Eco-Fruit

The Eco-Fruit project helps apple growers reduce or eliminate risk from pesticides by using IPM. In the first five years of the project, participating growers reduced pesticide risk by 58 percent and increased their reliance on IPM strategies by 33 percent.

This project is working to build a sustainable and vibrant fruit industry in Wisconsin. CIAS is involved in the development of publicly-supported conservation initiatives that will re-tool this industry for sustainability.

Eco-Fruit provides growers with IPM coaching, tools, data and networking opportunities. Participating growers have access to IPM experts through AppleTalk. Weekly conference calls with these experts throughout the growing season provide updates on pest activity and disease prevalence, and IPM solutions.

Learning IPM is no small task. AppleTalk gives apple growers the support they need to learn the scouting, monitoring, and sampling techniques necessary for a successful IPM regimen.

AppleTalk provides growers with access to IPM consultants and university faculty through conference calls held on a weekly basis throughout the growing season. All calls are recorded and can be accessed online or by telephone anytime. Each call includes:

• The consultant’s report of field conditions and possible IPM responses to pest and disease pressures
• Time for growers to ask specific questions about their farms and IPM regimens

AppleTalk calls begin in April and run through August. There is no charge for participating other than your personal long-distance phone charges to connect to the calls.

In order to participate in AppleTalk, you must sign up for this service. Contact Alex McCullough at 608-265-3637 or alex.mccullough@gmail.com to sign up.

Eco-Fruit is a collaborative effort of the UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, the Wisconsin Apple Growers Association, the NRCS and the Midwest Organic Tree Fruit Growers Network.

This work has been supported by:

• US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• USDA Special Projects pesticide reduction grants
• Center for Agricultural Partnerships
• American Farmland Trust
• USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Professional Development Program (SARE PDP)