LEARNING FROM THE DUTCH 



William J. Lord 

 Department of Plant and Soil Sciences 



The University o£ Massachusetts granted me a sabbatical leave 

 from February 1, to July 15, 1975, to study designs and training 

 systems for intensive orchards. Since many of the concepts and 

 techniques used in intensive orchards were originated or "refined" 

 by the Dutch, it seemed most logical to make my headquarters in 

 this country. 



I am at the Wilhelminadorp Research Station located in a major 

 fruit growing area of the Netherlands. The research station bears 

 the name of the polder on which it is located. The Wilhelminadorp 

 polder is a 10,000 acre company-owned farm, one of the largest, if 

 not the largest, in the Netherlands. Arable crops are grown on this 

 farm with the exception of the research orchards and those of the 

 company. The polder is near the city of Goes and a part of the 

 Zeeland Province. Zeeland includes a small part of the continent 

 and 6 islands jutting into an estuary of the North Sea. 



Wilhelminadorp was established as an experimental garden in 

 1902. In 1940, laboratories for entomology, plant pathology and 

 soil science were added. In 1954, it became the Fruit Research 

 Station for the Netherlands. The station conducts applied research 

 in all fields of fruit growing, i.e. pomology, pathology, entomol- 

 ogy, soil fertility, physiology and economics, both for tree and 

 small fruits. The research on small fruit is conducted in an Exper- 

 imental Garden at Kapelle, 4 miles from Wilhelminadorp. There are 

 50 research acres at Wilhelminadorp and a professional staff of 10, 

 including the Director, plus 27 assistants. Ir. R.K. Elema is di- 

 rector of the station and at the same time the National Fruit Advis- 

 or. The National Fruit Advisor is responsible for the coordination 

 and the technical content of extension recommendations. 



The Pomology section, to which I am attached, has a profession- 

 al staff of 3. Dr. S.J. Wertheim, Head, Dr. H.J. van Oosten, and 

 Ing. P.D. Goddrie. Dr. Wertheim's fields of specialty are planting 

 systems, pollination, pruning, and growth regulators. Incidentally, 

 Dr. Wertheim presented 2 talks on the Dutch Fruit Industry at the 

 Dwarf Fruit Tree Meetings at Grand Rapids, Michigan in March, 1973. 

 Dr. van Oosten's specialties are virology, clones, rootstocks, and 

 interstems, and Ing. Goddrie does variety testing. The small fruit 

 section is staffed with a professional and one assistant. 



Seven Experimental Fruit Gardens are located in the important 

 apple and pear districts in the Netherlands and are financed by the 

 government and growers on a 50-50 basis. The researchers from Wil- 

 helminadorp and the Extension Service in the area where the Exper- 

 imental Gardens are located establish research and demonstration 

 plots at these locations. 



