5-17 IAN Parma Fruit

Irrigation research at Parma bears fruit. Those are the words from Matt Grieshop a scientist involved with orchard irrigation. Consumer choice, always a fickle commodity, is becoming a more rapidly moving target for orchardists, particularly apple producers. Modern grocery stores carry multiple apple varieties to cater to customers’ tastes.

At the University of Idaho Parma Research and Extension Center, research begun 23 years ago on the best ways to irrigate and deliver nutrients to apple trees is bearing fruit.

Professor Essie Fallahi there began the study to find ways to produce the highest quality fruit, reduce water use, and ensure the trees fully use applied fertilizers to protect water quality and save growers money. It turns out the irrigation strategies paired with high-density plantings and new tree canopy designs speed harvests, too. Dr. Fallahi recently showed growers his latest experimental high-density plantings of Fuji apples. Growers learned that the orchard began producing saleable fruit last year, which means growers began to recoup their investment in the orchard’s second year.

 And the orchard is expected to reach peak production in the fourth and fifth years after planting. The majority of apples are high quality, packable fruit, Fallahi said. The rapid return on investment allows apple growers to recover the high costs of orchard planting early and to replace varieties quickly to respond to markets.