Location
and Description of
The Kearneysville Tree Fruit Research and Education Center
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Location
and Description of |
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Fruit Tree Books |
 West
Virginia University's Kearneysville Tree Fruit Research and Education Center is located in
Jefferson County on Route 9, just west of Kearneysville, about halfway between Charles
Town and Martinsburg. The Fruit Center was established in 1930 and is administered by the
College of Agriculture and Forestry. Faculty at the Center usually have joint appointments
in the Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry,
and Consumer Sciences and the West
Virginia Cooperative Extension Service. It is one of nine farms and
forests of the West
Virginia Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. The Center
includes 158 acres of mixed tree
fruit plantings and corn rotation, a modern laboratory and classroom building, a historic farm house, a
greenhouse, graduate student housing, and various equipment buildings. Orchard plantings
on the site include a large and diverse display of various apple trellis
systems that were established in 1979 and the early 1980's. Most of the site is devoted to research
plantings, with numerous orchard blocks established specifically for investigations in the
areas of entomology and plant pathology.Two faculty are located permanently at the Kearneysville Tree Fruit Research and Education Center. The disciplines of Entomology and Plant Pathology are represented at the facility. Staff includes an Administrative Secretary, Farm Manager, Farm Supervisor, two farm workers, one full-time research assistant, and various temporary seasonal employees to help with data gathering and farm maintenance. Students from Shepherd University, located in Shepherdstown, WV, work with WVU faculty on internship projects or as summer research assistants. The mission of the Fruit Center is to serve the commercial tree fruit industry of West Virginia, of which over 95% is located in the counties of Berkeley, Jefferson, Hampshire, and Morgan. This is currently accomplished by conducting research in entomology and plant pathology at the Fruit Center and in grower orchards, and by providing educational programs for fruit growers. Educational programs consist of fruit schools, grower meetings, tours, publications (including a biweekly newsletter), diagnostic services, and this web site. Our World Wide Web Site has been online since November, 1996, and has received numerous awards and many unsolicited letters from users. Readers can view summaries of our 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 Web site activity. Tours of the Fruit Center are provided in conjunction with the Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival, and at other times by appointment. |
Kearneysville sunrise photo (May, 1998)
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Look for our sign! Our hard-working staff (group photo):
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Our
snail-mail address:
West Virginia University
Tree Fruit Research and Education Center
P.O. Box 609
Kearneysville, WV 25430-0609
Phone: 304 -
876 - 6353
Fax: 304 - 876 - 6034
Our
shipping address:
West Virginia University
Tree Fruit Research and Education Center
67 Apple Harvest Lane
Kearneysville, WV 25430-0609
Phone: 304 -
876 - 6353
Fax: 304 - 876 - 6034
Faculty at our Neighboring
Universities and USDA Facilities
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Web Site Author: Alan R.
Biggs
Copyright ©1996-2006.
03/23/2006 09:07:11 AM