2018 ASHS Annual Conference

Late frosts are the number one issue challenging fruit production in northern New Mexico. The NMSU Alcalde Center had apricot trees for 15 years and no fruit was produced due to late frosts. There are native apricot trees in the communities with sporadic crops. Since 2012, we planted apricots in two 16x40 ft (9.5 ft high-point) high tunnels with spindle and upright fruiting offshoot (UFO) systems. There were five cultivars planted in each high tunnel at 4x8 ft spacing in a randomized complete block design with two replications and two trees per cultivar in each plot. In 2015, Puget Gold had the highest yield (29.0 lb/tree) in spindle system while Golden Amber had the highest yield (18.6 lb/tree) for the UFO system. On average, UFO produced 60% of the yield of the spindle system in 2015. There were more lessons learned than success in this study. A heating device is mandatory in high tunnel apricot fruit production in northern New Mexico since trees normally bloom in early to late March depending on year while the frosts can continue until mid-May. Heaters should also have the auto-on and off function regulated by a thermostat. In years like 2017 and 2018 with temperature <-10 °C in late February or early March, the expanded flower buds were killed before bloom. On those cold nights, one 100 lb tank of propane may or may not be enough for one night’s frost protection. Economically, it was not feasible. Only in years of cool spring and late blooming trees with mild April and May, the high tunnel apricot production can make positive revenue. High tunnel apricot production with heating device is still very risky and cannot guarantee a reliable crop each year in northern New Mexico.