in high-density plantings, and labor-efficient technologies for apple and peach production systems.
There are additional pre-study tour opportunities to visit Ridgetop Orchards, LLC, and Boyer Orchards, LLC, in Bedford County, PA, and post-study tour opportunities to visit Knouse Foods Cooperative’s Peach Glen Plant and Catoctin Mountain Orchard in Thurmont, MD, as well as the Gettysburg Wine & Fruit Trail.
For more information and to register for the tour, visit www.ifruittree.org.
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