Georgia Heritage Apple Orchard: History, Horticulture, and Community
Horticulture & Turfgrass
Clark Macallister
County Extension Coordinator
University of Georgia
Dawsonville
Abstract
Georgia was once a hub for apple (Malus x domestica) production in the late 1800s. Approximately 1,600 known varieties originated or were grown in the Southern US. The early 1900s brought a sharp decline in apple diversity, spurred by industrialization, shifting demographics, marketing campaigns, and prohibition. We are currently left with only around 400 Southern-adapted varieties, many of which have only a few trees remaining, leaving them vulnerable to extinction. UGA Extension Agents teamed with UGA History professor Dr. Stephen Mihm on a USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant: “Lost and Found: Resurrecting Extinct Apple Cultivars.” The group established the Georgia Heritage Apple Orchard with the goal of creating a genetic repository, thereby preserving and resurrecting adapted apple varieties once common in the southern United States. As a community outreach component, apple grafting classes were offered to increase awareness for the Heritage Orchard. Through media outreach about the project, citizens have come forward to offer their heritage varieties for preservation, including some varieties previously thought to be extinct, such as “Family” and “August Tart.” To date, the project team has successfully planted three copies of 100 different varieties at the orchard located on the Georgia Mountain Research and Education Center in Blairsville. Community interest in this project has also spurred the cooperative establishment of several new heritage variety apple orchards throughout North Georgia.
Authors: Clark Macallister
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Clark Macallister County Extension Coordinator, UGA Extension, Georgia, 30534