2022 Kurle Memorial Lecture
Presented as a 3-part Zoom series. These Zoom sessions can be accessed through Zoom.us or the Zoom app.
The Kurle Memorial Lecture is offered annually in honor of Bob and Mary Kurle, conveners of the Midwest Fruit Explorers. Bob was known as one of the top fruit and nut enthusiasts in the U.S. He networked actively with fruit and nut growers all over the world. In the 1970s, Bob’s displays at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show focused the interest of ordinary gardeners on dwarf and semi-dwarf fruit trees, hybrid nuts, and promoted growing the best fruit varieties suited to the Chicagoland area. He appeared in Organic Gardening and the Chicago Tribune.
Session #1. Lee Reich, PhD, Noted Author
Lee Reich, PhD, is an avid “farmdener” (more than a gardener, less than a farmer) with graduate degrees in soil science and horticulture. He worked in plant and soil research with the USDA and Cornell University before turning his attention to writing, lecturing, and consulting on various aspects of horticulture. His books include A Northeast Gardener’s Year, The Pruning Book, Weedless Gardening, Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden, Landscaping With Fruit, and Grow Fruit Naturally.
Date: Saturday, February 19, 2022
Time: 1:00 p.m. central
Zoom Meeting ID: See Grapevine Update notice or Members Only page.
Session #2. Jim Cummins, Retired Professor of Horticulture, Cornell University (pre-recorded)
In the late 1960s, a “double-whammy” hit thousands of apple trees on the English clonal rootstocks that were then being planted in New York orchards. Trees on Malling-Merton 106 were taken out by Phytophthora collar rot, and whole blocks on Malling 9 were killed by fireblight.
Jim began his apple rootstock breeding program in 1968, at the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, to produce a repertoire of rootstocks that could survive under fireblight and Phytophthora pressure.
Jim’s work has profoundly influenced fruit growing through the presence of the Geneva rootstock collection, largely a result of Jim’s research.
Date: Saturday, March 19, 2022
Time: 1:00 p.m. central
Zoom Meeting ID: See Grapevine Update notice or Members Only page.
Session #3. Amy Irish-Brown, Commercial Tree Fruit IPM Educator, MSU Extension
Amy is the go-to educator for orchardists in Michigan. In addition to 30 years of experience, she has a bird’s-eye view of research projects and resources in the esteemed Michgan State University Horticulture, Entomology, and Crop & Soil Science departments. Amy will share some new developments in Integrated Pest Management along with years of practical know-how.
Date: Saturday, April 9, 2022
Time: 1:00 p.m. central
Zoom Meeting ID: See Grapevine Update notice or Members Only page