Carolina Fruit Trees
September 1, 2008 
Despite a drought plaguing the region, it was business as usual during the 2008 International Fruit Tree Association (IFTA) Annual Orchard Short Tour, held June 22-25 in North and South Carolina. In fact, a few of the growers and researchers on the tour even referred to the lack of natural irrigation as beneficial.
The reason for this became evident during a stop at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center in the southern Appalachian Mountains near Asheville, NC. In the absence of water, a number of diseases and pests that can be very damaging to fruit crops cannot survive.
H-2A Is A-OK
According to Chalmers Carr III, president of Titan Peach Farms Inc., Ridge Spring, SC, about 95% of the peaches in South Carolina and Georgia are harvested by workers covered under the H-2A program. Several of the growers on the tour spoke highly of the program, noting that though it is expensive, it has proven to be useful. Carr has been using H-2A for 10 years, with the return rate currently at 80% to 90%.
“H-2A gives us a very experienced and consistent labor force,” he explains. “I worry about labor less than I ever did before. The program is much more expensive to use, but the quality of my product and the efficiencies in my operation that have resulted from it far outweigh the cost.”
“Growers who use the headaches and fees as an excuse, and many of those growers who complain about it, have never actually used the program,” he says. “Is H-2A flawed? Sure. But it is a program that growers in this area have been able to work with.”
A Variety Of Options
There was quite a bit of talk during the tour about the significant effort researchers are making to develop new and improved varieties of peaches. On site at Strawberry Hill USA, Chesnee, SC, owned and operated by the Cooley family, Clemson University associate professor of horticulture and American/Western Fruit Grower “Stone Fruit” columnist Desmond Layne introduced an impressive selection of peach varieties. Layne has been using the Cooleys’ orchards to run trials on different varieties to see which ones might be marketable in the future.
The Sweet Side Of Marketing
A stop at Watsonia Packing in Monetta, SC, where Joe and Jerry Watson involve themselves in packing and sales in addition to growing peaches, reinforced the power of simple direct marketing. The modest store located on their vast acres of property may seem incongruous at first glance, but it has become a major draw for business. Customers flock to the establishment, which is well stocked with all kinds of peach products, for their homemade peach ice cream.
The Watsons are a good example of how important direct marketing is for small- to medium-size growers. Though the crop aspect of their business is doing well, they are savvy enough to recognize that one bad frost or spread of disease could severely damage their fruit. So Watsonia has a back-up plan, courtesy of the wonderful peach ice cream.
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