South African growers forging their own trials

If there’s one thing International Fruit Tree Association members have learned in their visits to growers around the globe, it’s that tree performance and the required farming practices vary widely, depending on the climate. So, it’s no surprise that South African growers have deployed their own trial plantings to modernize their apple orchards with dwarfing, precocious rootstocks and find the new apple and pear cultivars best suited to their climate. The IFTA tour of the Western Cape in December included visits to trials planted by individual growers, cooperatives and industry service providers.