Fruit growers considering the organic market have two new online resources to help them:
The guides provide suggestions on everything from variety- and site-selection to soil health and nutrient management. The bulk of each provides recommendations for how to manage insects, diseases, weeds and other pests using organic practices.
Funding for the guides was provided by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, and is part of a series of organic production guides produced by the New York State IPM Program.
Tim Weigle and Juliet Carroll of the NYS IPM Program served as coordinating editors for the grape guide, which included other contributors from Cornell and Penn State Universities. “We were also fortunate to have four organic grape growers from across New York State who provided their expertise in creating this publication,” notes Weigle.
Gregory Peck and Ian Merwin in Cornell’s Department of Horticulture were the primary authors and coordinating editors for the apple guide, which also included contributors from other Cornell units.
Organic guides for beans, carrots, cole crops, cucumbers and squash, peas and spinach are available at the NYS IPM site: http://nysipm.cornell.edu/organic_guide