Development of an extension Community of Practice (CoP) - Rootstocks and Apple Varieties for the Eastern States (RAVES)

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: A wealth of information regarding apple varieties and rootstocks has been amassed by researchers across the U.S., Canada and Mexico over the past 30 years, but in large part is inaccessible to the public. The long-term goal of this project is to develop an eXtension Community of Practice (CoP) named Apples that will provide region-specific apple variety and rootstock descriptions and recommendations to our Community of Interest (CoI) which includes commercial producers, nursery professionals, extension educators, master gardeners, home gardeners and consumers. Diverse and dynamic educational tools such as interactive maps, searchable databases, videos and online courses will be housed at eXtension.org, creating a commons of information critical to the apple industry. These programs will help to increase adoption of new and existing apple varieties and rootstocks ideal to particular regions. Through increased understanding of the importance of these choices, crop characteristics will greatly improve, and the incidence and impact of industry-critical pest and disease problems will be reduced. Furthermore, producers will have access to valuable information that will increase production efficiency and profitability over the long term and contribute to the sustainability of their operations and the industry as a whole. Increased knowledge among home gardeners and consumers on the significance of regional apple production will bolster industry and regional economic and sustainability efforts. Over time this CoP will expand to include other apple-producing regions, additional aspects of production, and complementary consumer information.