International Fruit Tree Association members tour a research plot at Wapato, Washington, where a wide range of apple rootstocks are being compared. Rootstock development is a huge area of research that goes beyond studying the survival, size, and yield efficiency of rootstocks, says Dr. Terence Robinson, horticulturist at Cornell University, New York. Other tree fruits lack the rootstocks that have helped make apple production more profitable. And, even in apple, where dwarfing rootstocks are widely used, ­Robinson sees a need for more research relating to a number of traits: Fireblight resistance: Disease resistance is an important rootstock trait, with fireblight […]