EBIO 1250 visits the YaYa Orchard in Hygiene

Students observing different cultivars of apples with YAYA orchard owner, Sharon Perdue.

Our Urban Ecology class field trip to YAYA Orchard in Hygiene, Colorado, was one of the most impactful for the students as many of them have told me it stands out as one of their favorite class days. 

In September 2019, Sharon Perdue, owner of YAYA Orchard taught us about the diversity of apple cultivars grown at the orchard and let us taste differences in the apples. Many of the apples she picked for her orchard was due to tasting them at an orchard in New York. However, she expressed that the exact same apple may taste totally different depending on if was grown in New York or Colorado, or even year to year. 

Sharon described environmental conditions that influence the successes and challenges of growing fruit trees on the Front Range. She identified fire blight, a bacterial disease caused by the pathogen Erwinia amylovora, as the biggest challenge plaguing her orchard since it can overwhelm and even kill certain trees within a single growing season. She has learned from experience which cultivars do better than others to guide her tree selection since she avoids using any kind of synthetic chemical control. Her philosophy is that creating a healthy tree is the best form of disease resistance. 

Our class was very lucky to be able to practice our fire blight strip diagnostic tests with a Cortland tree severely affected by fire blight before it was removed from her orchard. We even isolated and cultured a bacterial strain from this tree for use in our class fire blight resistance experiment. 

It was an incredible opportunity for the students to explore this orchard and be able practice fruit tree and fire blight identification. We are very grateful for Sharon for hosting our class at her orchard and for all her support for student education.

Deidre Jaeger, PhD Candidate CU Boulder, Instructor for EBIO 1250-012 Urban Ecology

Student experience feature: Vanessa Arnold

From first glances around YAYA Orchard one can immediately take in its inviting beauty with the backdrop of mountains, Percheron Draft horses, a lake, and, of course, fruit trees. This setting instantly welcomes visitors to take a tour of the grounds and learn more about this magical place. The orchard is steeped in tradition and history, which only expands upon its value to the community. Sharon Perdue, orchardist and YAYA owner, is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to fruit tree production and orchard management and is eager to share and discuss her experience. As busy as she is, Sharon always makes time to answer questions, explain orchard management procedures, and provide sound insight about the future of Colorado orchards.

YAYA Orchard is located on 8 acres of land with approximately 1,000 fruit trees. The majority of the fruit trees are apple varieties with some pear, cherry, and apricot trees. It is quite obvious there is an enormous amount of time and energy that goes into maintaining these trees. Hard work, persistence, knowledge of the rosaceae family, and orchard experience all play important roles in Colorado orchard management success. As Sharon would admit, an orchardist can do everything right but does not have control over “Mother Nature”.  

CU Boulder’s EBIO 1250 course had the pleasure of visiting YAYA during early Autumn. This was my favorite part of the course. Sharon Perdue furthered our class’ understanding of fruit tree pests and a specific plant pathogen that affects plants in the rosaceae family, fire blight. Sharon pulled from her orchard’s experience with fire blight, and made some key insights regarding which varieties demonstrated resistance while others, even though thought to be resistant, showed variation regarding resistance or even susceptibility. She discussed possible reasons for resistance variability in certain apple trees and aided in my understanding that there is still much to be studied about fire blight. It made me realize that what I have learned about the pathogen is not necessarily what is observed when working in an orchard and consistently tending fruit trees. Sharon’s insights regarding apple tree management are invaluable. Thank you, Sharon Perdue!  

-       Vanessa Arnold, CU Boulder student in EBIO 1250-012 Urban Ecology course

Student experience feature: Mary Tubbs

“YAYA orchard was a very beautiful place. Near the front entrance was an immense Cotton Wood tree. This tree was a sight to see with how enormous it was! The orchard was laid out in a very easy pattern to maneuver. They had rows of plum, apple, cherry and even had some Asian pears trees. The owner was kind enough to show us an interesting cultivar of apple in the front of the orchard. These apples smelled strongly of camp fire. I believe the cultivar was called “camp fire”, these apples were just the right the right balance of sweet and savory due to the smell.

The orchard also had animals near the main entrance. There were donkeys, chickens and a group of very friendly labradors who were very excited for us to be visiting them. It was nice to see the owner recycling the damaged fruit by feeding them to her chickens.

The owner was very honest regarding the fire blight problem she was experiencing. She shared her fertilizing regiments, how she has cared for her trees and how the fire blight has even spread to her plum trees. YAYA did not practice using harsh chemical on her trees and rarely fertilized her trees taking a more natural approach to raising her trees. The owner explained that trees that were suffering from the fire blight bacteria would not do well after she fertilized the trees often resulting in a great spread of this infection on the treated tree. YAYA orchard has lost many trees to the fire blight and according to the owner. If a remedy to the fire blight disease is found, it would save a ton of orchards a lot of resources. It was very eye opening to see how fire blight was directly affecting YAYA orchard.”

Mary Tubbs, CU Boulder student in EBIO 1250-012 Urban Ecology course

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Students exploring YAYA orchard

Students practicing a fire blight detection strip test at YAYA orchard.