Summary: The objectives of this project were: 1. To study the relative performance of Geneva dwarfing apple rootstocks compared to commercial controls in replant soils and the study of genetic mechanisms related to tolerance to ARD. 2. In the most recent visits we have come to appreciate the need by a certain segment of the industry to plant liners in place in the orchard either as sleeping eyes or as bench grafts. We would like to modify our existing protocol to discover “nursery in place” properties of rootstocks and how they interact with replant disease when the plants are so young. The question we are trying to answer is: how well do ARD tolerant sleeping eyes and bench grafts do in a replant situation? 3. To set up an early evaluation protocol for newly developed genotypes that screens for components of apple replant disease resistance in the early stages of breeding.
