At its Randwijk site, Wageningen UR carries out research in the fruit sector and tree nurseries. The surrounding area is home to many growers and other companies in the fruit sector as well as numerous nurseries of avenue trees. The research therefore has a strong focus on innovations and their practical application. See for more information: http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/Expertise-Services/Research-Institutes/applied-plant-research/Research-themes/Fruit.htm

1. Experimental station for fruit cultivation in
Randwijk
Lingewal 1, 6668 LA Randwijk

2. Experimental station for fruit cultivation in
Randwijk
At its Randwijk site, Wageningen UR carries
out research in the fruit sector and tree
nurseries. The surrounding area is home to
many growers and other companies in the
fruit sector as well as numerous nurseries of
avenue trees. The research therefore has a
strong focus on innovations and their practical
application.

3. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
In Randwijk, the effects of hail nets are tested on 1.5 hectares of apple trees.

4. Oogst en bewaring
The usefulness of the thin and transparent, but very strong, net was made
abundantly clear before it was even installed, In the spring of 2008 a huge
hailstorm destroyed not only all the fruit on the experimental farm, but even
entire trees. The dents from the hail stones, some the size of golf balls, are
still visible in the façade of the office today as silent witnesses.
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.

5. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
A hail net above the fruit trees could have prevented the majority of the
damage. But since the Netherlands is on the northern boundary of the
climate area where apples can still be grown, every ray of sun also counts.

6. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
Whatever their appearance, hail nets always block some light – no matter
how little – in addition to hail. This is why Wageningen UR in Randwijk is
studying the possible negative effects of the fine-mesh hail nets on growth,
colour and setting of, for instance, different Elstar mutants.

7. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
Some of the trees on the experimental farm do not have their roots in the
ground, growing in a separate trench filled with sand where the environment
is controlled to the smallest detail.

8. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.From a central om de effecten fertilisation van space, dunning, each snoeiregimes, trench receives mestift a precisely
of andere
ingrepen determined te kunnen amount bepalen.
of water and nutrients for the trees.

9. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.And the om water de that effecten drains van out dunning, of the trench snoeiregimes, is collected mestift separately of andere
to
ingrepen determine te kunnen how many bepalen.
minerals are actually taken up by the trees.

10. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
Some of the young trees are even completely loose from the ground. This is
useful for monitoring the inflow and outflow of fertilisers, and also saves work
for the people who have to work on the trees.

11. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
A wide panoply of measures are used in Randwijk to examine how pests can
be kept away from the fruit.

12. Oogst en bewaring
For instance, there are traps in various locations with attractants for
Drosophila suzuki, a new invasive insect from Asia, which is spreading around
the world’s fruit harvest like a fruit fly Trojan horse. And sophisticated
fertilisation regimens are used to see how substances such as nitrogen in
particular can influence the occurrence of pear psyllids.
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.

13. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
The most high-tech measures are deployed against the codling moth. Special
fully automated boxes with attractants detect the presence of these moths
and send a signal to a central computer.

14. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
A spray canister of pheromones in the crop which can be controlled at a
distance subsequently sends out a big puff of these scent hormones, causing
the males and females of the moth to lose the ability to find or fertilise each
other.

15. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
Harvest is a busy time at any orchard, but at the experimental farm it’s all
hands on deck during this period.

16. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
In many allotments, the fruit from each individual tree needs to be picked,
counted, measured and weighed to determine the effects of thinning, pruning
regimens, fertilisation rates or other interventions.

17. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
In the following months, the research staff are again busy determining, for
instance, the hardness of the fruit or the effects of different storage
conditions on the occurrence of Botrytis or other harmful infections of the
apples and pears.

18. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
In the following months, the research staff are again busy determining, for
instance, the hardness of the fruit or the effects of different storage
conditions on the occurrence of Botrytis or other harmful infections of the
apples and pears.

19. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
In the following months, the research staff are again busy determining, for
instance, the hardness of the fruit or the effects of different storage
conditions on the occurrence of Botrytis or other harmful infections of the
apples and pears.

20. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
A plot at Wageningen UR’s site in Randwijk with striking open gaps in the
rows of trees may be growing the fruit of tomorrow.

21. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
Sophisticated crossings – sometimes with inedible but disease-resistant
ornamental apples – allow the creation of new varieties. Results which fail
regular tests are immediately removed from the row.

22. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
And the shrinking group of remaining trees may just contain the fruits of the
future. It could be that hard, sweet apple with red skin which just happens to
also be resistant to the dreaded apple scab, or to cancer in trees.

23. Oogst en bewaring
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
Van elke boom moet het fruit worden geplukt, geteld, gemeten en
gewogen.om de effecten van dunning, snoeiregimes, mestift of andere
ingrepen te kunnen bepalen.
Or perhaps the apple with red pulp will find its way to a niche in the market
for more decorative fruit varieties?

24. Experimental station for fruit cultivation in
Randwijk
Read more about the fruit research of Wageningen UR