EXTENSION/EDUCATION/OUTREACH SUMMARY-1994/95
L. Berkett and J. Clements



Clearly, the members of the Northeast Sustainable Apple Project have continued over the past year to quickly and widely disseminate the information and knowledge generated by the project to farmers, Extension personnel, other researchers, and the general public, including children and adults. And, a decision was made in 1995 to hire a grower coordinator and liaison to further enhance our ability to communicate, disseminate, and incorporate Project generated information into Northeast apple grower's production habits. Meanwhile, highlights of our 1994/95 Extension/Education/Outreach activities include:

Ð Over thirty articles written by Project members appeared in Extension and Industry publications including Fruit Notes, The Apple Press, Scaffolds Fruit Journal, New York Fruit Quarterly, Proceedings of the New England Fruit Meeting, and the Annual Report of the State Horticultural Society of Michigan. These publications are all well-read by thousands of growers, Extension personnel, and researchers throughout the Northeast and beyond the region and are very important sources of information for commercial and hobby apple production.

Ð The Northeast SARE Apple Production Newsletter is the only FREE publication devoted to distributing the latest information on sustainable apple production to growers and researchers. We produced two issues last year, Fall/Winter 94 and Spring/Summer 95, that were distributed world-wide. Total circulation is over 1,000 and includes subscribers from at least 35 States and the District of Columbia; five Canadian provinces, and five foreign countries. Additionally, over 200 more copies of the 'Management Guide for Low-Input Sustainable Apple Production' were sold or distributed.

Ð Through TV and articles in the national press (i.e., newspaper and magazine), literally hundreds of thousands of members of the general public have been exposed to information generated by the Project. For example, an article entitled 'New-Era Apples' appeared in the Nov/Dec issue of National Gardening magazine, focusing on scab-resistant apple cultivars with information and illustrations supplied and/or reviewed by Project members. This magazine has over 235,000 subscribers! Additionally, an article that appeared in 'USA TODAY' last October featured one of the Project's members, and a side-bar in the article illustrated an apple maggot trap and mating pheromone disruptersÐtwo techniques being employed and researched by Project participants and grower cooperators.


Ð At least fourteen research articles based on Project results were published in prestigious scientific journals having national and international circulation such as Environmental Entomology, Journal of Economic Entomology, Plant Disease, HortScience, Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, etc.

Ð Over 4,000 visits by growers and the general public were made to Field Days and On-Farm Demonstrations sponsored and/or hosted by Project members, wherein information from the Northeast Sustainable Apple Project was presented.

Ð Over 45 presentations were presented at meetings having an attendance totaling over 2,000 growers in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the US in addition to presentations made at professional society meetings before scientists, agribusiness professionals and governmental policy makers.

Ð "New" technology is being used to disseminate information to a wide audience. The 'UVM Apple Orchard' World Wide Web page features information on scab-resistant apple cultivars, and other sustainable apple production information, and was featured during an Internet presentation at the Annual Meeting of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents in Minneapolis this past August. The 'Orchard' has had over one hundred 'visits' (including commercial growers) since its debut in late 1994. The 'Orchard' is available to anyone with Internet/WWW access (http://apple.uvm.edu), and we expect to continue using the WWW for Project information dissemination.

Ð Youth and young adults were also recipients of Project efforts. Over 3,000 students from third through twelfth grade (both in the classroom and during special events) were presented with information on sustainable apple production, scab-resistant apple varieties, and IPM in Vermont and New Jersey. In Pennsylvania, an overview of their apple orchard project was part of the environmental in-service training of K-12 teachers. In addition, at Cornell and Rutgers Universities, aspects of sustainable apple production were introduced into lectures in numerous courses and project personnel acted as mentors to undergraduate and graduate students. Reaching out to youth and young adults is viewed as important since they are the environmental and social caretakers of our future.