and a site tour.
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| Agsembly time! |
We were greeted by chilly winds and heavy rain when we arrived, so we quickly gathered under the tent for a run-through of our routine for the day. On the list were three activities: Clearing, Tree pruning, and Tent building. We divided ourselves accordingly into 3 teams and rotated through the activities.
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| What better way to get some exercise, fresh air, and work done all at the same time on a rainy day! |
Clearing team:
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| Clearing around the pear trees |
We helped clear the twigs and branches around the pruned pear trees(above), cherry trees, and throughout the site.
Pruning team:
It's raining, it's pruning...
We also helped prune the cherry trees. Prior to pruning, Rebecca explained that the cherry trees were suffering from Bacterial Canker, a disease caused by the pathogen Psudomonas syringae pv. syringe (PSS) 1.This pathogen generally resides on the surfaces of the leaves, around during spring or early summer under wet conditions1.
Visible signs of the disease were dark regions of cankers and twig die backs along the branches of the tree. The cankers form as a result of the hypersensitive response of the tree. From plant science class, we have learned that the hypersensitive response is the rapid programmed death of cells at and surrounding the site of pathogen infection, along with a high production of Reactive Oxygen species that destroys the infected cells or pathogen directly. Lignin then gets deposited around the site to isolate the infected area to prevent further spread of the infection.
Despite the infection, we still wanted to prune the cherry trees to stimulate growth of new fruiting shoots for next year and maintain the canopy for light penetration, so we made use of the Sterile Pruning Technique. It uses the same concepts as regular pruning, but comes with the extra step of dipping the pruners into a bucket of 10% bleach solution for sterilization after each pruning cut.
The timing of pruning is important in preventing disease development, as pruning wounds make the tree susceptible to infection by pathogens, especially during cold wet conditions during spring. As a result, pruning is generally done outside of spring.
It's raining, it's pruning...
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| Sterile pruning the cherry trees |
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| using 10% Bleach solution |
We also helped prune the cherry trees. Prior to pruning, Rebecca explained that the cherry trees were suffering from Bacterial Canker, a disease caused by the pathogen Psudomonas syringae pv. syringe (PSS) 1.This pathogen generally resides on the surfaces of the leaves, around during spring or early summer under wet conditions1.
Visible signs of the disease were dark regions of cankers and twig die backs along the branches of the tree. The cankers form as a result of the hypersensitive response of the tree. From plant science class, we have learned that the hypersensitive response is the rapid programmed death of cells at and surrounding the site of pathogen infection, along with a high production of Reactive Oxygen species that destroys the infected cells or pathogen directly. Lignin then gets deposited around the site to isolate the infected area to prevent further spread of the infection.
Despite the infection, we still wanted to prune the cherry trees to stimulate growth of new fruiting shoots for next year and maintain the canopy for light penetration, so we made use of the Sterile Pruning Technique. It uses the same concepts as regular pruning, but comes with the extra step of dipping the pruners into a bucket of 10% bleach solution for sterilization after each pruning cut.
The timing of pruning is important in preventing disease development, as pruning wounds make the tree susceptible to infection by pathogens, especially during cold wet conditions during spring. As a result, pruning is generally done outside of spring.
Tent-building
team:
We also helped assemble a storage tent that will soon be used as a culling site for the chickens after the end of an experiment that will be conducted this summer. The experiment will explore the food waste reduction potential of incorporating into chicken feed dried larvae from Black Soldier Beetle flies that were fed plant-based waste from Enterra Feed Corporation.
We also helped assemble a storage tent that will soon be used as a culling site for the chickens after the end of an experiment that will be conducted this summer. The experiment will explore the food waste reduction potential of incorporating into chicken feed dried larvae from Black Soldier Beetle flies that were fed plant-based waste from Enterra Feed Corporation.
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| deciphering the instruction manual |
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| solving the jigsaw pipes |
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| finished product |
Site tour:
We also had a site tour led by Mike
for an update of what has been happening and plans for managing some of the
problems on site.
Research experiments:
Research experiments:
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| garlic trial |
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| carrot rust fly trial |
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| weed suppression trial |
Many research project experiments are currently being conducted by some of the sustainable agriculture students and faculty staff. Some of the current experiments that are being conducted include examining the effect of planting large versus small-cloved garlic on yield, examining the relative effectiveness of carrot and onion monoculture and polyculture as a management strategy against carrot rust fly, and examining the relative effectiveness of mulch and rye cover crop in weed suppression.
On site problems:
Soil drainage
One of
the problems at the orchard is that the site contains clayey soil and on days
with heavy rain like this, the soil becomes waterlogged and causes water
pooling. Waterlogged soil can be harmful to plants since it depletes the plant
of oxygen, which creates conditions for anaerobic microbial activity to occur
and accumulation of toxic forms of micronutrients2. Installation of drain tiles should be underway this spring,
and this will help drain the water down to a nearby ditch and alleviate the
problems of waterlogged soil.
Pest control:
Pest control:
One of the major pests at the orchard are the voles. Voles generally cause girdling of trees, damage to field crops, and often create underground runway systems3. We have established a nest box for visitor owls to inhabit, as owls are one of the major predators of voles.
We’ll be back doing more work out at the orchard again next semester. Stay tuned for more updates!
works cited:
1. https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=86
2. http://plantsinaction.science.uq.edu.au/edition1/?q=content/18-1-1-root-zone-aeration
3. http://icwdm.org/handbook/rodents/voles.asp
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