2018 ASHS Annual Conference

HORT 310 "Pomology" is an undergraduate course focused on temperate-zone tree and small fruit crops with an emphasis on practices utilized in the Pacific Northwest. The course is required for students in the Fruit and Vegetable Management major of the Integrated Plant Sciences interdisciplinary program. Other majors that typically take the course include Viticulture and Enology and Organic Agriculture Systems. Each year, at least 25 percent of the enrolled students are pursuing either a M.S. or Ph.D. degree. Besides the traditional elements of a pomology course, a strong emphasis is placed on management practices to ensure grower profitability and presenting a high-quality product to the consumer. Whether fruits are produced in the U.S. or some other country, students are expected to know the diversity of available fruits, where the fruit are coming from, how they are marketed, packaged and priced in the local commercial chain-store. The course focuses on general pomological concepts in the first several weeks and then the focus shifts to specific commodities - pome and stone fruits, small fruits, etc. A key assignment (20% of final grade) is introduced in the first two weeks of class that forces students to engage with the end-product in a local grocery store to help to inform future discussions that occur throughout the entire semester as we focus on specific commodities. Each student must perform their own, independent, comprehensive inventory of all fresh fruit items in the local grocery store. Only fresh fruit is considered but this includes conventional/organic, temperate and tropical, bulk (by the piece), bagged, fresh-cut, fruit in clam shells, etc. As part of assignment, students must enumerate all fruit types, cultivars, place of origin, price, condition, space occupied, etc. They must identify fruits that traveled the furthest/closest, those that were most/least expensive ($/lb), those that take up the most/least space, those that are offered at discount, etc. The inventory and analysis must be accompanied with high quality photographs and critique on the general condition (e.g., defects, overripe, etc.) of the fruit. Course evaluations each year affirm the significant value of this assignment to course participants. Assignment specifics, examples of student work, and lessons learned will be presented as an example that could be used in other horticulture crop related courses (e.g., olericulture).