• Dr. Harvey Reissig
• Dr. Peter Trutmann
• Dr. Tom Zitterß

Initiative 1

Harvey Reissig is developing a project with the Armenian Agricultural Academy, to support fruit IPM for small holders. A project has been submitted for funding. 

DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL SCALE, SUSTAINABLE, APPLE IPM AND PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN ARMENIA

Background 

Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, many FSU states exported a large percentage of their fruit crops throughout the various states of the former Soviet Union. Due to the high value of these fruit crops, elevated production levels were the primary objective of large, centrally managed state farms and cooperatives common to the region. As a result, tree fruit orchards were one of the most heavily sprayed agricultural commodities in Central Europe during the communist period. In recent years, however, economic and environmental concerns have forced a change in the pest control practices for orchards with increased emphasis on reducing pesticide applications and increasing the use of biological control in orchard systems. Capital is generally unavailable for purchasing agrochemical inputs, state and collective farms face privatization and land ownership ambiguity, and the disarray of the eastern market has disrupted traditional trade arrangements. Environmental advocacy groups have gained strength in Central Europe, and Western markets demand higher fruit quality and minimal levels of pesticide residues on produce imported from the region. The emerging requirements for reduction in pesticide use on fruit crops without reducing fruit quality is possible only with intelligent, ecologically sound pest management practices. IPM methods are being developed in Europe and North America, but until recently have not been applied in large-scale production systems in FSU independent states.

From 1993-1995, Cornell University, the University of Massachusetts, and U.S. Department of Agriculture worked in an agricultural development project in the Arges region of Romania to implement a technical assistance and demonstration project to introduce IPM and improved horticultural production strategies to Romanian apple growers. The country of Romania has a strong horticultural tradition; production figures from the late 1980's placed Romania among the top ten apple-producing countries of the world. Yet, for the reasons mentioned previously, production levels have fallen, and there is an emerging private sector stepping in to supply apples for local consumption. These small, private farms range anywhere from small plots of 5-10 trees to larger plots of 50-100 trees. Most of the private farms also produce corn and vegetables for personal use, and frequently allow livestock to graze between the fruit trees. These conditions presented a considerable challenge for designing low cost, economically feasible IPM and horticultural strategies that would ensure high fruit quality and produce minimal impact on the surrounding environment. By employing this integrated package of IPM and improved horticultural strategies, small farms were able to produce high value horticultural cash crops using sustainable systems with limited inputs. This project generated evidence that widespread adoption and implementation of these practices would result in higher standards of living in the region, from both an economic and environmental perspective.

Currently, Armenian farmers with small amounts of land that have been involved in apple production are facing similar constraints to those dealt with in the former Cornell agricultural development project: inadequate knowledge of modern horticultural techniques for maximizing production on dwarfing rootstocks, limited access to improved apple cultivars suitable for regional or export markets, limited availability of environmentally friendly selective pesticides in most areas, contrasted with indiscriminate promotion of pesticides in other areas, lack of trained personnel with agricultural expertise to conduct on-farm training programs and demonstrations, and lack of information and access to local and regional markets. 

Cornell University currently has one of the largest integrated fruit IPM and production groups of applied scientists in the world including multiple specialists in: apple breeding, agricultural marketing, entomology, horticulture tree training and production systems, and plant pathologists. These specialists have joint assignments in applied research and extension programs designed to test and implement technology at the farm level. The major apple production regions in NY state are located in temperate areas with climates, soils, and an insect, weed, and disease pest complex that is remarkably similar to those in major apple production regions throughout eastern Europe. Therefore, technology packages in IPM and horticultural production that have been developed for our region should be appropriate and readily adaptable in major fruit production regions in Armenia. In addition, the Cornell system of conducting on farm demonstrations, organizing farmer training sessions, meetings, and workshops and soliciting and integrating farmer inputs into the design of appropriate applied research and farmer educational programs should provide a model that can be widely implemented within the Armenian agricultural sector. 

General Project Design

During the initial design phase of the project, an integrated apple IPM and production team will visit Armenia to meeting with Armenian scientists involved in agricultural research and extension programs on apples from various key governmental agencies including the Armenian Agricultural Academy, appropriate Research Centers and Agricultural Support Centers. the Cornell team in conjunction with appropriate Armenian scientists will develop an initial fruit IPM and production plan that should be appropriate for Armenian farmers with relatively small land holdings. The team will also identify appropriate geographical fruit production areas or villages as sites for the project. During the final stages of the initial visit, an integrated team of Armenian Scientists and extension personnel and the Cornell group will visit potential project site locations and hold meetings with key farmers. During these meetings, a general outline of proposed apple IPM and production technology will be presented to groups of key farmers and their input will be solicited so that the initial technology package can be modified to be most appropriate for local needs in the various project sites. During the initial phase of this project, the currently available apple IPM and production technology will be tested on existing apple plantings in Armenia. Also, new demonstration plantings of improved apple cultivars on dwarfing rootstocks that will be designed to be utilized by private farmers with limited land acreages and capital resources will be set up within each of the targeted regions of the projects. This type of project design will allow farmer's to compare apple yields, quality and marketability from the new demonstration plantings with those from typical conventional apple plantings within each region. 

After the initial planning phase, the subsequent activities within the project will focus on the development and introduction on an improved apple IPM and production system to Armenian farmers using techniques similar to those traditionally utilized in land grant University systems in the United States: establishment of on-farm demonstration plots and orchards, production of extension and educational literature, and field tours and demonstrations for farmers at appropriate times throughout the season. This approach will required periodic visits to the project site by members of the Cornell IPM and production team throughout the growing season, in order to work directly with cooperating farmers and Armenian scientists involved in the project. It will also involve the training of Armenian extension specialists, who will be responsible for coordinating the project and implementing the technology package at the local farm level. Also, these Armenian extension specialists, and key Armenian scientists involved in apple IPM and production studies will need to visit the United States periodically to learn more about advanced technology that is currently being utilized in major apple growing regions within this region of the United States that can potentially be adapted for use in more sophisticated Armenian fruit production systems in the future. 


Proposal Objectives

1. Develop and test an IPM and apple production system that is suitable for Armenian farmers with limited acreages and capital resources. 

2. Determine the acceptability of fruit produced from the new planting and production systems in local and regional markets compared to traditional cultivars grown under standard cultural practices. This will allow an initial estimate of the potential economic benefits of this system for farmers with limited amounts of land.

3. Institutionalize local capabilities for extension delivery for fruit farmers in key production areas, working with research and field stations, as well as NGOs and interested cooperators throughout the country.