North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Scott Smith <scott@cs.jhu.edu>]

Justin, I am growing many varieties of fruits organically in  
Maryland.  While variety choice is important, I have not found it to  
be the major factor.  All of the fruits you mention except pears have  
major problems with plum curculio and moths whatever variety you grow;  
as Lucky mentions it is hard to grow any variety organically.   I have  
had few disease problems on my apples other than fireblight; this  
disease is just as bad for non-organic growers so any apple working  
well in the area is good.  The next biggest disease problem I have had  
is cedar apple rust, and the apple hit hardest is .. Gold Rush, the  
new super disease-resistant variety from Purdue.  (apparently this  
disease is not one which Gold Rush was bred to be resistant to; also,  
other than this problem it is a fantastic apple).  The point I am  
making is the disease-resistant apple cultivars have not been  
appreciably easier for me at least.  I would say disease resistance  
matters more on plums and peaches since there is a noticeable  
difference in serious disease susceptibility.  Get peaches and plums  
which are more resistant to bacterial spot and brown rot.  For  
apricots, get varieties with proven records on the east coast, such as  
Jerseycot, Harcot, or Puget Gold.  Many apricot varieties bloom too  
early or rot and are no good here whether you grow organically or  
not.  Rootstock selection is little different for organic vs non- 
organic production.

I would recommend researching growing technique in great detail if you  
want to grow those fruits organically.  Here are my key weapons  
against pests and diseases: Surround; spinosad; dormant oil; copper  
(Kocide 3000); sulphur; lime-sulphur; fruit bagging (with ziplocks and  
with hose stockings).  Michael Phillips' book The Apple Grower is an  
excellent book on organic apple growing which covers many of these  
topics.

I am testing many varieties but only have results in on a fraction.   
At this point some varieties that have been working for me include  
Shiro, French Petite and La Crescent plums, O'Henry and Belle of  
Georgia peach, Gold Rush, Fuji, Gala, Kidds Orange Red, Wickson, and  
White Winter Pearmain apples, Kosui asian pear, and Harcot and Puget  
Gold apricots.

I would also look into some less common fruits which are very tasty  
and are much easier to grow organically: asian pears, jujubes,  
persimmons, hardy kiwis, and figs have all been successful for me with  
minimal work (except for the nasty persimmon psylla on my persimmons).

Overall, organic fruit growing in the mid-atlantic region is a large  
commitment.  Still, with the new tools available today (and more  
coming along every year) I would say you can succeed in producing  
fruit for your own consumption.  If you want to sell the fruit that is  
another matter -- the perfect-looking fruit expected today is very  
hard to achieve.

Scott


> Hello All,
> I am new to the list, but would like to inquire about knowledge  
> regarding appropriate varieties of apple, pear, plum, peach, apricot  
> for organic growing conditions in central New Jersey, or similar  
> climate.  I would love to hear from folks who know of trials, or  
> have certain recommendations of their own.  Also, any information  
> regarding more successful rootstocks would be appreciated.
> Thanks
> Justin West