Thanks to a total makeover, the Cornell Fruit website (fruit.cornell.edu) makes it even easier for commercial fruit growers to find the information they need.
“We’ve totally reorganized and updated the site – adding new content, plus making it a more useful portal to information that will help growers stay profitable while protecting the environment,” says Juliet Carroll, Fruit IPM Coordinator for the New York State IPM Program. Carroll led a team of Cornell faculty, Extension educators and others who revamped the site.
Three sections – tree fruit, grapes and berries – help growers quickly zero in on what they’re looking for. Each fruit section covers production, pest management and post-harvest topics.
“We’ve also made key resources – those growers use most often – very easy to find,” notes Carroll. These include Cornell’s pest management guidelines, organic production guides, food safety information, farm labor resources and more. Growers can find resources on marketing, business management, labor and worker safety, enology and value-added opportunities for all crops through dedicated web pages.
To help growers stay up to date, the site features a new blog-driven news and events section and listings of newsletters available from local and regional Cornell Cooperative Extension fruit programs.
“We also worked with the New York State Horticultural Society to extract more than 200 articles from the New York Fruit Quarterly journal dating back to 2000. And we link to those individual articles from appropriate sections of the website,” notes Carroll. The site makeover was made possible, in part, by a Smith-Lever grant and Cornell Cooperative Extension.
“Whether you are a new or experienced grower, if you are looking for a ‘one-stop shop’ for information, this site is the place to start,” she adds.
More information:
- Craig Cramer, Communications Specialist, Dept. of Horticulture: cdc25@cornell.edu, 607-255-5428
- Juliet Carroll, Fruit IPM Coordinator, NY State IPM Program: jec3@cornell.edu, 315-787-2430