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March 16, 2011. |
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And yet, whereas the
planting density in Nick’s orchard (many thousands of trees are spaced on
3’-5’ intervals with little in the way of pruning) and the lack of a
disease-management regimen have contributed to a pressing need for intense
restoration work, the mounting disease-pressure of recent years has,
ironically, afforded an unparalleled opportunity to note which varieties have
continued to perform well in the midst of extremely challenging conditions. Austin Jones, who spent
six months with Nick in 2011, paid special attention to varieties which
showed notable resistance to apple scab and powdery mildew infection. Indeed,
his observations also suggest some varieties demonstrate partial resistance
to anthracnose infection. I have attached a précis of his observations below. Austin’s work confirms
that disease-resistant varieties significantly outperform more susceptible
varieties and that Nick’s orchard is home to many such varieties which are: ·
not commercially
available ·
not available through
the National Repository Network ·
the only known
accession being grown in the S. Willamette Valley ·
the only known
accession being grown on the North American continent The severe tightening of
restrictions on sharing genetic resources in recent times means that Nick’s
collection, assembled from official and unofficial sources over the past two
decades, could not be assembled afresh, no matter how many resources an
imitator, official or otherwise, brought to such an effort. Simply put, Nick’s orchard
is a one-of-a-kind genetic goldmine. In addition to disease resistant
varieties, Nick's orchard includes a tremendous amount of other useful genetic
material: extreme late-flowering, red-fleshed, columnar, and long-keeping
fruit, for example. As Austin observes, “There is so much useful material
there, it is almost impossible to place a value on it.” Without intervention
therefore, it is clear we will soon lose one of the largest, most diverse and
useful genetic concentrations of apple diversity on earth. And, of course,
Nick’s orchard is also home to a surprising variety of grape, cherry, plum
and pear varieties. Given today’s realpolitik,
there is almost no hope of rescue assistance from a tax-funded organization –
institutional plant stewards are desperately fighting for their own survival.
Bluntly put, the cavalry aren’t waiting in the wings, and waiting on the
emergence of a magic wand is a preposterous notion. If the material in this
orchard is to be saved, a grassroots, team effort is our best, if not our
only, option. So where to begin? There
is a pressing case for duplicating a portion or the entirety of the existing
orchard on a new site. There is room on Nick’s land to do this but, of
course, such a course would presume on a buyer prepared to purchase 120 acres
in support of this cause. Do we have a million dollars and the wherewithal to
pull this off? Today, no, even as we have a commitment from Austin Jones to
move to Yoncalla to steward the land and any rescue effort should we be able
to raise necessary funding. My strong sense is that Austin is entirely
capable of orchestrating a rescue effort and managing the farm organism as a
whole should the opportunity arise. Austin is keenly aware of the
public-domain value of Nick’s collection and I have every confidence that if
we are looking for someone to oversee a rescue effort, he’s our man. It therefore seems timely
to draft the basis of an initial response we can circulate among that
rarified group of fruit enthusiasts who clearly perceive the immense value of
this genetic resource, and the threat its loss represents. Here then, is the
loose outline of a working plan. No up to date inventory of
the orchard exists. Hundreds, if not thousands of trees, remain un- or
poorly-labeled, even as there exist paper records. Inventorying and mapping
the orchard will tell us what we are dealing with, and allow us to shape the
beginnings of a coherent response. We anticipate an initial inventory could
be made by a dedicated team over the course of a weekend. A paper analysis of
those results would, of course, take longer, but would allow us to better
assess the shape of the challenge we face and, for example to prioritize the
rescue or not of particular varieties or the orchard as a whole. Members of
the Home Orchard Society may be the best, indeed the only, group with the
understanding, interest and skillset required to make an inventory. An
inventory may be a basic requirement for underpinning a rescue of any form. Austin returned to
Yoncalla for a brief two-week visit very recently. As we toured the property
in the back of Nick’s pick-up we discussed the outlines of a potential
