Our
Organization
NSFGA | NSTFRF
The Nova
Scotia Fruit Growers' Association
Location | Board of Directors |
Grower Testing Association | Orchard Tours | NSFGA Events |
History of the NSFGA | Blair
House Museum | Membership | Contact Us
Grower Testing Association
Goals:
The Grower
Testing Association (GTA) was established by the Variety and Strains Committee
(VSC) of the Nova Scotia Fruit Grower's Association (NSFGA). The GTA was formed
to help the VSC:
1) seek new cultivars that will
best satisfy the needs of growers and consumers
2) collect the necessary
information on those cultivars, as grown in commercial orchards
3) share the
information, particularly with packers and retailers, to ensure the chosen
cultivars are aggressively marketed
These are all ongoing activities,
as the need to continually evaluate new cultivars is expected to be long term.
Strategy:
The GTA is
looking for cultivars that will increase returns because they are preferred by
consumers, and that will decrease costs of production because they are well
adapted to our conditions. We look at cultivars that are already named but new
to our area, as well as selections from breeding programs. The cultivars are
identified from the literature, travel, personal communication, tours of
research plots, or any other means at our disposal.
The GTA works closely with the Provincial Tree Fruit Specialist and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Those who sign up as members of the GTA are expected to be progressive growers who will look after their trees properly. Though cultivar performance under varying management techniques is one aspect of data collection that is important in on-farm plots, the varying management techniques should all be proper ones
.
Information Gathering:
Each year, four cultivars are chosen for planting by the Grower Testing
Association. One hundred and twenty of each cultivar, on M26 rootstocks, are
divided evenly among four GTA members. Data collected from the GTA trees
includes: total yield, pack out, tree habit, and consumer acceptance. Growers
keep track of their management practices, and the varying management techniques
are part of the study. The cultivars planted by GTA members since 1996 include:
1)
Honeycrisp 2) Rubinette 3) Gingergold 4) Arlet 5) Fortune |
6) DeCoster
Jonagold 7) Jonagored 8) Creston 9) 8S-26-50 10) Myra Fuji |
11)
S43-44-54 12) Fiesta 13) S23-06-123 14) S47-03-33 15) S47-23-100 |
Information Dissemination:
As information is gathered, profiles of the entries are generated and
compiled into annual reports that are included in the annual reports of the
NSFGA and the Production Technology Branch of the Nova Scotia Department of
Agriculture and Marketing. The Grower Testing Association will generate a
factsheet on each entry judged suitable for production in our area. The GTA will
then collaborate with the Quality and Storage and Market Development Committees
of the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers' Association to set intake standards and
develop marketing strategies for the new cultivars.