The Alaska Pioneer Fruit Growers Association shares in and benefits from the personal experience of successful fruit growing in Alaska and seeks to educate any person(s) interested in fruit growing.
Locate, test and preserve superior or special fruit, berry and nut varieties relevant to Alaska.
Identify unique cultural methods/materials, propagation techniques, fruit breeding and grafting procedures, adaptations of species and cultivars and all other aspects of fruit growing.
Evaluate various fruit cultivars for hardiness in our local climate.
Provide instruction to and exchange information with members and anyone interested in fruit growing techniques and cultural practices.
Assist in group ordering of materials.
Promote communication and friendship between members and other fruit growing enthusiasts.
Encouraging friends and neighbors to establish their own fruit trees, bushes and shrubs.
Provide assistance to the Cooperative Extension Service to the extent possible.
The Latest News:
An Appreciation for Lee Calhoun, the Man who Saved Southern Apples
Lost Apple Project on Science Friday
Pruning Workshop and Grafting Workshop Canceled
Become a member! Membership gives you:
Access to members-only classifieds and forum
Access to the most recent association newsletters
Orchard tours, pruning workshops, and many other association activities
Dues are only $16 a year!
Explore over 30 years of newsletters, reports, and research on fruit growing in Alaska:
Featured Fruit: Cherry
Cherry Prunus cerasus
Evans cherry (close-up)
Cherries occupy the Cerasus subgenus within Prunus. They are members of the Rosaceae family, subfamily Prunoideae. Prunus avium L. is the Sweet Cherry, and Prunus cerasus L. the Sour Cherry. P. fruticosa (ground cherry) and P. pseudocerasus (Chinese cherry) are other minor fruit species. Cherries originated in Asia, but spread to Europe early on. Cherry pits have been found in the remains of prehistoric lake dwellings in Switzerland. The name Cherry dates back to 300 BC, after the Turkish town of Cerasus. In the 1600's cherries arrived in North America with the settlers. Cherry-trees are cultivated for their fruit (fresh, canned, served in syrup, jams, jellies, and liquors) and also for their wood, which is much valued in woodworking.
Most cherries have been grafted onto a rootstock. Leaves are relatively large, elliptic with acute tips, petioled, and strongly veined. Flowers are white, with long pedicels, borne in clusters of 2-5 flowers on short spurs with multiple buds at the tips. The distal bud is vegetative and continues spur growth. Bloom occurs relatively late in spring, so frost is less of a hazard than for other stone fruits.
Maximum yields from sweet cherries are obtained beginning in the 5-6th year after budding, and trees are productive for 25-30 years, despite living much longer. Each spur is long-lived, producing for 10-12 years. Sweet cherries need cross-pollination, while tart cherries are self-fertile. Fruiting begins earlier for sour cherry trees, after 3-4 years, but productive life is shorter – only 20-25 years. Sour cherries are the latest blooming of the stone fruits, therefore are less frost prone to frost damage than sweets. 35-45% of the flowers are borne on 1-year wood, not exclusively on spurs as in sweets. Spurs are also shorter-lived on sour than sweet, gradually declining in productivity over 3-5 years. Sour cherries tend to be a bit more cold hardy overall.
Wild and domestic cherries contain cyanogenic glycosides in leaves, bark and seeds. P. serotina is the most dangerous species in the Rosaceae. Children have been poisoned by chewing twigs, eating seeds, and making tea from leaves. All classes of livestock have been killed by eating leaves.
Fresh cherries are very nutritious. They are rich in Potassium, Vitamins A and C, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Folic Acid, Calcium, and even a bit of protein.