045: J. Cline Ph.D. & D. Plotkowski | Pomology Cider Research, Canada

Dr. John Cline and Derek Plotkowski chat on the study of pomes, i.e., Pomology and their current research on cider apples. They are based at the University of Guelph in Ontario Canada.

Ep 45 Pomologist John Cline — John Cline

Pomology and Cider in Ontario

The Ontario Craft Cider Association approached Dr. Cline looking for access to cider varieties and to get an understanding of how they would grow in Canada.

Cline and Plotkowski, are researching the horticultural aspects of growing these cider varieties in Canada, such as;

How productive are they?
What might be the issues facing the cider apple trees selected?
How to they work with the root stock M9?
What are their disease and insect susceptibility?
How prone are they to winter injury in Canada?

Apples and Cider in Canada – Research

The results of this research and starting data should begin to show preliminary information in 2017.

Says Dr. Cline, “In Canada apples are second to blueberries in terms of fruit crops. In terms of tree crops they are number 1”

Ep 045 Derek Plotkowski researcher — Derek Plotkowski

Derek is working towards his Ph. D. in pomology. He studied previously at Cornell University in New York State.

While in France, he took a “Terroir Management” course. Go to 43 minutes in to the start of this conversation.

“When you are taking about terroir you are talking about a very specific spot” – Derek

What is the difference between a young tree vs an older tree?

Between 1-4 years, the fruit is softer and apples do not store as well

The goal is to have trees producing more fruits and yielding a higher crop load on the tree and consistent size.

The pomologist are studying, young trees grown in a high density orchard: They take leaf samples (mid July) to assess the nitrogen concentration in a plant.

What is the nitrogen range for apple trees?

They are looking to find 2.2% nitrogen on a dry matter leaf.
If that is lower than 2.2, orchardist will work towards increasing the nitrogen for that tree.

Too much nitrogen lends to poor quality

Says Derek, “The cidermaker is taking care of the juice as a medium for yeast”