Cornell soil health specialist Deborah Aller discussed an orchard soil health project during the Cornell Lake Ontario Fruit Program’s annual fruit tour in Western New York in August 2022. She displayed soil sampling techniques during her talk. (Matt Milkovich/Good Fruit Grower)
Healthy soil is fundamental to productive orchards, but it is also a complex issue in New York’s diverse apple-growing regions. Deborah Aller, Cornell University senior extension associate and New York Soil Health co-coordinator, has spent the past four years with fellow researchers surveying and sampling orchard soils across New York to better understand regional variability and guide future soil health practices. While they’re still piecing together the big picture, early findings offer valuable insights and raise important questions for growers and researchers alike.
Highlights from the research so far:
- Soil conditions vary widely across New York’s five major fruit-growing regions
- Most growers rely on herbicides within tree rows and rarely add organic matter back to the soil
- Preliminary data suggest adding organic matter could support better soil health
- Nearly 90% of sampled soils contained plant-parasitic nematodes, but impacts remain unclear
- Some growers are experimenting with cover cropping before replanting orchard blocks
- A new project is linking drone-based canopy sensing with NY soil health data in orchards and vineyards
Read the full article for a look at where the research stands — and where it’s headed