UNH Cooperative Extension’s Fruit Program
New Hampshire’s cool, crisp, early autumn nights and warm, sun-filled
days produce crisp, colorful and delicious apples of many varieties. Pear
and plum trees produce abundant crops statewide, but peach, nectarine and
apricot trees generally thrive only in selected locations south of the
White Mountains. Small fruits, including strawberry, high bush blueberry,
wild (low-bush) blueberry, raspberry and other brambles prosper throughout
the state. Commercial grape plantings do well only in southern NH. The
New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food reported $8
million in apple sales and $5 million in sales of berries and other fruits
in 2002.
UNH researchers, Extension and the Agricultural Experiment Station conduct tree fruit and small fruit research at UNH’s Woodman Horticultural Farm. Recent efforts include fruit variety and rootstock trials, and research on fertility, season extension and apple disease.
The New Hampshire Fruit Growers Association works with Extension to identify
emerging issues in the State’s tree fruit industry, develop research
priorities, and fund research. Recent studies evaluated dwarf rootstocks
for apple, compared varieties of apple, peach and strawberry, and developed
an annual production system for strawberries. UNH is the premier research
institution for the study of apple scab, the most significant apple disease
in the Northeast. For information on integrated pest management, visit
the IPM webpage.
