Organic apples grab larger share of the fresh market

California apple acreage for organic and conventional is approximately 14,000 acres currently.

There is a definite rise in organic acreage, according to Alex Ott, executive director of the California Apple Commission.

"We're seeing a lot more demand in the organic side," Ott said. "A lot of our growers are switching from conventional to organic."

There are also organic growers that are expanding their operations, Ott said.

"So, we're definitely seeing a trend, at least in California, for increasing in organics," he said.

Bill Denevan, District 1 representative for the California Apple Commission and a grower representative for Viva Tierra, a brokerage firm that specializes in year-round organic apples, said California organic apple production is increasing as conventional growers see more opportunity in organic production.

Many conventional apple growers are looking at organic because of competition from conventional growers in Washington state using MCP (also known as Smart Fresh), a chemical that allows them to store apples like Galas all year long.

California growers don't use MCP because the apples aren't stored. California apples fill a niche as being the first apple-producing area in the country to harvest fresh apples—about a month earlier than Washington—and supply fresh versus stored apples.

The Washington market has started to overlap the California market and that has impacted the price on conventional apples.

If you're a California apple grower, you're already in a niche market, so why not go for the ultimate niche—organic apple production, Denevan said.

Ott agreed California has a great niche being the first to harvest fresh apples.

"At the same time, we're always looking for a bigger niche, and we're seeing a lot more of that on the organic side," Ott said.

Jeff Colombini, owner of Lodi Farming, is an apple grower transitioning to organic production. He grafted over an older orchard to another variety that will be organic.

Colombini said he thinks the organic market is growing along with demand for organic fruit—especially organic apples.

"That's pretty much what's driving us in that direction," Colombini said.

The trees are young and don't have any fruit, so Colombini hasn't dealt with pest or disease issues yet, but weed control starts immediately.

"We don't have herbicides available, so right now our method of controlling weeds is basically just mowing and tilling," he said, and that has resulted in increased labor expenses.

After talking with other organic apple producers, Colombini said he anticipates at least a 20 percent drop in production as well, and he hopes the increased labor costs and the reduction in yield will be compensated with the increased price for organic apples.

"I'm hoping that by going organic we'll see healthier soils, soils that have more soil flora and fauna active in them," he said.

Pests are a challenge for organic apple production, but between monitoring, organically approved pesticides and fungicides, and beneficial insects, the pests are controllable, Denevan said.

"We're able to take care of the insects really well. I'd say we do as good a job as the conventional on the insects," he said.

Fire blight is the biggest challenge growers have for organic apples, Ott said.

Fire blight is a disease caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora. The disease causes a blackening of twigs, flowers, and foliage. The pathogen also overwinters in flower buds, diseased fruit, small twigs and branches.

Warm, wet weather favors disease development. Inoculum may ooze as droplets from cankers or infected flowers, and it is spread by wind, rain, insects, birds or even contaminated pruning tools.

The California Apple Commission has been funding research on fire blight for organic and conventional apples for several years. The research is looking at the efficacy of treatments for fire blight, and will be testing biological controls for managing the disease.

There are varieties that are more susceptible to fire blight, but consumers like their organic Granny Smiths, pinks, Galas and Fujis. These are varieties that do very well in California, Ott said.

"If you have a great product right now, we have to do what we can to also develop those tools to keep that product that the consumers want," he said.

"Fire blight is a problem for conventional growers, too, and we've seen it throughout California. It's just a bigger problem for organics," Denevan said, because of the limited treatment options available for organic growers.

Ott agreed and said there are very few tools available for controlling fire blight, and what is available is very limited.

"We're doing everything we can do to develop a tool or rotational-type program that has organic-friendly tools," Ott said.

"What we need is to develop some type of organic rotational program that can be utilized in dry years and in wet years," he said.

There were antibiotics available that were used to manage fire blight until three years ago, but they have been banned, Denevan said.

"The tools that we have right now can decrease fire blight, but you get a lot of russeting," Ott said.

Russeting decreases the value of the fruit, so the challenge is to develop a tool that doesn't have the impacts of russeting and controls the fire blight, Ott said.

In short, it's trying to find that balance between russeting and control, he said.

The first step is finding the solution and then getting the solution approved, Ott said.

If growers can get control of fire blight for organics, Ott said he sees two things that he thinks will happen.

First, control would encourage more growers to convert to organic or expand their organic program. Second, growers could plant fewer trees, since they wouldn't have to compensate for lost yields from fire blight damage, Ott said.

"It's a bright future as long as we can continue to produce high-quality, fresh apples in that niche window," he said.

(Kathy Coatney is a reporter in Bend, Ore. She may be contacted at kacoatney@gmail.com.)