Williamson, NY — The 2021 Lake Ontario Fruit Program Summer Fruit Tour will take place on Thursday, August 12, 2021. The tour will include lunch and sponsor visits at Williamson Town Park, 3773 Eddie Road, and Williamson, with a focus on the Marion and Williamson areas. Note: Pre-registration is required to take the tour. Especially important for lunch counts / seats and contact tracing. NO Carry-Ons Accepted. The registration link is as follows. Pre-registration required: https://lof.cce.cornell.edu/event_preregistration_new.php?id=1548
Note: If you would like to call to register yourself or someone else in your organization, please call or email Kim Hazel (585-798-4265, ext. 26). krh5@cornell.edu..
See also “Cornel Outdoor Conference Policy” at the bottom of this post please dress according to the weather and walking, and bring sunscreen, a hat, an umbrella, a chair, etc.
2.5 hours of DEC recertification credits are available on the tour. Please bring your DEC pesticide sprayer license. If you need DEC credits, arrive on time, sign the roster, and Will stay all day.. DEC does not allow partial credit. 
Follow the Cornell Fruit Event Sign!
Hosts Morgan Farm, Stops 1-3 – Farm – Ben Nev Leather and Magdaleno Cervantes, Morgan Farm. Stop Leader-Mark Wilt Burger.
Stop 1-Warner Road Farm, 3905 Southwest of Warner Road, Marion, NY 14505
8:00 Registration / check-in and DEC re-authentication credit sign-in. Please bring your DEC ID card!
8:30 Welcome – LOF Team Leader Craig Kahlke.
8:35 Introducing Morgan Farm – Mark Wilt Burger. Mark explains the background of the Morgan Farm business and the three places to visit today. He introduces two farm managers, Ben Nevresin and Magdaleno Cervantes.
Orchard Walk-Mark Wilt Burger. At each location, visit processes of different ages and planting densities and fresh blocks. Mark reviews the history and performance of each block and discusses “lessons learned” with Ben and Magdaleno.
8:40 Established Warner Road Farm Site – Mark Wiltberger. Overview of the establishment of the Warner Road Farm Site.
8:45 Idared / Crispin Block – Mark Wilt Burger. An overview of the Idared / Crispin block by Ben Nevlezer and Magdaleno Cervantes.
8:50 Experience of fire blight in mature orchards for the past few seasons – – Janet van Zoeren, Ben Nevlezer, Isabella Yannuzzi, Dr. Kerik Cox (Cornell University).. In this presentation, Janet presents a regional background on how fire blight emerged this season. Kerrick and Isabella will follow recommendations for the rest of the season and beyond, including updates on streptococcal resistance.
9:15 Scarf Skin Management – Dr. Kerrick Cox and David Strickland (Cornell University). Brief updates on PGR studies for managing scarf skins in the rainy season of sensitive varieties.
9:20 Fuji Block-Mark Wilt Burger. An overview of the Fuji block by Ben Nevlezer and Magdaleno Cervantes.
9:25 NY2 (RubyFrost ™) Block – Mark Wilt Burger. An overview of Ruby Frost ™ blocks by Ben Nevlezer and Magdaleno Cervantes.
9:30 Master Class Program – Cornell University, Nicole Waters. With Magdaleno Cervantes. Nicole discusses this class available on farms in the LOF area to train employees for leadership positions.
9:35 Trip to Morgan Farm Stop 2 – Ball Road Farm, 3990 Ball Road Northwest (5 minutes).
Morgan Farm Stop 2 – Ball Road Farm
10:00 Ball Road Farm Site Overview – Mark Wilt Burger.
10:05 Taylor Roma / Jonagold Block – Mark Wilt Burger. An overview of the Taylor Roma / Jonagold block by Ben Nevlaser and Magdaleno Cervantes.
10:10 NY674 (Autumn Crisp ™) Block – Mark Wilt Burger. An overview of the NY674 (Autumn Crisp ™) block by Benneb leather and Magdaleno Cervantes.
10:15 New Planting-Golden Delicious High Density Block-Mark Wilt Burger. Mark confirms the specifications of this high-density 12’x3′ processing block and some of the investment costs involved in its establishment.
10:25 Designing Processed Orchards for the Future – Dr. Terence Robinson of Cornell University. Terence discusses the optimal design for processing orchards for productivity and profit.
10:45 Travel Stop to Morgan Farm 3 – Corey Corners Road Farm, East Planting (“Siberia”) (10 minutes).
Morgan Farm Stop 3 – Corey Corners Road Farm
11:15 Overview of Cory Corners Road Farm site (“Siberia”) – Mark Wiltberger (5 minutes).
11:20 Underground Contribution to Block Reduction in High Density Orchards – Dr. Awais Khan, Cornell University. The newly funded USDA-SARE project will characterize the roots and viruses of two major rootstocks in a high-density orchard system in three regions of New York State. The results are critically analyzed to limit the role of roots in rapid decline and identify short-term, medium-term, and long-term management solutions.
11:40 Move to B. Foreman Park, 4507 Lake Rd, Williamson, NY 14589. (20 min).
Stop 4 – Lunch Stop – B.Foreman Park
12:00 B. Lunch and sponsor visit at Foreman Park.
1:30 Go to Hermenet Fruit Farm, 7017 Bear Swamp Rd, Williamson. (10 minutes).
Stop 5 – Hermenet Fruit Farm-Host Mark Hermenet. Stop Leader-Mario Miranda Sazo.
2:00 Fine-tuning new alternatives to fruit growth models and chemical thinning using Metamitron and ACC – Dr. Terence Robinson, Dr. Luis Gonzalez (Cornell University), Polyana Franceskat (Valent Biosciences), Mario Miranda Sazo.
2:15 Apply ATS Spray at Flowering / Use ACC as Rescue Treatment for Mature Gala Blocks Guided by Pollen Tube Growth Model (PTGM) – Dr. Terence Robinson, Mario Miranda Sazo, Mark Hermenet.
2:30 B.9 sophomore honeycrisp and NY-1 tree establishment, training and nutrition management.Trees produced by grower hosts and planted at 2x11ft.. In addition, there will be a brief discussion and demonstration of using the Huron platform and developing an automated steering system in collaboration with Ridge Automation LLC. – – Dr. Terence Robinson, Dr. Lyrian Chen, Mario Miranda Sazo, Mark Hermenet.
2:45 M.9 M.9 rootstock (5×13 ft planting) using Macoun, AceyMac, and Red Delicious to migrate from fresh blocks to processing blocks. – Dr. Terence Robinson, Mario Miranda Sazo, Mark Wiltberger, Mark Hermenet.
3:00 Electric mowers and precision atomizers – the future of orchard weed management? – Janet van Zoeren
3:30 Tour summary, receipt of DEC certificate.
Cornell Outdoor Conference Policy
Based on the latest guidance from Forward New York and the CDC for improved COVID-19 infection and vaccination rates, Watkins said the CCE Regional Ag Team’s outdoor field meeting (including outdoor well-ventilated barns) guidelines. We are supporting the revision. At this time. Beginning June 1, 2021, field meeting size limits will be increased from 25 to 500 in accordance with NYS and CDC guidelines. Masks are only required for unvaccinated participants and should also maintain a social distance of 6 feet during the event. The “honor system” is used to determine who needs to wear a mask and maintain social distance. All participants must sign in and provide contact information. I need a follow-up contact trace. There is no time limit for the event and meals may be served.
