Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center annual open house set for Aug. 23
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EmailJoin us in Traverse City for wagon tours, wine grape and tree fruit sessions, equipment demonstrations and dinner.
The Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center’s annual open house is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018. This year’s event will include educational sessions, equipment demonstrations, a social hour and dinner. The Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center is located at 6686 S. Center Highway, Traverse City, MI 49684.
We have moved to an every-year equipment show, so vendors and equipment will be on-hand all day at this year’s open house. We have also added annual equipment demonstrations—we have invited equipment companies to bring in new orchard and vineyard equipment and technologies for demonstration purposes. We hope to be able to showcase new advancements in orchard and vineyard assist technologies at the 2018 Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center open house.
Free educational wagon tours of the Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center will feature Michigan State University specialists and will take place from 1 – 2:15 p.m. The tour will include wine grape and tree fruit specialists that will speak on a variety of topics. We will discuss fire blight resistance screening results and demonstrate an orchard platform in high-density apples. We will also showcase some work we have conducted using drones as bird deterrents in sweet cherry orchards.
We will present data on the effectiveness of spotted wing Drosophila management strategies that were employed in 2018. Cherry leaf spot efficacy will also be discussed. We will demonstrate some weeding strategies in wine grapes, and wine grape specialists will be on-hand to review the season and prepare for harvest.
After the educational sessions, growers are encouraged to meet with equipment vendors and participate in the demonstrations from 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. We will host as many equipment vendors to hold demonstrations as we can in this time frame. We hope growers and others will be sure to attend this part of the 2018 open house. Demonstrations will be followed with a social hour from 5:30 – 6:15 p.m. and dinner at 6:15 p.m.
In past years, the Leelanau Horticultural Society has held their annual meeting, but this year we will host just a social hour and dinner. We encourage growers from all over the northwest region to join us for this fun and relaxed event.
The 2018 Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center open house is co-sponsored by the Leelanau Horticultural Society, MSU AgBioResearch and MSU Extension with support from Parallel 45 and the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Foundation.
To reserve or purchase a dinner ticket, please call 231-946-1510 or email Jenn at goodr100@msu.edu by Aug. 20, 2018. The dinner will be catered by Ethnic Garden Catering and will feature locally produced food. The cost for dinner tickets is $15 per person.
For more information, contact the Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center at 231-946-1510. We hope to see many of you at this fun and educational event!