orchard-rescue plan. Here’s what our discussion, continuing by email,
suggested: Locate
10 flat acres. Surround it with an eight foot tall deer fence. Graft each
variety onto a dwarf rootstock such as EMLA 26, Mark or Geneva 11. Once
grown, place into an orchard on a grid of 8 x 8 feet. That would allow about
680 trees per acre. At that rate 10 acres would be sufficiently large to
duplicate all of Nick's orchard. This spacing would also allow a small
tractor to make passes both north-to-south, and east-to-west, crucial for the
control of rodents and weeds such as blackberry and grass. In all, we
anticipate it would take 3 to 5 years to graft and establish a new
preservation orchard. Close examination of nursery stock would halt the
transmission of anthracnose. There already exist field resources on site to
raise and protect nursery stock, and to establish and maintain an extensive
orchard. It is difficult, though not impossible, to imagine duplicating
Nick’s orchard from a distance. I hope this document
prompts the beginnings of a serious, continuing conversation relating to
carrying on the legacy of Nick’s remarkable achievement. His work ethic (at
85, he still regularly puts in a full day’s work, carrying on into the early
hours of the morning) and three decades of ardent collecting have gifted the
fruit world a unique, impossible-to-imitate resource. That his collection
requires rescuing now, presents
an unparalleled opportunity for grassroots fruit enthusiasts to play a
hands-on role stewarding one of the world’s most needed plant collections, at
a crucial point in history. Here, then, to whet your
appetite, is Austin’s quick-list relating to his field observations of highly
disease-resistant, and somewhat disease-resistant varieties. Regards, Nick Routledge -- HIGHLY DISEASE-RESISTANT VARIETIES GREEN SECTION N.Y. 74840-1 (Row 4, # 5) N.Y. 75441-67 (Row 4, #
21) Reinette Grise Du Canada
(Row 4, # 46) Co-Op 12 (Row 5, # 7) Transparent De Croncels
(Row 5, # 15) Mela Carla (Row 5, # 20) Type-2 (Row 7, #4) Sundance ‘Co-Op 29’ (Row 12,
#14)= Novaspy (Row 12, # 17) D 1497 (Row 14, # 8) Zlatna Resistenta (Row 17,
# 17) BLUE SECTION Erwin Bauer (Row 3, # 1) Starr (Row 4, # 89) Porter’s Perfection (Row
6, #12) MacShay (Row 6, #14) Prima ‘Co-Op 2’ (Row 6, #
36) Priscilla ‘Co-Op 4” (Row 6,
# 35) Nova Easygro (Row 7, # 18) Liberty (Row 7, # 50) Zabergau Reinette (Row 8,
# 42) William’s Pride ‘Co-Op 23’
(Row 9, #32) Merton Russet (Row 10, #
36) Reinette Grise Parmentier
(Row 10, #56) Fill Barrel (Row 10, # 78) Freedom (Row 10, # 103) N.Y. 65-707-19 (Row 10, #
118) Herfordshire (Row 10, #
135) Nova Mac (Row 11, # 127) N.Y. 61-345-2 (Row 12, #
3) Baskirian Beauty (Row 12,
# 119) RED SECTION Lowell (Row 1, # 45) N.Y. 75-414-4 (Row 1, #
85) Wynooche Early (Row 2, #
21) Drews 2R (Row 4, # 130 Rozmary (Row 6, # 128) Florina (Row 6, # 142) BLACK SECTION Improved Dove (Row 0, #
22) Schwitzer Himberapfel (Row
0, # 51) Dufflin (Row 1, # 42) Reinette Montfort (Row 2,
# 18) Piker Yellow (Row 3, # 7) Saarlander Mostapfel (Row
3, # 17) Minnehaha (Row 4, # 15) Gaver Jubilant (Row 6, #
3) Alpha 68 B (Row 6, # 38) Doux Tardif (Row 8, # 31) Co-Op 28 (Row 9, # 18) Co-Op 34 (Row 9, # 25) Colozette (Row 10, # 23) Grosse Mouche (Row 10, #
24 Co-Op 16 (Row 10, # 38) Moira (Row 10, # 39) Doucet Rouge (Row 10, # 43) Minnesota 447 (Row 11, #
25) Co-Op 14 (Row 12, # 7) Co-Op 18 (Row 12, # 9) Co-Op 31 (Row 12, # 14) Co-Op 36 (Row 12, # 15) James Kirk (Row 12, # 30) Rural Russet (Row 14, #
30) PRI 1176-2 (Row 16, # 1) PRI F2 (Row 16, # 19) SOMEWHAT DISEASE-RESISTANT VARIETIES GREEN SECTION Golden Reinette (Row 18, #
38) BLUE SECTION Akane (Row 8, # 57) Winter Red Flesh (Row 9, #
93) Red Section Novak 7 (Row 1, # 32) Zeke's Long Keeper (Row 1,
# 135) Bessimianka Michurina (Row
3, # 22) Bethel (Row 3, # 46) Aargaur Jubilaums (Row 3,
# 75) Kalco (Row 3, # 120) Anis Aliy (Row 4, # 19) Pepin Chernenko (Row 4, #
20) Breugger Reintee (Row 4, #
45) Dabinette (Row 4, # 46) Hanson's Red Flesh (Row 4,
# 49) Reinette Marbrea (Row 4, #
135) Red Flesh (Row 4, # 137) Carla (Row 5, # 11) Leonard Transparent (Row
5, # 131) Okabena (Row 6, # 137) BLACK SECTION Altlander Pfankuchanapfel
(Row 1, # 3) Reinette De France (Row 1,
# 48) Claus Winterprinz (Row 3,
# 16) Radoux (Row 3, # 41) Bedan Des Parts (Row 4, #
18) Dayton (Row 4, # 34) Tiefblute (Row 4, # 48) Clear Heart (Row 7, # 43) Rott Jarnapfel (Row 7, #
47) Daux Belan (Row 8, # 16) Improved Lambert Pippin
(Row 8, # 29) Frequin (Row 11, # 4) Rouville (Row 11, # 18) P22R 77-66 (Row 13, # 37) P6 R28 (Row 13, # 40) N.Y. 73334-35 (Row 13, #
42) Pomme Thoury (Row 15, #
25) PRI 1312-6 (Row 22, # 20) Fuero Rous (Row 22, # 22) |
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March 16,
2011 |
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