GETTYSBURG, Pa. — For the eleventh year, Penn State Extension will hold a day-long session in Spanish during the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention. Special guest is Mario Miranda Sazo, Cornell Extension, who will lead demonstrations on pruning techniques for high density plantings and principles of crop load management.
Mario Miranda Sazo, Cornell Extension Lake Ontario Fruit Specialist, is known for his engaging bi-cultural educational programs on the science behind best management practices in orchards. His research and extension responsibilities focus on pruning, the testing of new Cornell Geneva® apple rootstocks, feathering of nursery apple trees, the tall spindle apple system, and orchard mechanization for higher labor efficiency.
The program for the Spanish session is jointly planned by Extension faculty and educators from Penn State Extension and Virginia Cooperative Extension, along with leaders of the Penn State Latinx Agricultural Network. The morning program includes a classroom practicum on fruit pests, diseases and beneficials; a lab practicum on assessing soil health; and a demonstration in the exhibit hall on equipment safety. Facilitators are Beth Sastre, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and Maria Gorgo, Dr. Tara Baugher (program co- chairs) Dr. Carlos Quesada, Don Seifrit, Dr. Kari Peter, Dr. Margarita López-Uribe, Megan Chawner, Ilse Huerta, Emma Rosenthal and Montserrat Fonseca Estrada, Penn State Extension.
The afternoon topics presented by Mario Miranda Sazo include “Applied Pruning Techniques—Long Pruning versus Short Pruning for High Density Apple Plantings” and “Understanding the Basic Principles of Blossom/Fruitlet Thinning and the Reasons and Benefits of Early Crop Load Management—What/Why/How Can You Help?”
A catered lunch is provided at no charge. The complete program, in Spanish and English, along with registration information is available at https://www.mafvc.org/Schedule. When you register with the trade association of your choice, please be sure to indicate how many from your operation will be attending the Spanish session, as a headcount will be needed for lunch. The program is supported by PDA/USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Award #ME44187248, a Penn State Extension Agricultural Latinx Network Impact Grant, and the Penn State Pesticide Education Program.
—Tara Baugher, Penn State Extension