On May 23rd 2023, young fruit growers from Pennsylvania and Maryland spent the day touring the USDA Appalachian Fruit Research Station in Kearneysville, WV and Catoctin Mountain Orchard in Thurmont, MD.
Dr. Tracy Leskey, USDA-AFRS Director, welcomed YGA members and provided an overview of the station’s research.
At the USDA station, researchers shared details about ongoing and future projects that are happening at the site. Current research includes breeding for climate resilience in apples, high sugars and tree structure in peaches and nectarines, and fruit quality and disease resistance in pears. Additional projects involve quantifying carbon sequestration in apple orchards, monitoring disease and insect pests in apples, and observing apple root growth and structure.
At Catoctin Mountain Orchard (CMO), young growers Katlyn and Kylie, 4th generation members of their family farm, along with their grandfather Bob Black, hosted YGA for a tour of their farm and market. CMO attracts thousands of visitors to their pick-your-own orchards during apple season every year. New additions to the farm include a bakery where visitors can pick up donuts, their most popular bakery item, as well as a new van to allow for farm tours. The hosts were also sure to share some of their production practices with the group, which included a pruning demonstration as well as a demo of a cultivator that CMO uses to incorporate high amounts of organic matter into the soil before planting any of their crops.
Nettie Hurry, YGA Co-Chair
Katlyn and Kylie, 4th generation members of the Black family, demonstrated CMO’s innovative production practices.
Contact us
Social Media
Contact us
