Conference pears; work on system changes to enable better scab control in organic orchards in the Netherlands

Summary in the original language of the document

Scab control in Conference pears is the bottleneck in organic growing. A group of growers,
advisers and researchers in the Netherlands is working on new approaches to organic
pear growing. Central to this approach is a reliable and good scab control. Changes in the
system of cultivation are sought which will enable this scab control with less fungicide.
This has become even more urgent since copper was banned as a fungicide in the
Netherlands. First results from trials on vigour control show that there is potency for
system changes that will enable a better scab control in organic growing. Scab incidence
was reduced in three trials with 34, 58 and 82% respectively. The project, in which also
other cultivation measures are being tested, will be continued.