April-1st 2010

Grove to Receive Extension Award

Dr. Gary Grove, WSU scientist, receives American Phytopathological Society excellence in extension award.

Chamberlain Leads Growers

Lynne Chamberlain is chair of the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers.

Good Stuff

Reduce compaction

Aerway aerator implement reduces soil compaction and reduces farming costs.

By Melissa Hansen

Apple Lines--Full access to China needed

Gala and Granny Smith apples grown in Washington State remain officially excluded from China. The market is open only for Washington Red and Golden Delicious apples, and for years our industry has struggled with requesting full access to China for all Washington apple varieties due to possible repercussion from the unpredictable Chinese government.

By Todd Fryhover, Washington Apple Commission

Apple Matters --USApple launches program

By Nancy Foster, USApple Association

Last Bite -- Legacy of labels from Montana

Most fruit box label collectors focus on the Pacific Coast states—undoubtedly because labels from this region are easily available and relatively numerous. Not so well known are labels used in other areas such as Montana, which does have some labels, though they are scarce and quite expensive.

By John Baule

Fruit from the Prairie

Breeder develops fruit varieties for cold prairie climate, including bush-size sour cherries for over-the-row harvesting.

By Richard Lehnert

Apples from the prairie

By Richard Lehnert

Australia testing two new pears

Two new pear varieties from Australia are being propagated for testing in the United States. One is an early-season blushed yellow pear that is ready to eat off the tree; the other is a classic green winter pear that requires a couple of months of cold storage before being shipped to market. The two pears are the first to be released from the Australian National Pear Breeding Program at Tatura, Victoria, and are already being tested in commercial orchards in Australia. Coregeo, a division of Apple and Pear Australia Limited, gained the commercialization rights for the new varieties and is looking to license them to the supply chain. Garry Langford, manager of major projects for Coregeo, said discussions are under way with potential testers in the Pacific Northwest, and it is anticipated that the first trees will be planted in 2012.

By Geraldine Warner

Irrigation options

By Geraldine Warner

The lowdown on drip

Drip irrigation systems are designed to deliver water precisely and uniformly to the crop roots and often results in water savings. Water is applied in low volumes at frequent intervals.

By Geraldine Warner

Check soil before planting

The period between removing an orchard and replanting is a good time to correct the soil pH and nutrient levels in the soil. Tim Smith, Extension educator for Washington State University in north central Washington, recommends checking the soil at least a year ahead of planting so you can make some corrections. Nutrients can be stirred in and disked in after the soil has been ripped.

By Geraldine Warner

Drench in the orchard

Drenching single bins of pears with a fungicide in the orchard is a new tactic to help prevent decay in storage.    Pears have traditionally been drenched on arrival at the packing house, but it’s become less prevalent because of concerns about inoculating the fruit with spores that accumulate in the drench solution, which is captured and reused.

By Geraldine Warner

Tree planter pays dividends

This is the seventh in a series of articles covering all aspects of planning and establishing a competitive orchard. Yakima Valley Orchards used to plant trees by hand, with workers digging holes with shovels. Now, it has a three-row planting machine that has cut labor costs in half. But, Travis Allan, operations manager, said the real value of the machine has been in getting the trees planted more quickly and in the optimum time frame, which yields bonuses down the road.

By Geraldine Warner

Chemical thinners are inconsistent

After a decade of searching for effective chemical blossom thinners for Pacific Northwest stone fruit growers, researchers are still empty-handed.

By Melissa Hansen

Mechanical thinning works

The mechanical string thinner increases fruit size and dramatically reduces labor costs.

By Melissa Hansen

Hand-held thinning tool

Much of the research in orchard innovation involves automation and robotics, but not every orchard can accommodate technology like mechanized harvesters and mechanical thinners. That's why a Washington State University engineer is also looking for technology that could augment hand labor. Dr. Qin Zhang, a biological systems engineer for WSU, is developing hand-held devices to assist workers with thinning. He is looking for tools that workers could use selectively to thin cherries, speeding up the time-consuming and expensive task. He envisions something as simple as a cordless power drill equipped with a special thinning attachment that could be used to make hand thinning faster and more efficient.

By Melissa Hansen

Ontario faces challenges to plum pox virus eradication

A concentrated growing area is complicating efforts to eliminate plum pox virus from the main peach-growing region in Ontario, Canada. The virus was expected to be eliminated in the provinceCanada's biggest peach producerby the time current funding expires on March 31, 2011. But federal plant protection specialist Eric Wierenga of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said that won't happen, because of a number of factors, including the tight concentration of at-risk orchards in Ontario's Niagara Peninsula.

By Peter Mitham

It just got out of hand

Phil Brown Welding officially started business in 1964, after some years as an unofficial provider of specialized fruit industry equipment. "My dad was a fruit grower," Phil said. "We started building machines for our use, and then began building stuff for the neighbors. It just got out of hand."

By Richard Lehnert

Retrofitting an apple packing line

Vision sorter retrofit is a cost-effective solution to a packing line upgrade.

By Melissa Hansen

Classified Ads

Apple ­harvester debuts

Phil Brown Welding plans to market this year a vacuum-powered, fresh-market apple harvester that is gentle on apples.

By Richard Lehnert

IFTA Board Adds New Members

Board members of IFTA elected

Charles L. "Charlie" Bennett 1945-2010

Cornell plant propagation expert dies.

Lonnie Alvin Conner, 1925–2010

Lonnie Conner, Pasco, Washington juice grape grower dies.

IFTA Makes Awards to Key People

International Tree Fruit Association gives 2010 awards.