Apple Orchards in Switzerland: 

 Differences Small and Large 



Donald C. Weber 



Institute of Plant Sciences I Applied Entomology, 



Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, CH-8092 Zurich Switzerland 



Since the beginning of 1993, when I left the 

 University of Massachusetts, I have worked as 

 a tree fruit research entomologist for the Swiss 

 Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. Since 

 I also had experience with orchards in north- 

 eastern U.S.A., I have found the differences in 

 orchards and pest management between the 

 U.S.A. and Europe to be quite fascinating. Eu- 

 ropean agriculture offers some features which I 

 feel could improve American pest management, 

 and certainly some other features which should 

 not be emulated! Most of my comments pertain 

 in particular to Switzerland, but are more or less 

 apphcable to neighboring countries as well. 



Small-scale and Intensive 



One of the most striking features of orchards 

 in Switzerland is their small size, both in stature 

 and in area. For the fresh market, dwarf 

 roots tocks are the rule, and very high-density 

 plantings (arovmd 1000 trees per acre) are trel- 

 lised and on rootstocks such as M.9 and M.26. 

 Fresh-market cultivars differ from those in the 

 U.S.A. In Switzerland, Golden Delicious is the 

 single most abundant cultivar, accounting for 

 about 25% of the acreage; other important culti- 

 vars are Idared, Maigold, Jonagold, Boskoop, 

 Glocken, Gloster, Gravenstein, and Jonathan. 

 Gala is being planted widely, but Cox Orange 

 Pippin is not so common, although it is a leading 

 cultivar in Holland and Great Britain. In Swit- 

 zerland, the orchard acreages for any one 

 farmer generally are small, family-owned, and 

 often part of mixed farming including especially 

 dairy cattle, sheep, and field crops. Government 

 policy encourages diversified, intensive small 

 farms which include animal husbandry. 



Big Money, Big Trees 



That is it for the small things. Two features, 

 though, loom large: subsidies in the form of 

 direct government payments, and the presence 

 of large numbers of more-or-less unmanaged, 

 high-stemmed (standard) apples and pears in 

 the landscape. The Swiss people consider both 

 their agriculture and their "Kulturlandschaft," 

 or culturally -influenced landscape, to be a part 

 of the national heritage. Agriculture is subsi- 

 dized strongly. Because of changes in Swiss law 

 made last year, payments to growers are based 

 now on acreage and desirable management 

 practices (including crop rotation and inte- 

 grated production), rather than quantity of har- 

 vest marketed. This is allowed by the so-called 

 "Green Box" of GATT, under which member 

 countries can encourage environmentally- 

 sound practices through financial incentives. 

 The Swiss economy is also highly regulated, 

 aiding marketing associations in the formation 

 of cartels that then fix quite high prices for 

 agricultural and other goods. This combination 

 of subsidies and quasi -monopoly marketing re- 

 sults in food prices that are among the highest in 

 the world. This may not be something to wish on 

 the consumer, perhaps, but farming is more 

 profitable! 



Now for the other large thing. Large pear 

 and apple trees abound in this landscape, and 

 are considered not only scenic but ecologically 

 valuable. Most are minimally managed, and the 

 apples and pears are harvested for cider. The 

 pears thrive, thanks to the (until now)absence of 

 fire blight. But the problem for pest manage- 

 ment of fresh-market apples and pears is that 

 these high-stemmed trees are great refuges for 



22 



Fru'n Notes, Summer, 1994 



