The Michigan Apple Committee (MAC) board approved funding for 2022 research projects on March 3. Research is an important part of MAC’s mission.
“Members of the MAC Board of Directors select growers to serve on the research subcommittee,” said Diane Smith, executive director of MAC. “The subcommittee analyzes several research proposals and recommends funding to the board.”
Research priorities are set to support Michigan Apple growers and industry success. MAC looks for projects that improve profitability and production, develop new markets and products and identify consumer trends and facts. MAC wishes to support innovative research that helps achieve its mission by enhancing the reputation of Michigan Apples.
“MAC accepts proposals from many different research institutions and centers of excellence,” said Smith. “We are fortunate to have a world-class agricultural instruction right in our back yard with Michigan State University, and there is also a great deal of collaboration between institutions and colleagues.”
For 2022, the board approved $174,126 in funding for nine projects. Research topics varied from pest management to varietal research to planting technology. For the complete list of projects, see below.
The Michigan Apple Committee is a grower-funded nonprofit organization devoted to marketing, education and research activities to distinguish the Michigan apple and encourage its consumption in Michigan and around the world.
MAC Funded Research:
- Randolph Beaudry: Apple Ripening After DCA Storage: Assessing the Risk of Flavor Loss, $25,866
- Todd Einhorn: New Thinning Strategies to Improve Apple Profitability and Predictability, $30,000
Evaluation of Multi Leader Training Systems, $10,000 - Courtney Hollender: The Biological Mechanism Behind Early and Late Apple Sports, $24,773
- Bill Shane: Coordinated Evaluation of Apple Germplasm for the Fresh and Processing Industries, $10,000
- George Sundin: Shoot Blight Management with Reduced Rates of Apogee, Actigard and Coppers, $22,500
- Anna Wallis: Apple Crop Manipulation Using PGRs and Other Materials, $17,696
- Julianna Wilson: 2022 Apple Entomology Research, $13,574
- John Wise: Rainfastness of Fungicides for Disease Control in Apples, $19,717
For more information:
Diane Smith
Michigan Apple Committee
Tel: +1 (800) 456-2753
[email protected]
https://www.michiganapples.com/