Nursery plowing under its rootstock: After close to 50 years of service, B.C.'s Traas Nursery Ltd. closing its doors

摘要

John Traas shows off a row of Mazzard F12/1 rootstock remaining at his nursery in Langley, B.C. The largest commercial producer of rootstock for orchardists in Canada is shutting down. This spring, John Traas ploughed under rows of shoots on the Langley property just east of Vancouver where his father, John C. Traas, started Traas Nursery Ltd. in the late 1950s. The senior Traas died in December 2006, leaving a legacy of service to fruit growers across Canada. Declining returns from the labour-intensive work of rootstock production is prompting his son to exit the business.