The Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission announced the publication of the 2021 pesticide residue studies for apple and cherry. 

Since 2011, the research commission has conducted studies in apple and cherry to generate residue data for commonly used pesticides, to help Washington growers make more informed choices about their spray programs. 

The 2021 apple study included 11 insecticides/acaricides, eight fungicides and one plant growth regulator in two distinct application scenarios in a modern high-density Gala orchard. 

The 2021 cherry study included 12 insecticides/acaricides and seven fungicides in a block of mature Skeena/Mazzard trees grown with multiple leaders in an open-vase style at 10-foot by 16-foot spacing. 

Also available is a new report that summarizes pesticide residues detected across 11 years of WTFRC apple studies. That summary report, the detailed report for the 2021 studies and previous reports from similar projects on apple and cherry are all available on the WTFRC website at: treefruitresearch.org/pesticide-residue-studies.

—by Jonelle Mejica