SUMMER TOUR - Maryland State Horticultural Society

Maryland State Horticultural Society 2016 Summer Tour visited two well managed family farms in Maryland. 108 members and friends attended the event. The tour showcased grower innovations in horticultural production and marketing at Catoctin Mountain Orchard in Thurmont, MD (Frederick County) and at Larriland Farm in Woodbine, MD (Howard County).

One of the highlights showcased during the tour was "Intergrated Pest Management for the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) in Orchard Crops", that was led by Dr. Tracy Leskey of USDA-ARS (Appalachian Fruit Laboratory in Kearningsville, WV. Dr. Leskey, Brent Short, and Dr. Rob Morrison explained their “Attract-and-Kill” research program to minimize pesticide usage while controlling BMSB. This strategy gave excellent control in both orchards during 2015. At Catoctin Mountain Orchard, the project used relatively small trees, while at Larriland the trees in the study were much taller. The effectiveness at both locations demonstrated the opportunities presented by this strategy, even in older orchards where it is difficult to get perfect spray coverage.

Summer Tour Gallery

2015 Summer Tour Highlights
Touring Cecil County Md
2014 Summer Tour Highlights
Touring Southern Maryland Fruit and Vegetable Farms

This program was sponsored by Maryland State Horticultural Society, University of Maryland Extension, and University of Maryland - College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Northeast SARE, and USDA

This program is supported [in part] by the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) program. SARE is a program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

http://www.catoctinmountainorchard.com/

Bob Black, his sister Patricia Black, and Bob’s family hosted us at Catoctin Mountain Orchard. Harry Black, Bob and Pat’s father, was one of the pioneers in Maryland adopting size-controlling rootstocks for higher quality. Recognizing that it continues to be difficult to control tree vigor in a pedestrian orchard on M.9, Catoctin Mountain is rapidly transitioning to tall-spindle plantings on Bud.9 rootstock. The family adapted a system to different soil types, new varieties such as HoneyCrisp, and early Pink Lady (Cripps Maslin).

http://www.pickyourown.com/

Larriland Farm is a direct-market, multi-crop farm where the Moore family grows and markets a wide variety of horticultural crops. The tour route included blueberry and raspberry plantings. In addition to fruit crops, they also grow a sizable acreage of vegetable crops including tomatoes and pumpkins. In order to market and sell these crops successfully, Larriland combines a rustic on-farm market with a sophisticated management program to handle the throngs of customers who visit the farm during the growing and harvest growing seasons.