44TH ANNUAL IDFTA CONFERENCE
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pre-conference Bus Tour.   The Hart and Shelby areas of west central Michigan have sandy soils and are not far from the shores of Lake Michigan. The region is an important and diverse fruit area with apples, sweet cherries, tart cherries and cling peaches. Asparagus is also a major crop. It is an important processing area, particularly for juice concentrate and frozen products.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON, FEBRUARY 18
1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Local interest tour by bus to the Frederik Meijer Gardens, a world-class indoor and outdoor garden and sculpture park and to the Robinette's Gift Barn, a family owned and operated fruit farm market, cider mill, bakery and lunchroom with an adjacent gift barn.

SUNDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 18
Session Chair: Phil Schwallier, Clarksville Horticulture Experiment Station, Clarksville, Michigan

7:00 p.m. All You Wanted to Know about the Michigan Tree Fruit Industry
Featuring the talents of the Extension staff of Michigan State University.

MONDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 19
Session Chair: Jim Hughes, IDFTA Vice President, Picton, Ontario, Canada

8:20 a.m. President's Welcome, Dr. Steve Blizzard, IDFTA President, Valley Sweet, Tulare, California
Education Director Announcements, Dr. Bruce Barritt, IDFTA Education Director, Washington State University Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, Wenatchee, Washington

8:30 a.m. ROBERT F. CARLSON DISTINGUISHED LECTURE
How Do Apple Rootstocks Dwarf Scions
Dr. Chris Atkinson, Horticulture Research International-East Malling, United Kingdom

9:20 a.m. Management of High Density Pear Orchards
Dr. Tom Deckers, Pomologist, Royal Research Station of Gorsem, Belgium

10:10 a.m. Survival Tactics for the Apple Industry
Panel Discussion. Moderator Matt McCallum, The Fruit Growers News, Sparta, Michigan

11:55 a.m. European 2001 Tree Fruit Study Tour to France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy
Dr. Bruce Barritt, IDFTA Education Director, Washington State University Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, Wenatchee, Washington

MONDAY AFTERNOON, FEBRUARY 19
Session Chair: Kent Waliser, IDFTA Board Member, East Wenatchee, Washington

1:00 p.m. European Sweet Cherry Industry: Germany, France, Italy, Turkey
Martin Balmer, Staatliche Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt Ahrweiler, Germany

1:45 p.m. Virus Sensitivity of New Sweet Cherry Rootstocks
Bill Howell, National Virus-Tested Fruit Tree Program NRSP5, Washington State University Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, Prosser, Washington

2:00 p.m. Intensive Sweet Cherry Management Study in Michigan
Dr. Ron Perry and Dr. Jim Flore, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan

2:20 p.m. Sweet Cherry Branching Techniques
Steve Hoying, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Newark, New York

2:40 p.m. Sweet Cherry Tree Densities and Tree Training
Martin Balmer, Staatliche Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt Ahrweiler, Germany

3:25 p.m. Sweet Cherry Training Systems
Lynn Long, Oregon State Cooperative Extension, The Dalles, Oregon

3:55 p.m. Critical Concepts for Sweet Cherry Training Systems
Dr. Greg Lang, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan

4:25 p.m. Cherry Question and Answer Session
Dr. Greg Lang, Moderator

4:55 p.m. Hood River, Oregon-Site for 2001 Summer Tour
Lynn Long, Oregon State Cooperative Extension, The Dalles, Oregon

MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 19
Annual IDFTA Banquet
Featuring the presentation of awards for Outstanding Researcher, Grower and Extension/Educator, Dr. Steve Blizzard, Master of Ceremonies
6:00 p.m. Social Hour
7:00 p.m. Dinner

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Orchard Tour.
All day tour by bus will feature high density apples and sweet cherries, farm market, packinghouse/storage, Apogee trials and orchard equipment. The stops will include Bruce and Joe Rasch Farms, Sparta; Joe Klein, Sparta; Phil Brown Welding, Conklin; Kropf Orchards, Belding; Tom Rasch Orchards, Belding; and Steve Klackle, Klackle Orchards, Greenville.

TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 20
7:00 p.m. HoneycrispResearch and Extension Information, Grower Experience, Market Strategy
David Bedford (University of Minnesota, Excelsior, Minnesota), Moderator of an information and discussion session featuring Honeycrisp™ experts from around the U.S. Participants include Dr. Jim Schupp, NY; Phil Schwallier, MI; Mitch Lynd, OH; Mark Evans, MI; Bill Howell, WA; Dennis Courtier, MN; Paul Woolley, NY; Steve Wood, WI; Randy Steensma, WA.

WEDNESDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 21
Session Chair: Ken Hall, IDFTA Board Member, Poplar Grove, Illinois

8:30 a.m. The Response of Apple Rootstocks to Drought
Dr. Chris Atkinson, Horticulture Research International-East Malling, United Kingdom

9:15 a.m. Commercializing Existing and Future CG Apple Rootstocks
Dr. Terence Robinson, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, New York

9:35 a.m. Peach Rootstock Trial-NC-140 6-year Summary
Dr. Greg Reighard, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina

10:05 a.m. Apple Variety Introduction-A New Paradigm
Garry Langford, Australian Pome Fruit Improvement Program Ltd., Tasmania

10:30 a.m. Pomology 101
Dr. Curt Rom, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas

11:20 a.m. Where Are We Headed with Apple Orchard Systems
Dr. Terence Robinson, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, New York

12:00 p.m. Lunch

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, FEBRUARY 21
Session Chair: J. Bennett Saunders, IDFTA Board Member, Roseland, Virginia

1:30 p.m. Bacterial Problems in Pear Growing
Dr. Tom Deckers, Pomologist, Royal Research Station of Gorsem, Belgium

2:20 p.m. 2000 Fire Blight Epidemic in Michigan
Mark Longstroth, Michigan State University Cooperative Extension, Paw Paw, Michigan

2:45 p.m. Challenges of Controlling Fire Blight
Dr. Alan Jones, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan

3:15 p.m. Apogee and Fire Blight Control
Dr. Keith Yoder, Virginia Tech. Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Winchester, Virginia

3:45 p.m. Post Infection Apogee Applications for Fire Blight Control
Dr. Jim Schupp and Dave Rosenberger, Cornell's Hudson Valley Laboratory, New York Adjourn

Destination & Accomodations
Conference Schedule
Pre-conference Bus Tour
Special Tour - Spouses, Companions, Etc.
IDFTA 2001 Winter Orchard Tour
Registration Form
Banquet Menu

44TH ANNUAL IDFTA CONFERENCE