Fruit Production

Question 1

Fruit classification

Answer 1

tree fruit

small fruit

Question 2

Tree fruit

Answer 2

apples
pears
peaches
plums
cherries

Question 3

Small fruit

Answer 3

strawberries
blueberries
brambles (blackberries,
raspberries) 
grapes

Question 4

Evidence of cultivation

how many years ago and major fruit origination

Answer 4

5,000 - 7,000 years ago
apple originated from Kazakhstan 
peach from China
Grape from Republic of Georgie
Blueberry from North America

Question 5

Difference between fruit crops and annual row crops

Answer 5

product quality more important than quantity

year round environment is important

• perennial plants, live 25 years or longer
• winter cold and spring frost can be damaging
• concerns over climate change

production is much more intense and labor concerns
marketings is much more complicated

Question 6

corn and beans vs apples total income per acre

Answer 6

corn/soybeans = $1,000
apples = $16,000

Question 7

Different types of fruit damage

Answer 7

frost damage

heat damage

Question 8

Sunlight interception is critical

Answer 8

high and low

sunlight is directly proportional to yield

Question 9

ideal tree shape

Answer 9

wide bottom
narrow top
branches well spaced
good branch angles
tree support 

gives good light distribution to trees

Question 10

Other ways to manually increase sunlight

Answer 10

pruning and training to increase sunlight interception and dispersion

Question 11

Size-controlling rootstocks for apples

Answer 11

smaller trees are more efficient

Question 12

problems with rootstocks

Answer 12

incompatibility

fireblight

Question 13

self-sterile fruits

Answer 13

apple
pear
plums

Question 14

self-fertile fruits

Answer 14

cherries
peach
apricot
grape
brambles
strawberry
blueberry

Question 15

Flower morphology of apple

Answer 15

stigma 
style
anther
filament
sepal
ovary
ovule
embryo sac
nectar-secretory glands

Question 16

Incomplete pollination

Answer 16

when some of the ovules are pollinated and some are not
insufficient pollination limits the number of seeds that can be formed, can also have a large impact on the amount of fruit produced per plant

Question 17

dependency of strawberry pollination

Answer 17

strawberry flowers only partially dependent on pollinators

Question 18

Grape flowers depend of what type of pollination

Answer 18

wind pollination

Question 19

Pests and fruits

Answer 19

fruit crops are susceptible to a wide range of disease and insect pests
sound, disease and insect damage-free fruit is necessary to reduce post harvest losses during storage, shipment and marketing
consumers expect perfect, blemish free fruit
USDA grade standards prohibit use or sale of damaged fruit
EPA regulates pesticides use in crops

Question 20

Asian lady beetles are attracted to what condition of fruit

Answer 20

damaged fruit

Question 21

Dirty dozen

Answer 21

strawberries
spinach 
kale
nectarines
apples
grapes
peaches
cherries
pears
tomatoes
celery
potatoes

Question 22

Automation in fruit production

Answer 22

causing growers to redesign plantings to fit machines
new pruning and training systems need to be developed
new cultivars may be needed to tolerant mechanical handling

Question 23

Fruit marketing

large fruit producing region

Answer 23

wholesale market
sell through broker or packing house
sell just the product
less than 30% returned to grower
producer remote from consumer

Question 24

Fruit marketing

small fruit producing region

Answer 24

retail or direct market
sell directly to consumer
100% returned to grower
immediate feedback from consumer
opportunities to “sell the farm experience”
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