Fire Blight Spreads Northward, Threatening Apple Orchards

Growers in northern states are combating virulent outbreaks of a disease as seasons grow warmer, orchards have been reconfigured for higher yields and new varieties may be more vulnerable.

Dec 2, 2019

GENEVA, N.Y. — Across the country, hundreds of kinds of apples were meticulously developed by orchardists over the last couple of centuries and then, as farms and groves were abandoned and commercial production greatly narrowed the number of varieties for sale, many were forgotten.

Some of this horticultural biodiversity, though, has been nurtured by dedicated growers who want to preserve the forgotten flavors and other traits of apples from the past. For example, some of the best apples ever developed for baking pies are no longer grown commercially, experts say, but are still thriving in heirloom orchards.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/02/s...-orchards.html