Good Fruit Grower Magazine

Grow lots of target fruit

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:56:17 PST

Any apple orchard being planted today should be capable of producing 60 to 70 bins per acre at maturity, says Tom Auvil, research horticulturist with the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission ...

Send the right product to the right place

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:56:35 PST

But it's not a matter of some warehouses consistently returning more than others, says Tom Auvil, research horticulturist with Washington Growers Clearing House. It probably has more to do with the qu...

Do it right the first time

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:56:43 PST

Planting an orchard today is riskier than it used to be, says Jerry Haak, a fruit grower at Sunnyside, Washington, and one of the biggest risks is not getting the trees to grow well, because tree caliper ...

Replant while you�re profitable

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:56:52 PST

An important part of being successful in fruit growing today is anticipating when it will be time to replant, says Sunnyside, Washington, orchardist Jerry Haak, because growers need to replant or graft ...

Cost savings add up

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:00:11 PST

"If you're doing 100 acres at $20,000 an acre, that's $2 million," Weippert pointed out. "If you can save 10 percent on each operation, that's real money, that's $200,000. It's just amazing how it add...

Budgeting costs

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:10:17 PST

Economist Karina Gallardo, who is based at WSU's Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee, said she envisions that growers will use the budget as a benchmark when planning to plant an orc...

Prepare for higher interest rates

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:35:51 PST

With interest rates likely to start climbing in the next year or two, this is a good time for business owners�including fruit growers�to look at the structure of their balance sheets, bankers said during ...

Labor is growers� biggest worry

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:01:05 PST

Tree fruit producers see a lack of labor as the biggest threat to their operations in the coming five years, a recent survey shows. Smaller growers are worried about how to compete with other producers ...

Control cherry fruit fly after harvest

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:47:35 PST

Michigan tart cherry growers are being urged to apply one more insecticide spray�after harvest is over. The reason is, cherry fruit flies are surviving in the small amount of fruit left on the trees after ...

Time sprays by the clock

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:52:08 PST

New discoveries by Oregon State University researchers could help growers better target pesticides in the future by using circadian rhythms or biological clocks to time applications when insects are most ...

New pest requires new strategies

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:49:46 PST

A tiny new pest that attacks a wide range of fruit crops could force West Coast orchardists to rethink their integrated pest management strategies, warns Oregon State University entomologist Dr. Peter ...

Know your enemy

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:24:19 PST

Drosophila suzukii is very closely related to Drosophila simulans, the vinegar fly most often seen ...

Monitoring is the heart of IPM

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:35:08 PST

Integrated pest management techniques for organic growers are essentially the same as those used by conventional growers. It's the response taken from the information collected that varies between the ...

Organic IPM tactics

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:38:00 PST

Effective gopher control

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:48:52 PST

Pocket gophers are particularly damaging to young orchards and vineyards. They can cause extensive damage and even kill trees or vines by girdling and pruning roots underground. The dirt mounds left b...

New device for rodent control

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:55:35 PST

Roger Baldwin, University of California Cooperative Extension wildlife pest management advisor, suggests that growers in Washington State, where body-gripping traps are banned, consider a new rodent control ...

Zero tolerance for worms

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:59:28 PST

As pressure increases on growers to eliminate organophosphate insecticides from their spray programs, Michigan's tart cherry growers are not yet sure they can control pests�especially plum curculio. ...

USDA rejects higher restriction

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:00:46 PST

In a move that startled growers and leaders in the tart cherry industry, the United States Department of Agriculture rejected the Cherry Industry Administrative Board's recommendation to increase the level ...

Trapping for mealybug in Washington

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:13:44 PST

As Washington State University scientists develop guidelines for new grape mealybug pheromone traps, ...

Chemical controls for mealybug

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:20:06 PST

Dr. Douglas Walsh, Washington State University entomologist, has conducted pesticide efficacy trials for control of grape mealybug since 2001. Results from his trials have shown chemigation to be an effective ...

Invasive pest found in California vineyards

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:51:03 PST

The European grapevine moth (Lobesia botrana) showed up for the first time in the United States last October in a Napa Valley, California, vineyard. By the end of the season, the grapevine moth had be...

Good Point - Michael Willett

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:33:44 PST

Fruit growers understand that the use of pesticides according to label directions is essential to assure ...

What is Codex, MRL?

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:34:51 PST

The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an intergovernmental body with over 170 members, within the framework of the Joint Food Standards Programme established by the Food and Agriculture Organizat...

MRLs in Europe

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:36:15 PST

Almost a decade ago, the European Union began an effort to "modernize" and harmonize its MRL rules into one standard for all its member countries. In September 2008, the harmonization went into effect. ...

Good to Know - Knight

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:58:43 PST

Pear ester is being used today to both predict the start of egg hatch and to establish action thresholds to prevent fruit injury. While pear ester was found to be more effective than sex pheromone to ...

Last Bite - The first co-op in the West

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:44:11 PST

Local growers formed the organization to stabilize marketing practices, expand the marketing reach, and otherwise give growers the benefits and services a combined effort could make possible. The init...

Quick Bites

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:49:31 PST

Washington State University viticulturist Dr. Markus Keller can add "bestseller author" to hi...

Good to Know

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:13:07 PST

It has been nearly 20 years since the first mating disruption formulation was registered for codling moth control. At present an estimated 500,000 acres worldwide, including over 175,000 acres in Nort...