It’s About the Apples! Supporting Hard Cider Production through Pomological Research and Outreach- Greg Peck

With a US$1.7B total economic impact in New York State alone, hard (fermented) cider has become an important value-added product in the alcohol beverage sector. My research program has conducted cost of production studies, characterized over 375 potential cider apple cultivars, and developed orchard management practices that leads to greater fruit and thus cider quality. For high-density orchard systems, we found that many cider apple cultivars can be cropped twice as much as culinary cultivars to achieve the greatest long-term yields, juice quality, and profitability. Future work is focusing on developing cider apple orchards that are best suited to mechanical harvesting. In this presentation, I will review current management practices for growing cider apples in the Northeastern United States and propose a conceptual orchard design and management system for the next generation of cider apple orchards.

This talk will be provided in the Horticulture Department’s weekly seminar series. Please contact the organizers if you would like a video conference link to attend remotely.