Du Chen, a visiting doctoral student at Washington State University in Prosser, tests a cherry with a digital force gauge. This testing is done to determine the force required to separate the fruit from the stem. Washington State University In order to remain competitive in the global market, sweet cherry producers, retailers, and researchers have banded together to drive innovation along the entire ­production chain.    This molecules-to-market project, called “a total systems approach to developing a sustainable, stem-free sweet cherry production, processing, and marketing system,” will wrap up its second year of research in August. The four-year project is funded […]