Organic orchards: needs and prioritiesDavid Granatstein, Nadine Lehrer WSU Aaron Avila, GS Long Co.

GS Long Organic Grower Meeting, Jan. 6, 2011, Yakima, WA

Do you work with organic orchards?

No

Yes

88%

12%

1. No2. Yes

Did you participate in this survey in December at the Hort meeting ?

Yes No

78%

22%

1. Yes2. No

How long have you been in organic orcharding?

Now in

tran

sit...

1-2 y

ears

3-5 y

ears

6-10

years

More

than 10

y...

I don’t w

ork w...

7%

11%

7%

26%23%

26%

1. Now in transition2. 1-2 years3. 3-5 years4. 6-10 years5. More than 10

years6. I don’t work with

organic orchards

What is your primary role in organic orcharding?

Owner

opera

tor M

anag

er

Consu

ltant (A

g chem

...

Res

earch

/exten

sion/.

..

Fruit s

ales/i

ndustry

... Other

39%

21%

6%3%3%

28%

1. Owner operator2. Manager3. Consultant (Ag chem,

warehouse, private)4. Research/extension/

government5. Fruit sales/industry

support6. Other

How many acres of organic orchard do you work with?

<5 acre

s 5-

10 ac

res 11

-50 ac

res

51-10

0 acr

es 10

1-500

acres

>500 a

cres

6%

16%15%

21%

15%

28%

1. <5 acres2. 5-10 acres3. 11-50 acres4. 51-100 acres5. 101-500 acres6. >500 acres

Where is most of your organic orcharding?

Upper

Yakim

a V...

Lower Yak

ima V

... Lower

Colu

mbia...

North

of I-9

0

55%

6%

26%

13%

1. Upper Yakima Valley

2. Lower Yakima Valley (below Sunnyside)

3. Lower Columbia Basin

4. North of I-90

What do you feel is the most limiting factor in organic production?

Inse

ct pes

t mg...

Dise

ase c

ontro...

Wee

d contro

l C

rop Loa

d mgt.

Soil Fert

ility

Varietal

mix

Post Harv

est D...

Roden

ts

36%

16%17%

4%

0%1%

14%11%

1. Insect pest mgt.2. Disease control3. Weed control4. Crop Load mgt.5. Soil Fertility6. Varietal mix7. Post Harvest

Disease Control8. Rodents

What is are the 3 most serious problemsyou face in organic tree fruit production?

(rank from most to least)

New

varie

ties .

..

Inse

ct manag

em...

Dise

ase c

ontro...

Tree nutri

tion

Wee

d contro

l

Cro

p load

man

a...

Fruit q

uality

Economics

Post harve

st i...

3%

28%

14% 14%

2%

12%

3%

7%

17%

1. New varieties / rootstock2. Insect management3. Disease control4. Tree nutrition5. Weed control6. Crop load management7. Fruit quality8. Economics9. Post harvest issues

Which is the least of a problem for organic production ?

1. N

ew va

rieti..

.

2. In

sect

mana..

.

3. D

iseas

e con...

4. Tree

nutrit...

5. W

eed contro

...

6. C

rop l

oad m

...

7. Fru

it quali

... 8.

Economics

9. Post

harves..

.

35%

3%4% 4%

15%

4%

12%

16%

6%

1. New varieties / rootstock2. Insect management3. Disease control4. Tree nutrition5. Weed control6. Crop load management7. Fruit quality8. Economics9. Post harvest issues

How would you compare the cost ofproduction for organic tree fruit to similar conventional production?

1. 20

% or m

ore...

2. 10

% lower

i... 3.

Simila

r 4.

10% hi

gher ..

. 5.

20% or

more.

..

3% 1%

61%

28%

7%

1. 20% or more lower in organic

2. 10% lower in organic3. Similar4. 10% higher in organic5. 20% or more higher in

organic

Do the returns from organic production offset the added costs of growing fruit organically?

