Horticulture Notes June 2009

Cut flower and foliage sales from Northern Ireland producers have been rising since 2003.  Such a healthy market interest in acquiring locally grown flower and foliage produce gives opportunities for increased production.  Training courses and events are planned for the current year and you can access details of these, plus technical information and availability listings through our recently added web pages on the DARD Rural Portal. Log on to http://www.ruralni.gov.uk and follow the link for ‘cut flowers and foliage’ on the home page.  From there, you can click onto any section of interest, for example ‘cut flower courses and events’.

The two hundredth birthday of the Bramley apple was celebrated at the AFBI Manor Estate and the Country Park, Loughgall last month, with the ‘Armagh Bramley Blossom Fair’ on 8 and 9 May.  Support from the sector, its associated organisations and the visiting public was excellent, so congratulations to all concerned.

Unfortunately, the season has been rather less favourable for the 2009 Bramley crop.  Rain, hail, wind and low average temperatures over blossom time mean that pollination was not assured, while at least six apple scab infection periods were recorded through April and May, in conditions that made tractor operations almost impractical.

Growers can take heart from the fact that there should be no more than four scab spray dates left in their programme.  Good spray practice will have been especially relevant this year:

Please don’t let your guard down at this stage, since an existing scab infection can persist in rainy weather via conidial spores.  A clean orchard by July greatly reduces the level of overwintering scab for next year.