Minnesota's Challenges

Benefits and Difficulties of Growing Fruit Crops in Minnesota Part one
Introduction	Environmental Challenges The Minnesota environment poses several significant challenges to agricultural production. First is our relatively short growing season, which limits the time available for vegetative growth, as well as for fruit maturation. For many plants this means that there is simply not enough time to complete their life cycle, or to store sufficient energy for wintering (Meyer, MAES). Despite the fact that Minnesota lies on the same latitude as many of the world’s famous wine and apple growing regions, its landlocked geography causes far more extreme temperatures. While many apple and grape varieties can withstand an average Minnesota winter the ferocity of some winter seasons prohibits growing these long-lived plants. Plant breeders refer these colder than average winters to as ‘test winters’. They represent the coldest seasons that perennials must deal with in Minnesota, and, for breeders, serve to select individuals capable of withstanding such temperatures (Luby 1). Also, plants in this area must deal with the hot, and sometimes very dry summers. Here, heat is not the only consideration, rather the extreme swing in temperatures, which can be as great as 65 degrees Celsius (125f) in a given year, may be too much for many plants to handle (AHS). Photoperiod sensitivity is another issue pertinent to Minnesota growing. Many plants require specific cycles of light and dark to develop. For many fruit cultivars, Minnesota’s long summer days, and rapid onset fall don’t allow for proper plant development and fruit maturation. This is currently one of the main problems being worked out on wine grapes at the UofM (Luby 3). Lastly, the state has a significant range of climates across geographical space, ranging from USDA zone 2a in parts of the North to zone 4b in the south and along lake Superior, each of which entail different hardiness requirements (USDA). This means that multiple varieties of each plant must be developed for each climactic region. Continue to soil and terrain
Challenges of Minnesota Part 1 Part 2
Fruit History in MN Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Timeline
Our Relationship with Crops
Future Directions

Environmental Challenges

The Minnesota environment poses several significant challenges to agricultural production. First is our relatively short growing season, which limits the time available for vegetative growth, as well as for fruit maturation. For many plants this means that there is simply not enough time to complete their life cycle, or to store sufficient energy for wintering (Meyer, MAES).

Despite the fact that Minnesota lies on the same latitude as many of the world’s famous wine and apple growing regions, its landlocked geography causes far more extreme temperatures. While many apple and grape varieties can withstand an average Minnesota winter the ferocity of some winter seasons prohibits growing these long-lived plants. Plant breeders refer these colder than average winters to as ‘test winters’. They represent the coldest seasons that perennials must deal with in Minnesota, and, for breeders, serve to select individuals capable of withstanding such temperatures (Luby 1).

Also, plants in this area must deal with the hot, and sometimes very dry summers. Here, heat is not the only consideration, rather the extreme swing in temperatures, which can be as great as 65 degrees Celsius (125f) in a given year, may be too much for many plants to handle (AHS).

Photoperiod sensitivity is another issue pertinent to Minnesota growing. Many plants require specific cycles of light and dark to develop. For many fruit cultivars, Minnesota’s long summer days, and rapid onset fall don’t allow for proper plant development and fruit maturation. This is currently one of the main problems being worked out on wine grapes at the UofM (Luby 3).

Lastly, the state has a significant range of climates across geographical space, ranging from USDA zone 2a in parts of the North to zone 4b in the south and along lake Superior, each of which entail different hardiness requirements (USDA). This means that multiple varieties of each plant must be developed for each climactic region.

Continue to soil and terrain