1. N

ever

2. Some o

f the t

ime

3. M

ost o

f the t

ime

4. A

lway

s

3% 5%

38%

54%

1. Never2. Some of the time3. Most of the time4. Always

At what point would you consider switching back to conventional production – minimum difference between Organic and Conventional bin returns of:

10% le

ss fo

r O...

No diffe

rence

10% m

ore fo

r O...

20% m

ore 30

% more

Nev

er

7%

22%

15%

6%

21%

28%

1. 10% less for Org.2. No difference3. 10% more for Org.4. 20% more5. 30% more6. Never

If organic premiums did not cover the increased costs, how long would you be willing to stay with organic production, given the 3 year transition to re-enter?

Not

at al

l 1

more s

easo

n 2

more s

easo

ns 3

more s

easo

ns In

defin

itely

9%

19%

27%

14%

31%1. Not at all2. 1 more season3. 2 more seasons4. 3 more seasons5. Indefinitely

How would the loss of antibiotics for fireblight control impact your operation?

1. Littl

e or n

... 2.

Red

uce ac

re...

3. R

educe

acre.

.. 4.

Exit org

ani...

31%26%

19%24%

1. Little or no effect2. Reduce acres of

organic pears3. Reduce acres of

susceptible apple varieties

4. Exit organic apple and/or pear production

Did codling moth cause unacceptable damage in organic apple orchards that you own, manage, or consult on in 2010?

Yes No

62%

38%1. Yes2. No

Did you use the WSU Decision Aid System (DAS) in 2010 to help time IPM activities (sampling, spraying, etc.) in your organic orchards?

I use

it mys

el...

I don’t u

se it.

.. N

ot use

d for m

...

25%

44%

31%1. I use it myself 2. I don’t use it

myself, but my consultant does

3. Not used for my organic orchards

Was organic fruit production profitable for you for the 2009 crop?

Yes No

35%

65%1. Yes2. No

How has organic production impacted your fruit yields (e.g. bins/acre)?

1. N

o chan

ge 2.

~10 de

creas

...

3. ~20

% decre

a...

4. >20

% decre

a...

5. 10

% incre

as...

6. D

on’t know

27%

22%

15%

8%10%

17%

1. No change2. ~10 decrease3. ~20% decrease4. >20% decrease5. 10% increase or

more6. Don’t know

If you have experienced reduced yields, what are the main causes (rank in order

of most important first)?

1. A

ltern

ate b...

2. Small

er fru

... 3.

Inse

ct dam

a...

4. D

iseas

e dam

...

29%

18%22%

32%1. Alternate bearing2. Smaller fruit size3. Insect damage4. Disease damage

(e.g. fireblight, mildew)

How has organic production impacted your fruit packout?

1. N

o chan

ge 2.

~10% dec

rea..

. 3.

~20% dec

rea..

. 4.

>20% dec

rea..

. 5.

10% in

creas

...

45%

30%

9%4%

11%

1. No change2. ~10% decrease3. ~20% decrease4. >20% decrease5. 10% increase or

more

If you have experienced reduced packout, what are the main causes (rank

in order of most important first)?

1. D

iseas

e, in...

2. Small

er fru

...

3. In

sect

dama..

.

4. Phys

iologic...

5. Poor

color

6. D

on’t kn

ow

10%

27%

8%

12%

23%20%

1. Disease, including storage rot

2. Smaller fruit size3. Insect damage4. Physiological

disorders (e.g. bitterpit)

5. Poor color6. Don’t know

Does your warehouse provide you with a detailed cull analysis?

Yes No

16%

84%1. Yes2. No

If so, do you use this information to adjust your farm management?

Yes No

8%

92%1. Yes2. No

What are your main forms of N for soil application? (Choose up to 3, in order)

Feather

Meal

Fish

Composte

d chic

...

Composte

d stee

... B

lood Mea

l O

ther

11%13%

15%

7%

19%

34%1. Feather Meal2. Fish3. Composted

chicken / DPW4. Composted steer5. Blood Meal 6. Other

Do you use compost to supply nutrients?

