Pomology
Colorado is home to a tree fruit industry of 5,000 acres. Colorado has a reputation for growing high quality peaches on the Western slope of the Rocky Mountains, with the highest average farmgate price nationwide. The $24 million dollar industry faces a challenging growing environment, limited areas of consistently suitable climate, predominantly in Mesa and Delta counties.
Information for Growers
Peach Cold Hardiness Updates
Visit Ioannis Minas’ webpage with updates for peach cold hardiness.
Bud Development and Cold Injury Critical Temperatures
Pomology Personnel
David Sterle, PhD
Research Scientist | WCRC-Orchard Mesa
David and his family first moved to Western Colorado in 2014. Since then, he has earned a PhD in Horticulture and a MS in Soil and Crop Sciences. For years he has been studying various aspects of orchard management at WCRC-OM. His greatest research interests include: peach floral bud cold hardiness physiology, irrigation and fertilization management. He feels his greatest strengths are applying his scientific knowledge to solve real world problems that growers face in the orchard.
Emily Dowdy
Research Associate | WCRC-Orchard Mesa
emily.dowdy@colostate.edu
(970) 434-3264 ext. 207
Emily graduated from CSU in 2009 with a B.S degree in Horticulture. Her studies focused on food crop production and organic systems. She joined Western Colorado Research Center as a Research Associate in 2013. Prior to joining WCRC, Emily worked on a commercial organic orchard in Hotchkiss, Colorado and managed the orchards on a small diversified organic farm, also in Hotchkiss.
Collaborating Faculty
Ioannis Minas
Dr. Minas is an Associate Professor of Pomology with the Dept. of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Colorado State University. Dr. Minas received his Ph.D. in Pomology and Post-harvest Physiology from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. During his Ph.D. studies was appointed as a Junior Specialist for 2 years at the Dept. Plant Sciences at University of California Davis, CA. His research program at CSU is emphasized on orchard and environmental factors affecting productivity, developmental physiology, harvest quality and post-harvest technology of tree fruits. Dr. Minas is senior or co-author in more than 40 peer reviewed publications in the field of pomology and post-harvest physiology and serves as coordinator of peach rootstock trials within the frame of the multi-state project NC-140.
Jane Stewart, PhD
Associate Professor | Main Campus, Fort Collins
Office Phone: 970.491.8770
Email: jane.stewart@colostate.edu
Website: Stewart Lab
My research interests include: understanding the biology, ecology and genetics of emerging tree/plant pathogenic fungi using population genetics and genomic methods, studying the interactions of plant and fungi that govern variation in host specialization, pathogenicity, and virulence, and understanding genomic drivers of fungal species delimitation and divergence with a focus on pathogens important to Colorado’s forests, shade and fruit trees, and forests worldwide.
Publications
Publications
Sterle, D. G., Caspari, H. W., & Minas, I. S. (2023). Optimized differential thermal analysis sheds light on the effect of temperature on peach floral bud cold hardiness and transition from endo-to ecodormancy. Plant Science, 335, 111791.
Minas, I. S., Anthony, B. M., Pieper, J. R., & Sterle, D. G. (2023). Large-scale and accurate non-destructive visual to near infrared spectroscopy-based assessment of the effect of rootstock on peach fruit internal quality. European Journal of Agronomy, 143, 126706.
Anthony, B. M., Sterle, D. G., & Minas, I. S. (2023). Robust non-destructive individual cultivar models allow for accurate peach fruit quality and maturity assessment following customization in phenotypically similar cultivars. Postharvest Biology and Technology, 195, 112148.
Sterle, D. (2023). Addressing the Threat of Frost Damage on Peach Floral Buds Through Large-Scale Cold Hardiness Phenotyping, Dynamic Weather Modeling and Non-Targeted Metabolomic and Proteomic Analysis (Doctoral dissertation, Colorado State University).
Sterle, D. G., & Minas, I. S. (2022, May). Exploration of environmental variables for peach floral bud cold hardiness prediction in western Colorado. In X International Peach Symposium 1352 (pp. 285-290).
Anthony, B. M., Sterle, D. G., Chaparro, J. M., Prenni, J. E., & Minas, I. S. (2022, May). Distinct behaviors of the primary and secondary metabolome in peach and their connection to fruit quality development. In X International Peach Symposium 1352 (pp. 215-220).
Minasa, I. S., Reighard, G. L., Black, B., Cline, J. A., Chavez, D. J., Coneva, E., … & Winzeler, H. E. (2022). Establishment performance of the 2017 NC-140 vigor-limiting peach rootstock trial across ten sites in North America.
Anthony, B. M., Chaparro, J. M., Sterle, D. G., Prenni, J. E., & Minas, I. S. (2021). Metabolic signatures of the true physiological impact of canopy light environment on peach fruit quality. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 191, 104630.
Miller, S. T., Sterle, D., Minas, I. S., & Stewart, J. E. (2021). Exploring fungicides and sealants for management of Cytospora plurivora infections in western Colorado peach production systems. Crop Protection, 146, 105654.
Anthony, B. M., Sterle, D. G., Chaparro, J. M., Prenni, J. E., & Minas, I. S. (2021, July). Controlling for maturity reveals the direct impact of canopy position on internal fruit quality in peach. In XII International Symposium on Integrating Canopy, Rootstock and Environmental Physiology in Orchard Systems 1346 (pp. 799-806).
Pieper, J. R., Anthony, B. M., Sterle, D. G., & Minas, I. S. (2021, July). Rootstock vigor and fruit position in the canopy influence peach internal quality. In XII International Symposium on Integrating Canopy, Rootstock and Environmental Physiology in Orchard Systems 1346 (pp. 807-812).
Sterle, D. G., & Minas, I. S. (2021, July). Peach floral bud cold hardiness of eleven cultivars in western Colorado. In XII International Symposium on Integrating Canopy, Rootstock and Environmental Physiology in Orchard Systems 1346 (pp. 169-174).
Minas, I. S., Reighard, G. L., Black, B., Cline, J. A., Chavez, D. J., Coneva, E., … & Winzeler, H. E. (2021, July). Establishment performance of the 2017 NC-140 vigor-limiting peach rootstock trial across ten sites in North America. In XII International Symposium on Integrating Canopy, Rootstock and Environmental Physiology in Orchard Systems 1346 (pp. 669-676).
Minas, I. S., Blanco-Cipollone, F., & Sterle, D. (2021). Accurate non-destructive prediction of peach fruit internal quality and physiological maturity with a single scan using near infrared spectroscopy. Food Chemistry, 335, 127626.
Miller, S. T., Otto, K. L., Sterle, D., Minas, I. S., & Stewart, J. E. (2019). Preventive fungicidal control of Cytospora leucostoma in peach orchards in Colorado. Plant disease, 103(6), 1138-1147.
Minas, I. S., Blanco Cipollone, F., & Sterle, D. (2018, August). Near infrared spectroscopy can non-destructively assess the effect of canopy position and crop load on peach fruit maturity and quality. In XXX International Horticultural Congress IHC2018: International Symposium on Cultivars, Rootstocks and Management Systems of 1281 (pp. 407-412).
Minas, I. S., & Sterle, D. (2018, August). Differential thermal analysis sheds light on the effect of environment and cultivar in peach floral bud cold hardiness. In XXX International Horticultural Congress IHC2018: International Symposium on Cultivars, Rootstocks and Management Systems of 1281 (pp. 385-392).