We went to the annual walking tour of the clonal collection of Plant Genetic Resources Unit, USDA-ARS, in Geneva, NY, last Saturday. The apple orchard part of the tour was led by Tom Chao. If anyone is in the area about this time of the year in a future year, I can highly recommend it. We were invited to pick fruit from any apple tree not marked with a tag to indicate the tree was part of a research project, and there were very few tags. After the tour was over Tom said he was open to answer individual questions, and we were free to roam the orchards on our own. My wife and I were the last to leave. There is little organization to the placement of tree varieties, even by PI accession number, and heritage varieties and PRI test varieties can be found intermingled with KAZ accessions. There are trees with apples that look like clusters of grapes and many with variegated leaves or other characteristics that make you wonder whether or not can really be an apple tree.
We sampled enough apples to give us sour bellies. For only a few would this be the best time to taste, so we had to use our imaginations of things to come for many. We wrote down the names of several apple varieties that caught our fancy, not necessarily because of the fine flavor of the apple, but so we could look them up later.
Here are just a few questions we had about some varieties:
Anyone grow Loyalist or know anything about it? By taste and name and Canadian origin, we suspect it is in the McIntosh family, but in the USDA-ARS database provides little else about its history.
What was a Dorset Golden, a Bahamian cultivar, doing thriving so well in the Finger Lakes?
Why didn’t the James Grieve have more of an impact in the British Apple invasion of North America? It is a nice-looking, full-flavored apple. I do know about it’s bruising problem, but that didn’t stop some other British varieties.
The walking tour returns!
Saturday, September 17, 2022 is the date.
This is according to a statement from USDA-ARS itself.
Reminder: On Saturday, September 17, 2022,the USDA Plant Genetic Resources Unit will host its annual tour at the McCarthy Farm, 2865 County Road 6 (Preemption Road), Geneva, NY, 14456 (across from St. Mary’s Cemetery). The walking tour of the apple and grape collections is from 9:00 to 11:00 AM. No reservation needed.
The last time we went (2018), we were told after it was over that we were welcome to explore the orchard on our own. There is a new director, and there was fireblight epidemic, so I don’t know if that option will still be offered.
My wife and I plan to attend. Hope to see some of you there.
Don’t look for me, after all. Tested positive for Covid, so I’m not going on any adventures in public spaces.
I hope you a speedy and thorough recovery.
Did you get brain fog? I did!
Only cold-like symptoms. A few days later, the coughing has stopped, but still have drippy nose. No headaches, brain fog, no high fever, no loss of smell or taste. I guess it does help to be vaccinated and boosted.
Definitely! Though I still got a bad cluster of headaches about a month after I recovered, which I’m pretty sure was related to it. I hope you are luckier and don’t get any of the later symptoms.
I didn’t get any bad symptoms but I got headaches at the very tail end … I thought I was all finished with it and then the headaches started. I’m just clearing the headaches now… ten days since the first Covid symptoms. This thing just doesn’t want to quit, I had to really take it easy to ditch the headaches.
Anyway too bad you missed the walking tour … there is always next year.
I wish I could go but we will need to be in Hamilton, NY this Sat instead.
Sorry to hear about you getting covid and missed the tour. A friend who was supposed to take this trip with us has his “long haul” covid flared up. He could not drive 4 hours any more.
That’s so disappointing! Sorry to hear this John.
The annual tour in Geneva appears to be happening. I had heard from a friend otherwise, so it is good news.
This is great news, I’m curious to check it out since the fire blight outbreak. I’ve been wondering if Geneva is still pretty generous with who they allow to obtain scion wood, considering Corvalis have become such sticklers. I did take note a couple years ago Geneva reduced requests for wood to 10 accessions, down from 25. Hope to be able to come out this year!
Is the closet that confining 
I asked and received scionwood from Geneva this past year. I don’t know if it is a factor, but I’ve received scionwood in previous years, so I may be in their system. Also, since we have done public apple tastings at cooperative extension events and contributed apples to heritage apple displays at a historic village and museum, I have checked the box for educational purposes as the reason for making the scionwood request.
Reminder: the orchard tour is this Saturday (September 16) from 10 am to noon. Apple, Grape, and Tart Cherry collections will be featured. In 2018, after it was over, we were allowed to walk the orchard on our own and sample apples. That was before the fireblight problem and when there was a different curator, so that may no longer be an option.
My wife and I are planning to attend. If you see me, say hello. I look a little different from my profile picture, however. It was taken when I was last on the tour, so I’m five years older and now I’ve got a beard.
Address:
2865 County Road 6 (Preemption Road)
Geneva, NY, 14456
Entrance is across the road from St. Mary’s Cemetery.
Forecast:
Mostly sunny with a high of 69°F.
Couldn’t be better.
The tour last year had a fairly large group and quite a few of the USDA orchard personnel, all of which were readily available to answer questions and talk with. When the formal presentation was over a lot of the attendees left with many of us still on site, randomly and leisurely walking through the orchards. There didn’t seem be any rush for us to leave. It was a great time with a lot of worthwhile info. I’ll be looking for you; I’m one of the curmudgeonly looking, crusty old fellows accompanied by my wife who mellows me out a lot.
It was a great day in many ways, including meeting fellow growingfruiters. The orchard’s fireblight challenge seems to be under control, but there were many holes in the rows where trees had been removed, and quite a few apple varieties were not much more than stumps. Overall, however, the orchard looked healthy.
Once again my wife and I were the last to leave, outlasting Kevin and even Andy and his friend. We took our time wandering through the rows and sampling apples until we started getting sour stomachs – and then we still kept going a bit longer.