With its immaculate rows of apple trees and rolling green fields as far as the eye can see, Apple Springs Orchards couldn’t look more idyllic – and for the most part, it is. But producing a successful apple crop can be fraught with challenges. Just ask Shane Ardiel, who owns the Clarksburg, Ontario farm and manages it with his son Kyle and wife Gail. “In order to get these apples to the consumer, we go through many trials and tribulations,” Shane admits. “It’s a never-ending process and every year there seems to be something else that is cropping up that we have to be attuned to and we have to deal with as it comes along.”
This year, for instance, the Ardiels have had too little rainfall, which has meant that they’ve had to take special measures to irrigate their crop. But that’s not all. Far nastier nuisances can lurk in even the most beautiful orchard: pests that can devastate a crop if left unchallenged. Luckily, there are ways to stop them and keep the crop healthy, safe and flourishing… and the supermarket aisles stocked with your favourite varieties.
Attack of the apple-killing insects!
Apples are one of Canada’s most beloved fruits, second only to blueberries in annual production. Unfortunately, insects like apple trees almost as much as we like their fruit. There are over 10,000 species of plant-eating insects that farmers come up against worldwide. In recent years, the Ardiels have been battling two in particular:
Woolly Apple Aphid: These furry, brown-coloured brutes are native to North America but used to be an occasional concern for apple growers. In the last decade they have been growing in strength. This insect causes damage by feeding on the sap of the apple trees, affecting their growth. They also excrete a sticky material called honeydew, that can drip onto apples and leave black spots which compromise the quality of the fruit. The Woolly Apple Aphid typically appears in early summer, and if they are not dealt with by a mixture of pruning and pesticides they can ruin a crop by harvest season. “[They] can be devastating for a grower,” says Shane. “Last year we had a fair amount of damage.”
Leaf Curling Midge: This tiny species of fly causes damage to the leaves of apple trees. It lays its eggs in the leaf folds of developing trees, causing the leaves to become thick and curl inwards, stunting growth. The leaves take on a red or purple discolouration before becoming brown and brittle, eventually falling from the tree. “You no longer get photosynthesis from the sun because the leaves are damaged,” Kyle says. “No energy will go back into the roots, no energy will go to our crop – so they have to go.” Regular orchard monitoring – or scouting – in the springtime when the midge is mating is critical to spotting an infestation.
Quick Fact
Organic and conventional farmers use pesticides to safely protect their crops from insects, weeds and diseases. Both organic and synthetic pesticides are regulated by Health Canada.
Pesticides can keep the worm out of your apple
As the old adage goes, “nothing is worse than a worm in your apple”. So how do the Ardiels use plant science to protect their crop each year? Pesticides are the answer.
Pesticides are tools that are designed to deter or manage pests which threaten the health or quality of the Ardiels’ apple trees. The three main types of agricultural pesticides are herbicides, that control weeds; fungicides, that protect plants from disease; and insecticides, which manage harmful insects that could damage crops by eating them or infecting them with diseases.
While challenges like the weather are out of the Ardiels’ hands, dealing with pests is something they can control. For instance, insecticides can help them fight off the Woolly Apple Aphid and the Leaf Curling Midge to keep their crop protected and safe to eat. “We end up with decisions to make about what pest to attack and whether that pest is going to cause us economic damage. When it’s close to doing that, we have to go in with a product and eliminate it,” says Shane Ardiel.
How the Ardiels manage pests safely
So, how do they do it? Like many Canadian farmers, Shane and Kyle practice integrated pest management, which involves careful scouting for pests, followed by the deployment of targeted control methods, which might include using pesticides. In the springtime, when the harmful insects are mating and laying eggs, the Ardiels go through their orchards and look for evidence of the bugs, such as leaf discolouration and larvae. If they find any that are approaching damaging levels, they will spray the orchards with targeted insecticides to manage those pests.
Canada has strict regulations on what pesticides can be used on crops – set by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency – and provincial rules on who can apply them. For Kyle to be able to spray his crop, he has to pass an Ontario pesticide course approved by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), which ensures that he can use pesticides safely and correctly without posing a risk to human health or the environment.
The ability to use pesticides has been crucial to protecting the Apple Springs Orchards crop this year. “We sprayed at the optimum time and we’ve got a very nice clean crop,” says Shane.
What does this mean for you?
Plant science not only means farmers can grow more apples, but also helps to ensure the quality of those that are grown, so less go to waste. Around 72% more fruit – including apples – can be grown in Canada each year thanks to pesticides, which make sure pests don’t damage the crop and there are
more good apples to harvest at the end of the season. This means that the cost for your favourite apples doesn’t skyrocket. Without pesticides and other plant science innovations such as genetically-enhanced varieties, fresh fruit and vegetables would cost around 50% more. That’s a lot more for your apple a day!