September 2011 Issue

Michigan grower sees bright future for plums

He prefers European varieties like Vibrant.

Some of Rood’s older plum trees show there can be problems. This tree shows rootstock compatibility problems, and the bark cracks persistently, even when painted and several years old. Richard Lehnert While Paul Rood is known in Michigan as the fruit grower with the pears, he thinks a real future for state growers lies in plums. He has grown plums for more than 30 years. “I’m enthused about plums,” he said. “I can get sweet cherry prices for them, and they don’t crack when it rains. They yield as well as peaches, about 300 bushels per acre. And they don’t […]

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September 1, 2011

Stone fruits, Richard Lehnert

Richard Lehnert

After growing up on a Michigan dairy farm, Richard Lehnert began writing about farming in 1962, while still a junior studying journalism at Michigan State University. He worked at newspapers for a year before joining the staff of Michigan Farmer, where he spent 26 years, the last 15 as chief editor. He was a member of the staff of Good Fruit Grower from 2010 until 2015. Read his stories: Story Index

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