 No

 Yes

61%

39%

1. No2. Yes

Do you use legumes in the orchard to provide some nitrogen nutrition?

 No

 Yes

38%

63%

1. No2. Yes

What is your level of satisfaction with your current options for weed control in organic orchards?

1. Very

low

2. Low

3. M

odera

te

4. H

igh 5.

Very high

40%

23%

7%5%

25%

1. Very low2. Low3. Moderate4. High5. Very high

Do you use tillage for weed control?

 No

 Yes

60%

40%

1. No2. Yes

What is your primary weed control in the tree row? (choose top 2, in order)

Nothing

Wonder

Weeder

Wee

d Badge

r

Han

d Rem

oval

Flaming

Wee

d fabr

ic O

ther mulc

h M

owing

Appro

ved herb

i...

7%

27%

9%

20%

4%

15%

4%

6%

8%

1. Nothing2. Wonder Weeder3. Weed Badger4. Hand Removal5. Flaming6. Weed fabric7. Other mulch8. Mowing9. Approved herbicide

Have you used mulching for weed control / soil improvement?

 No

 Yes

31%

69%1. No2. Yes

If so, do you experience increased vole or gopher problems due to

mulching?

Yes No

48%

52%1. Yes2. No

How would you rate the severity of your vole and gopher problem in your

orchard?

No Pro

blem A

nnoying

Mode

rate p

robl.

..

Severe

Extrem

e

7%

16%

5%

21%

50%

1. No Problem2. Annoying3. Moderate problem4. Severe5. Extreme

Rate your ability to adequately control mice (voles) in your organic

orchard.

 Ver

y low  Low

 Mod

erat

e

 High

 Ver

y high

35%33%

6%4%

23%

1. Very low2. Low3. Moderate4. High5. Very high

How do you see your organic fruit production changing over the next five

years?

1. E

xpan

d acr.

..

2. D

ecrea

se ac

... 3.

Stay ab

out ...

4. Exit

organ

i... 5.

Exit al

l fr...

6. D

on’t kn

ow

20%

9% 9%4%

7%

52%1. Expand acres under

organic management2. Decrease acres of

organic management3. Stay about the same4. Exit organic

production5. Exit all fruit production6. Don’t know

If decreasing organic production, choose (in order) the top 3 reasons why.

Low prices

Too much

risk

Can

’t contro

l ...

Dro

p in yi

elds

Reg

ulations,

p... N

ot pro

fitable

Other

producti

... H

i cos

ts O

ther

16%

10%

16%

7%

5%

15%

4%

14%14%

1. Low prices2. Too much risk3. Can’t control pests4. Drop in yields5. Regulations,

paperwork6. Not profitable7. Other production

problems8. Hi costs9. Other

Choose your 3 highest priorities for organic tree fruit research. (with highest priority first)

1. C

rop l

oad m

...

2. Post

harves..

.

3. D

iseas

e con...

4. Eco

nomics

5. W

eed contro

...

6. N

ew va

rieti..

.

7. O

rganic

sys...

8. Tree

nutrit...

9. In

sect

mana..

.

10. F

ruit q

ual...

10%

3%

17%

13%

2%

21%

17%

2%1%

15%

1. Crop load management2. Post harvest issues3. Disease control4. Economics5. Weed control6. New varieties / rootstock7. Organic systems study8. Tree nutrition9. Insect management10. Fruit quality

Rank these organic-specific research needs for priority of funding (top 3, in

order):

Nitr

ogen fe

rti...

Voles / g

opher...

Spotted w

ing d...

Post ha

rvest

d... W

eeds

Fire blig

ht

22%

15%

19%21%

8%

16%

1. Nitrogen fertility2. Voles / gopher

control3. Spotted wing

drosophila4. Post harvest

diseases5. Weeds6. Fire blight

Thanks for Thanks for participating !participating !