Fruit Field Day

 The University of Idaho’s Parma Research and Extension Center will host its annual Fruit Field Day on Sept. 3, when visitors can see and taste a cornucopia of new varieties being evaluated at the center.

 Hosted by fruit physiologist Dr. Essie Fallahi, the free tour welcomes everyone with an interest in tree fruit and table grapes—from large, commercial growers to home gardeners. The field day includes:??• Presentation and sampling of new fruits, including table grapes, peaches, nectarines, apples, quinces, Asian pears and other alternative crops??• Discussion of the potential of growth bio-regulators in fruit crops. What’s that? Here’s Dr. Fallahi: “It is same as growth regulators. Those are compounds that regulate growth of the plant. They are synthesized inside of the fruit but there are synthetic forms of them. Those are the synthetic materials that we have been using and then there are some new ones that we have been testing that regulate different aspects of the growth. Ultimately meaning bigger pears, bigger apples, bigger grapes? Yes. Exactly.” ??

 •The tour will also include the center’s comprehensive research in Fuji apples--and its table grape vineyards, including a new grape-canopy experiment.??

 Dr. Fallahi will discuss such issues as planting, growth regulators, pruning, thinning, girdling, pest control and irrigation.???The Parma Research and Extension Center is located about a mile north of Parma at 29603 U of I Lane. For more information, call (208) 722-6701. It begins with registration at 8:30 a.m. and concludes at 1 p.m.