1. Recent Trends in Organic Tree Fruit Production: 2001 David Granatstein Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Wenatchee, WA www.tfrec.wsu.eduwww.tfrec.wsu.edu “Organic & Integrated” Organic pears near Chelan, WA

2. “Which half of the world will starve if we switch to organic farming?” Earl Butz, former US Secretary of Agriculture

3. Encouraging Trends Consumer trends around “wellness” Increased organic food sales and availability More public interest in food system, ecosystem services, role of ag in society More public and private support for organic farming More regulatory certainty (USDA National Organic Standard) Organic = “GMO free”

4. Organic food sales in the US Source: Organic Trade Association

5. Segments of total population by environmental attitude (%) TN = True NaturalsAH = Alternative Healers OV = OverwhelmedUC = Unconcerned NGM = New Green YR = Young Recyclers Mainstream(Hartman, 1996)

6. Concerns More tree fruit growers and acres, domestic and foreign - More supply than demand right now ? “Industrial” organic More scrutiny and criticism of organic Convergence of conventional and organic on the farm

7. Estimated World Organic Apple and Pear Acreage - 2001 Certified Acres ApplePear U.S. 17,5722,798 Canada 800 60 Europe* 8,6753,665 South America 1,385 932 New Zealand 2,873 163 Total 31,005 7,618 China ?? * Europe data from 2000

8. ApplePearCherryAll fruit WA 65401308 303 8436 CA 4529 842 179 8662 AZ 2800 -- 30 2830 CO 1535 100 133 1023 ID 503 -- -- 506 OR 350 500 25 1180 Others 1015 48 57 1198 Total US17,2722798 72723,835 WA trans. 3411 642 280 4408 U.S. Organic Tree Fruit Acreage - 2001

9. Cert.Trans.Total Apples6540 34119951 Pears1308 6421950 Cherries 303 280 583 Apricots 49 4 53 Peaches 126 31 157 Nectarines 57 26 84 Plums 54 14 68 Total 8436 4408 12844 Organic Tree Fruit Acreage in WA - 2001

10. Organic Apple Acreage in Washington State Alar Pheromone MD

11. Organic Pear and Stone Fruit Acreage in Washington State

12. Organic Pear Acreage in Washington State

13. Organic Cherry Acreage in Washington State

14. Annual Changes in Organic Apple Acreage – Washington State

15. Organic Orchard Acreage as a Percent of Total Washington Orchards ApplePear 19960.681.49 19970.961.68 19981.051.84 19991.361.87 20002.482.54 20013.905.27 2001 (C+T)5.927.86 Based on USDA-National Agricultural Statistics for bearing acreage

16. California Organic Tree Fruit Trends * * Data source changed to CDFA

17. WA Organic Apple Acreage by Variety 2001

18. WA Organic Red Delicious Acreage

19. WA Organic Pear Acreage by Variety 2001

20. WA Organic Apple Prices ($ per box FOB) Source: Washington Growers Clearinghouse

21. WA Organic Apple Prices ($ per box FOB) Source: Washington Growers Clearinghouse

22. Price Trends Org Con v Red Delicious Golden Delicious Org Conv

23. Price Trends Granny Smith Braeburn Conv Org

24. Price Trends Fuji Gala Org Conv Org Conv

25. WA Organic Pear Prices ($/box FOB) Source: Washington Growers Clearinghouse

26. Price Trends Bartlett D’Anjou

27. Price Trends Bosc

28. Keep Your Eye on the Consumer More interest in food and farm attributes outside the organic rule (labor, wildlife, food miles, energy…). ‘Beyond Organic’ or ‘Organic Plus’ Organic fruit and “wellness” – apples and antioxidants. Pre-sliced organic apples as a snack food alternative? “Taste, face and place.” Where is there more consumer loyalty – local, fresh, non-organic vs. imported organic Chilean fruit?

29. Organic Amendments

31. Effect of Compost on Trunk Growth New orchard sites - 3 year cumulative P = 0.04 R 2 = 0.22

32. Effect of Apple Replant Disease – Gala/M26, Moxee, WA Replant soil‘Virgin’ soil

33. Growth of ‘Gala’ Apple Seedlings in Soil from Orchard Blocks of Varying Age

34. Changes in Relative Recovery of Specific Microorganisms with Increasing Age of WVC Orchard Blocks

35. Cover Crops and Fallow No change in disease pressure with one-year fallow Wheat cover crops effective in reducing Rhizoctonia, Pythium, Pratylenchus penetrans; inducing microbial shifts; and enhancing tree seedling growth Effect of wheat is very cultivar-specific Rapeseed cover crop moderately effective, but soil amendment with rapeseed meal is promising

36. Wheat and Rapeseed Plantings on a Replant Site at the CV Orchard WheatRapeseed

37. Growth of ‘Gala’ Apple Seedlings in CV Orchard Replant Soil Following Planting with Different Wheat Cultivars

38. Effect of Rapeseed Meal on Apple Seedling Growth - Bioassay b c d cd a a cc d b a c bc d b b

39. Other Cultural Controls Autumn trenching nearly as effective as soil fumigation Planting new tree rows in former drive aisles also effective Alternating between apple and non- susceptible perennial crop (e.g. cherry) Plant more resilient or vigorous rootstocks

40. Trench Control

41. Recovery of Fungi from Apple Roots at CV Orchard

42. Effect of Mulches on Nematodes in Orchard Soil - Summerland, BC (Hogue et al., 1998)

43. Orchard Mulching and Cover Crops Weed control – non-herbicide; suitable for organic production Moisture conservation Fertility management, soil quality Pest management ?

