Project Description
Seeing Green
Featured stories about harvest aids, cover recipe, online organic courses appear in this issue.
Harvest aids
A foam-lined picking box, with curtained bottom, is used during harvest at D-L orchards. Right, stepladders are stored until harvest time. Platforms are very important
Practical aid to Afghans
Afghan orchard owner Mohammad Younus (left), now deceased, talks with Roots of Peace Extension team leader Pohanyar Pir Mohammad. Grape cartons were used for a
More students going into ag
Valley College ag instructor, Leo GarciaA year ago, just four students enrolled as freshmen to study agriculture at Wenatchee Valley College in central Washington. This
Breeder focuses on resistance
Delbard Nursery uses tissue culture to produce up to 1.5 million rootstocks each year. Delbard Nursery is quick to adopt new technology. It was the
Apple appellation
Hail nets are a necessity in Limousin, France, where it hails "ten years out of ten years, and some years, four times." Wine is often
Rosy outlook for blush apples
A box of Blush Rose Golden Delicious apples. Below, Perlim barcode scanner. Perlim, a French growers' cooperative that packs and markets apples and walnuts, has
Enclosed orchards
Myriam Siham, entomologist, says that several growers are experimenting with using hail nets to keep insects out of apple orchards. The hail nets
W trees
Delbard Nursery has found a niche in the retail market growing "ready-to-fruit" trees for backyard gardeners. Delbard has found success at the retail level with
Extra-healthy apples?
The idea of enriching apples with additional antioxidants elicited a wide range of reactions in a consumer study conducted by Washington State University. Consumers' responses
Good to Know
The thickness of the fruit wall is maintained by mechanical pruning performed annually six or seven weeks after bloom, as shown in the photo of
Producing profitable peaches
The Valentine peach, a French-bred white peach, produced 400 fruits per tree in the second leaf. Right upper, Fruit size is not impacted by mechanical
New and improved stone fruits
Bloody-fleshed nectarines, plum pox–resistant stone fruit, and super-sweet apricots are a few examples of the products being developed at a government-supported stone-fruit–breeding program in southeastern
Varieties must be moneymakers
Guy Ligonniere, right, shows the small bin trailers used during harvest. French apple breeder Joris Nicolleau is on the left. At Davodeau-Ligonniere, a vertically integrated
Goodbye plum, hello cherry
When the manager of an orchard at Manson, Washington, told grafter Ken Coates that he was thinking of pulling out an Amber Jewel plum block
Loans for producers
Brian and Joe Nicholson, Jr., of Red Jacket Orchards used a local producer loan from Whole Foods Markets to erect tunnels over two acres of
A new focus on economics
Dr. Karina Gallardo is a new Washington State University Extension economist from Peru.Scientists at Washington State University are working on many innovations for the tree fruit
Versatile robot
Dr. Derek Morikawa In developing a robotic apple-picking system, Vision Robotics Corporation has taken a revolutionary two-step approach that involves sending a robotic scout through
$9 million for tree fruit research
Three research and extension projects designed to improve the competitiveness of the tree fruit industry have together been awarded more than $9 million in grants
Competitive pear system
Chuck Peters' experimental pear planting includes both upright and angled trellises Chuck Peters hopes an experimental planting at his pear orchard in Yakima, Washington, will
Mrachek heads young Hort board
Wenatchee businesswoman and fruit grower Laura Mrachek becomes the 104th president of the Washington State Horticultural Association this month and the first woman to head
New Hort president grasps opportunities
Laura Mrachek is the new Washington State Hort Association president. As the new president of the Washington State Horticultural Association, Laura Mrachek is leading an
First Bite
by Bruce Grim Happy 104th birthday to the Washington State Horticultural Association! Anything one hundred years old or older in the Pacific Northwest is noteworthy
Good Job
New extension economist The comparative costs of organic and conventional apple production is a topic Washington State University Extension economist Mykel Taylor wishes to study.
Vines in hot water
Hot water treatment of grapevines is an important—and in some cases, mandatory—tool for controlling the spread of pests and disease, but for some growers the
More online organic courses
Washington State University, the first U.S. university to offer an online certificate in organic agriculture, has expanded its course offerings. Three new courses that lead
New orchard owners value their employees
Francisco, left, and Humberto Ramirez graduated from Wenatchee Valley College’s Hispanic Orchard Employee Education Program. (Geraldine Warner/Good Fruit Grower) Three years ago, Humberto and Francisco
Vintage views
by Terry EdwardsA new postcard book published by the Canadian Kelowna Museums offers a nostalgic window into the evolution of British Columbia's orchard industry. Apple
A better life
Cousins and partners Heriberto Espinoza (left) and Rogelio Mora started out as orchard workers, then leased orchards, and were eventually able to buy acreage. After
Keep the customer satisfied
Christian Hilaire, French stone fruit researcher, is working to define stone fruit taste indicators for retail use to help consumers. Scientists at the Balandran research
Apple Matters
Did you have enough workers to harvest your crop? Will you next year? How could proposed food-safety regulations affect your business? Will apples continue to
Good Stuff
The SZR Elecktronik can harvest up to 1,100 plum, cherry, or olive trees in 12 hours. Bottom, The larger track footprint of the Power Krawler
Quick Bites
Risk Management in Spanish The Washington State Department of Agriculture has produced a five-disc set of audio compact discs in Spanish for Latino farmers. The
Good to Go
Learn to Use TEAM A series of free computer workshops has been scheduled to teach growers how to use A Grower's Technology Economic Assessment Model
Make the dessert featured on the cover
Download the recipe pdf.
Change Creates Opportunities in Asian Markets
Cheap Chinese apples have replaced Washington apples in many wet market stalls. Although the average export price for Washington apples during the 2007-2008 season was
Industry leaders honored
Six Washington State tree fruit and grape industry leaders were recently inducted into the Hall of Honored Alumni and Friends by Washington State University's College
Consulting can be mutually beneficial
Consulting for wineries helped Charlie Hoppes establish his own winery. The benefits from consulting often go two ways, according to experienced winemakers who work as
Consultants provide expertise
John Bookwalter says his winemaking style reflects the consultant's but remains his own. The Bookwalter family has been making wines in the Columbia Valley for
Another set of eyes
Fieldma'am Joan Johnson talks with Tom Garrison during the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers's summer tour. In the 30 years since the wine industry
Recognizing vine cankers
Botryosphaeria is often overlooked as a pathogen for canker diseases of grapevines, but Dr. Doug Gubler of the University of California, Davis wants growers to
Use cultural practices to manage pests
Cultural practices and pest management must be balanced, says Michael Costello. Management practices for one kind of pest can affect nontargeted pests in the vineyard,
Pruning cold-injured grapes
The next time a major freeze damages wine grape vineyards in Washington State, growers would be better off to save labor costs and not prune
Do-it-yourself wasp control
Growers can make this wasp trap by cutting off the top of a plastic liter soda bottle, inverting the top, and placing it back in
Benefits of cover crops in vines
Cover crops can do more than fight weeds and improve the health of vineyard soils. Growers in California are finding the right crop can also