'Xenia', a new pear cultivar from Moldava, first results in the Netherlands

The pear cultivar `Xenia¿ (synonym `Noiabriskaia¿) from Moldova is a selection from a cross between `Triomphe de Vienne¿ and `Nicolai Krier¿. In The Netherlands, `Xenia¿ has been tested since 2001. So far, trees have given early and high yields and required little thinning. Up to now, a very low to moderate susceptibility to scab (Venturia pirinia) and a very low susceptibility to fruit tree canker (Nectria galligena) have been observed. The trees showed a medium vigour and there was a low tendency to biennial bearing. With the relatively young trees, the average fruit size of `Xenia¿ fruits at full crop was 250-300 g. The harvest window was wide. Fruits of `Xenia¿ had a green ground colour at harvest and were moderately bronzed. `Xenia¿ had a spherical pear shape. The fruits had a strong fruit skin. The firmness was higher than that of `Conference¿. The juiciness varied from juicy to very juicy, depending on the maturity stage. `Xenia¿ had a good eating quality: fresh, slightly aromatic with a typical aroma. The storability of the fruits was very good and the shelf life of `Xenia¿ proved to be much better than of `Conference¿. Summarizing, the first results show a good potential for commercial fruit growing

Krymsk®1 (VVA-1), A dwarfing rootstock suitable for high density plum orchards in the Netherlands

Krymsk®:1 (Prunus tomentosa × Prunus cerasifera) was selected by Gennady Eremin at the Krymsk Breeding Station in Russia in 1966. Since 1994, it has been tested as a rootstock for several plum cultivars in The Netherlands. Graft compatibility was good for scion cultivars ‘Avalon’, ‘Excalibur’, ‘Jubileum’, ‘Opal’, and ‘Victoria’. Growth and production efficiency of plum on Krymsk®:1 was compared with that of plum on St. Julien A and, depending on the cultivar, also with Ferlenain, Otesani 8 and Pixy. With all cultivars, trees on rootstock Krymsk®:1 were by far the least vigorous, most precocious, and most production efficient. The production efficiency of ‘Avalon’ and ‘Excalibur’ on Krymsk®:1 grown for 10 years was 0.41 and 0.26 kg/cm² trunk cross sectional area, respectively, 3.4 and 4.3 times higher on Krymsk®:1 than on St. Julien A. With ‘Opal’ the production efficiency calculated over the first 5 years after planting was 2 to 3 times higher than on St. Julien A, but this difference became non significant after 7 years of cultivation. This was due to the much higher increase in production per tree during the 5th and 6th leaf of the trees on St. Julien A than on Krymsk®:1. Fruit size of ‘Opal’, ‘Avalon’ and ‘Excalibur’ was similar for trees grown on Krymsk®:1 and St. Julien A. With ‘Victoria’ fruit size was significantly larger (5 g) with Krymsk®:1 than with St. Julien A. Krymsk®:1 also increased the percentage of first pick by 15%, the sugar content by 9%, enhanced the development of fruit overcolour and reduced the percentage of fruits with gummosis in ‘Victoria’ plums. Dutch fruit growers show great interest in Krymsk®:1 as a rootstock for plum, as this rootstock makes high density plum orchards feasible. Growers switching to trees on Krymsk®1 have to take more care of their trees, especially in the first years after planting. Pruning, irrigation, and fertilization of the trees need much more attention in order to keep the trees vigorous and ensure good production levels. From 2002 to spring 2008, 120,000 plum trees on Krymsk®1 have been planted in The Netherlands and planting densities have increased from 830 up to 2,285 trees/ha. The main cultivar planted is ‘Victoria’

Rassenproef zwarte bessen 2011-2014

Vanaf 2011 heeft het Praktijkonderzoek Plant & Omgeving (PPO) sector Fruit te Randwijk het rassenonderzoek met zwarte bessen gedurende vier jaren voortgezet. Het doel is (nieuwe) rassen te zoeken en te toetsen onder Nederlandse (Zeeuwse) teeltomstandigheden, die een verbetering kunnen zijn van de huidige rassen voor wat betreft de productiviteit, de beskwaliteit en de gevoeligheid voor ziekten en plagen. Dit rapport is het eindverslag van het project dat eind 2014 is afgelopen

Naar een meer duurzame, gezonde en natuurlijke teelt van zachtfruit : Verslag van een verkenning naar meer duurzame, milieuvriendelijke en gezonde teelt van zachtfruit op bedrijfsniveau

Verkenning naar meer duurzame, milieuvriendelijke en gezonde teelt van zachtfruit op bedrijfsniveau

Verantwoorde en communiceerbare argumenten bij biologische producten: milieueffecten

Het project ‘Verantwoorde en communiceerbare argumenten bij biologische producten’ bestaat uit vijf deelprojecten/aandachtsgebieden: veiligheid, gezondheid en smaak; dierenwelzijn; milieu; biodiversiteit, natuur en landschap; klimaat, broeikasgassen en waterberging. In dit rapport worden de onderdelen milieu, eindige grondstoffen, broeikasgassen en watergebruik behandel

Meer effectieve middelen voor meeldauwbestrijding : proefresulaten van 2009, 2010 en 2011

In de teelt van appel is er behoefte aan middelen die meeldauw goed kunnen bestrijden. In 2009, 2010 en 2011 werd bij proefras Junami op het proefbedrijf van PPO in Randwijk een proef uitgevoerd, waarbij zowel middelen als waarschuwingsmodellen voor de bestrijding van meeldauw werden getest

Extensive literature search on cropping practices of host plants of some harmful organisms listed in Annex II A II of Directive 2000/29/EC

The European Commission is currently seeking advice from EFSA (Mandate M-2012-0272) to assess for Arabis mosaic virus, Raspberry ringspot virus, Strawberry latent ringspot virus, Tomato black ring virus, Strawberry mild yellow edge virus, Strawberry crinkle virus, Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Eutetranychus orientalis, Parasaissetia nigra, Clavibacter michiganensis spp. michiganensis, Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria, Didymella ligulicola and Phytophthora fragariae the risk to plant health for the EU territory and to evaluate the effectiveness of risk reduction options in reducing the level of risk. In addition, the Panel is requested to provide an opinion on the effectiveness of the present EU requirements against these organisms laid down in Council Directive 2000/29/EC. As a consequence EFSA needs insight in the cropping practices of Citrus spp., Fragaria x ananassa, Ribes spp., Rubus spp., Vaccinium spp., Humulus lupulus, Vitis vinifera, Prunus armeniaca, P. avium, P. cerasus, P. domestica and P. persica, which are host plants for these pests. An extensive and systematic literature search was done in which scientific and grey/technical literature was retrieved from the 28 EU Member States, Iceland and Norway. All references were stored in EndNote libraries, separately for scientific literature and grey/technical literature. For each reference information is provided on the source/search strategy, the crop, the country, the topic (cropping practice, propagation, protection or irrigation (only for Citrus)) and protected cultivation vs. field production. Yields of references depended on the crop and on the country. Over 27,000 references were provided to EFSA. This allows EFSA to quickly find information on crop production, both indoors and outdoors, of all crops that were studied in this extensive literature search. The data can be used by EFSA for the present mandate, but are also an excellent basis for other current and future mandates