Browsing by Author "Smith, Alson H."

Now showing 1 - 10 of 10
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    Brown Rot on Peach and Other Stone Fruits
    Bush, Elizabeth A.; Yoder, Keith S.; Smith, Alson H. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2009)
    Describes brown rot disease, its life cycle and its effects on fruit trees and crop yields. Also discusses cultural and chemical methods of control.
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    Floor Management Strategies for Virginia Vineyards
    Wolf, Tony Kenneth, 1956-; Smith, Alson H.; Giese, Gill (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020-07-16)
    Vineyard floor management encompasses all activities related to cultivation and other soil modification, weed management, and intentional cover crop management,both between and within vine rows. This bulletin describes the various floor management strategies commonly used in Mid-Atlantic vineyards and weighs the pros and cons of those systems. Particular attention is paid to the role of perennial cover crops used both in row middles (interrows) and in vine rows (under-trellis or intrarows) for mitigating soil erosion, but also for exerting intentional competition with vines for water and nutrients in situations where it’s desirable to reduce vine capacity. This bulletin also includes information on crop species selection, establishment practices, and perennial management, as well as potential hazards associated with perennial cover crops. In addition, the physical, chemical, and biological weed control options are described
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    Growing Apples in Virginia
    Marini, Richard P.; Sherif, Sherif M.; Smith, Alson H. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020-08-17)
    How to grow apples in Virginia. Includes site selection, minimization of frost injury, variety selection, soil considerations, pollination, rootstocks, dwarf, purchasing, care before planting, spacing, first through third year care, harvesting, storing, physiological disorders, wildlife problems, and pest control.
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    Growing Cherries in Virginia
    Marini, Richard P.; Smith, Alson H.; Sherif, Sherif M. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020-09-21)
    Growing Cherries in Virginia, including origin and history of cherries, types of cherries, site selection for cherries, cherry varieties, tart cherries, dark sweet cherries, light sweet cherries, cherry pollination, cherry rootstocks, purchasing trees, establishing cherry trees, first year tree care, annual tree care, wildlife problems, growth habit and tree physiology of different varieties of cherries, pruning and training varieties of cherry trees, central leader training, open vase training, preventing winter injury, and insect and disease pests of cherries.
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    Growing Peaches & Nectarines in Virginia
    Marini, Richard P.; Sherif, Sherif M.; Smith, Alson H. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020-08-17)
    An orchard is a long-term investment and careful planning is essential to ensure economic success. Establishing and maintaining a peach planting to bearing age (three years) costs about $3,500 per acre. Mistakes made at planting often cannot be corrected; other mistakes that can be corrected could seriously jeopardize the economic success of the orchard. Because profit margins for commercial fruit plantings are small, orchards should be established only under the most favorable conditions for success. Discusses location, site selection, soil preparation, rootstocks, varieties, planting distance, tree quality and care, pollination, planting time, fertilization, irrigation, weed control, pruning, bearing trees, fruit thinning, harvesting, pest control, longevity of trees, and avoiding winter injury.
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    Growing Pears in Virginia
    Marini, Richard P.; Sherif, Sherif M.; Smith, Alson H. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020-09-14)
    The world history of pears, and instructions about how they are best grown in Virginia.
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    Peach and Nectarine Varieties for Virginia
    Marini, Richard P.; Sherif, Sherif M.; Smith, Alson H. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020-08-17)
    Peaches and nectarines have at least 4,000 varieties and a short shelf life so varieties that are harvested at different dates throughout the season need to be grown. All varieties described in this publication have been evaluated for at least five years. However, cold hardiness of these varieties has not been evaluated because there has not been a “test winter” with temperatures low enough to kill flower buds during the past 10 years.
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    Physiology of Pruning Fruit Trees
    Marini, Richard P.; Sherif, Sherif M.; Smith, Alson H. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020-08-17)
    Fruit trees are pruned to improve fruit quality by encouraging an appropriate balance between vegetative (wood) and reproductive (fruiting) growth. Annual pruning of fruit trees always reduces yield, but enhances fruit quality. Pruning increases fruit size because excess flower buds are removed and pruning encourages the growth of new shoots with high-quality flower buds. Pruning improves light penetration into the canopy, and light is required for flower-bud development, fruit set and growth, and red color development. Pruning also makes the canopy more open and improves pest control by allowing better spray penetration into the tree; air movement throughout the canopy is increased, which improves drying conditions and reduces severity of many diseases. This publication describes why plants respond to pruning and other forms of plant manipulation used to train trees. This information applies to all plants, but application to fruit trees is emphasized
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    Training and Pruning Apple Trees in Intensive Orchards
    Marini, Richard P.; Sherif, Sherif M.; Smith, Alson H. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020-08-17)
    The purpose of this publication is to describe the management of the most commonly used intensive orchard training systems. Orchard intensifcation is motivated by the desire to produce fruit early in the life of the orchard to rapidly recover establishment costs. Intensifcation is possible by using dwarfng rootstocks that control tree size, induce early cropping, and produce large quantities of fruit relative to the amount of wood produced.
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    Tree Fruit in the Home Garden
    Yuan, Rongcai; Smith, Alson H.; Sherif, Sherif M. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020-09-21)
    How to plant fruit trees at home in your garden, including the life expectancy of trees, when they bear fruit, how to care for different fruit trees, pests and control, fertilization, pruning, orchard management, buying trees, apple rootstock, bearing apple trees, rodent control, spraying, and sanitation.