Interest in fruit Crops blooms in Montezuma and Dolores counties

Fruit trees and vineyards are starting to blossom again with renewed vigor in Montezuma and Dolores counties.

Some longtime residents, as well as newcomers, are working to help rejuvenate a fruit-production industry that once flourished in that area of Colorado. Key partners with the fruit growers are Colorado State University Extension agents in the two counties and the Fruit Tree and Vineyard Research and Demonstration Project, based at the Southwestern Colorado Research Station at Yellow Jacket.

"More and more people are buying old orchard acreages and rejuvenating them or starting over to develop productive orchards," said Jan Sennhenn, director of Colorado State Extension in Montezuma County.

Sennhenn, along with Kenny Smith, Extension agricultural and 4-H youth agent in Montezuma County, and Dan Fernandez, director of the Extension office in Dolores County, collaborate with other fruit researchers from Colorado State to develop and demonstrate management that small-acreage growers can readily apply to their own land.

"In the 1940s and 1950s, Montezuma and Dolores counties had large acreages of fruit trees, mainly apples, but the industry gradually declined. Our project focuses on working with local fruit-industry leaders to help revive the fruit industry," Sennhenn said.

Work being done at the Yellow Jacket Orchard/Vineyard Demonstration Project is designed to give growers practical management information that helps them maximize fruit production.

Many who are revitalizing old orchards are involved in the fruit industry part-time. But others devote full time to their acreages, especially those trying to establish vineyards.

Three members of the Wynes family are among a group of local growers who closely monitor the latest developments from the project. Tim Wynes, his son Jim, and Jim's wife work with 15 irrigated acres and 2,000 trees, half of which are apple. They also grow peaches, pears, apricots and other fruit on their orchard five miles north of Cortez.

Jim Wynes and his wife work full time at other jobs, but Tim is retired and devotes much of his time to upgrading the orchard. The family expects the orchard to bring in extra income, but they also enjoy revitalizing their land, which once was part of a larger orchard.

The Wynes family sells fruit at the local farmer's market and has a pick-your-own operation at the orchard.

Tim and his son regularly attend demonstrations and field days, and Smith and Fernandez have visited the Wynes orchard to demonstrate pruning techniques. "It was amazing. The peaches on those pruned trees grew three times larger than those from trees that hadn't been pruned," Tim Wynes said.

Wynes added that pruning demonstrations at the Yellow Jacket research site, explanations about sprinkler-system irrigation, and instruction on equipment and tools have been especially useful.

"The group from Extension is always available to help us and answer questions," Wynes said. "We've gotten a lot of good information from them."

Since the research and demonstration project began almost eight years ago, approximately 75 new-orchard acres, 60 revitalized acres and one nursery have been developed in the two counties. Two small wineries also are under construction, Sennhenn said.

"As acreages continue to increase in the two counties, our project group has put a priority on finding more ways to market the fruit," Sennhenn added.

In addition to marketing, an emphasis for Extension agents is to update local growers through field days and workshops. A growers' manual, based on information collected from the project, was published last year. The Extension staff also writes news articles that update the public about the project's work and progress.

Partners in Fruit Tree and Vineyard Research and Demonstration Project: Colorado State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Southwestern Colorado Research Center; local fruit growers.

For more information, contact your local Colorado State University Extension office.

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