What Does a Pomologist Do?
A pomologist is someone who studies fruit and nut trees. He or she may specialize in developing new fruit cultivars, discovering existing fruits of commercial value, handling crop pests, coping with changing climactic conditions, and other issues which pertain to the cultivation, harvest, and sale of fruit. In order to become a pomologist, someone generally studies in a horticulture program, focusing on pomology in the later years of study.
I’d never have asked myself those questions if I hadn’t stumbled onto Pete Tallman’s home-grown blueberry project, and then been told about an upcoming gathering of pomologists, right here in Grand Junction this month. Pomologists study fruits and nuts (I’m NOT going to make the obvious psychiatrist joke here), and do the research necessary to ensure healthy, profitable, high quality fruit and nut crops for our dinner tables. These are the people who develop new fruit cultivars, explore the commercial value of existing crops, keep track of changing climate and pest problems, and figure out what grows best under what conditions. If you’ll remember, Pete Tallman is the amateur pomologist who challenged my assertion that blueberries can’t be grown in this area. He rocked my know-it-all world by demonstrating that blueberries can, in fact, be a backyard crop for local gardeners. He is also a member of NAFEX. According to their website, “The North American Fruit Explorers (NAFEX) is a netwo
