U.S. military veterans who are also beginning farmers benefited from a two-day workshop this spring at TALMAR horticultural center in Baltimore, Md. Dr. Naveen Kumar Dixit (center) an associate professor of horticulture and extension specialist at UMES, organized hands-on training sessions on fruit cultivation.
Participants received instruction on how to establish a fruit orchard and how to propagate inexpensive fruit trees using budding and grafting techniques. In addition, they learned about strawberry cultivation practices. The workshop is a continuation of five years of work Dixit has done through UMES Extension with veterans to provide them with the latest developments in the field of horticulture.
“Fruit cultivation provides crop diversity at small farms and helps attract consumers for a longer period of time as most of the produce is seasonal. Similarly, cultivation of day neutral strawberries can extend the strawberry season for a period of nine months,” Dixit said. “The majority of commercial grade fruit trees are expensive. Learning the techniques of vegetative reproduction can help beginning veteran farmers produce these trees at a minimal cost.”
This work is supported by the NE SARE Professional Development Program and UMES Extension.