44. Area and Timing of Weed Control – NY ‘Imperial Gala/M.26 Weed-freeCum. YieldCum. Growth area (ft 2 ) (kg/tree) TCSA (cm 2 ) 0 14.9 20.0 22 41.0 25.5 43 38.2 25.6 65 41.1 24.7 LSD(.05) 11.0 5.1 Planted in 1991; cumulative data for 1991-1995. (Merwin & Ray, 1997)

45. Area and Timing of Weed Control – NY ‘Imperial Gala/M.26’ Weed Control TimeCumulative Yield (days) (month) (kg/tree) 0check15.0 30May34.4 30June34.5 30July30.7 30August36.6 60Ma, Jn46.3 60Jn,Jy42.7 60Jy, Au40.5 90Ma, Jn, Jy51.9 90Jn, Jy, Au46.0 (Merwin & Ray, 1997)

46. Costs of Orchard Weed Control – New York Cost (US$/acre/yr) SystemMaterials Labor Total Hay-straw mulch300-400 145300-550 Wood chip mulch 0-20 295130-315 Weed collar TM 9800 200 10,000 1.2 mil polyethylene 150 35 185 Belton-Sarlon plastic 735 35190-770* Warren’s Weed-arrest TM 1800 35 395-1835* Herbicide strip 10 5 15-50 Mowed sodgrass 30 40 70-100 Clean cultivation 15 35 50 *cost based on 1-4 yr life of material (Merwin, 1995)

47. Wood chip mulch, Wenatchee, WA.

48. Shredded paper mulch, Wenatchee, WA

49. Alfalfa hay mulch

51. Fall-planted Dwarf white clover

52. Fall-planted Oriental mustard

53. Mustard in early April

54. Rye in early April

55. Rye in late June

56. Spray-on paper mulch

57. Orchard Mulching Trials – Summerland, BC 5 th Leaf Spartan / M.9 TCSA Roots Yield (mm 2 ) (g/0.018m 3 ) (kg/tree) 1. Check (glyphosate)1011 b 11.3 c 10.3 c 2. Biosolids (Vanc.)1052 b 16.9 bc 11.2 bc 3. Paper mulch1565 a 28.7 abc 13.0 ab 4. 2 + 31490 a 41.8 a 13.9 a 5. Comp. biosolids + 31406 a 38.7 a 14.9 a 6. Alfalfa hay1203 b 35.2 ab 14.0 a 7. Geotextile1125 b 19.1 bc 12.7 abc (Hogue et al., 2000)

58. WVC Mulch Trial Treatments compared to Control: 3-yr 2-yr 2001 TCSAYieldYld Eff. Alfalfa+63%+40% +60 (ns) Clover+30%+35%+130% Woodchip+26%+ 0%+105%

59. N Release from Clover Living Mulch A = Control + CoverD = Clover – Cover + Clippings B = Control + Cover + ClippingsE = Control (no tube) C = Clover + Cover + ClippingsF = Clover (no tube)

60. WVC Mulch Trial Weed Biomass 9/99 a a a b 9/21/99

61. WVC Mulch Trial Weed Control by Mulches – 6/1/00

64. Soil Quality Index for 1998 WSU Orchard Systems Trial – Zillah, WA Orchard System Function ConventionalIntegrated Organic Water entry0.09 0.140.17 Water transfer0.17 b 0.19 a0.17 b Resist degrad.0.14 b 0.20a 0.16 ab Sustain product.0.13 b 0.34 a0.36 a Total0.71 b 0.87 a0.86 a (Glover et al., 1998)

65. WSU Orchard Systems Trial - Zillah, WA Soil Organic Matter Content (0-15 cm)

66. WSU Orchard Systems Trial - Zillah, WA Planted 1994, Golden Delicious/M9 Tree growth and fruit yield similar across systems Organic fruit smaller, inadequate thinning Organic fruit stored better Breakeven occurred first in organic system Organic needs 12-14% price premium (Glover et al., 2002)

67. WSU Orchard Systems Trial - Zillah, WA Costs ($/acre) Variable Fixed Total 199819991998199919981999 Conv.3849 43663146 34926995 7858 IFP3682 41453315 36446997 7789 Organic3877 35113356 33717232 6883 (Glover et al., 2002)

68. Summary Organic tree fruit production biologically viable in western US Increased production, competition will continue to jeopardize prices Organic systems can be cost-competitive with conventional Many opportunities to enhance sustainability with orchard floor management

69. “Take care of the soil … … and it will take care of you.”