Before Austria joined the European Union in 1995, its apple growers enjoyed a closed, protected market and its apple industry was made up of many small growers producing a wide range of varieties. Now that commodities can move freely between Austria and the other 26 EU countries, its fruit industry is changing. Dr. Leonhard Steinbauer at the research station of fruit production in Graz, Austria, shared how with members of the International Fruit Tree Association when they visited this winter. About 80 percent of Austria’s 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) of apples are in the region of Styria, in the southeast […]