Tart cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) production in northern Michigan: Agroecological and social issues

Michigan tart cherry growers face many challenges in their attempt to maintain short and long-term tree productivity and deliver high-quality acceptable fruit to processors. These natural and social challenges, in many ways, determine the agroecological practices growers employ. For this dissertation research we investigate the social and agroecological issues involved in tart cherry production in northern Michigan. In the first chapter, we investigate the effects of alternative groundcover management systems (GMSs) on tree leaf nutrients, arthropod dynamics, weed control, and tart cherry yield. Compared to the conventional management system, the results suggest no reductions in leaf nutrients or yields despite 1/2 rate fertilizer application and herbicide elimination. The second chapter focuses on the effects of vegetation factors (plant species richness, compositional cover, plant functional group richness) on arthropod species richness, abundance, and diversity (H'). We found that arthropod dynamics were influenced by all vegetation factors both directly and indirectly, and that the arthropod community developed over the season. Finally, based upon grower interviews and industry and government reports, we describe the challenges northern Michigan tart cherry growers face and the strategies they use in order to continue farming. We found that, as the central agents resisting these challenges, growers have used innovative agroecological, social, and institutional strategies to remain economically viable.