Project Description
Diseases & Disorders
Featured stories covering diseases & disorders appear in this issue.
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New generation finds marketing niche
Sidney, left, her father David, and Katy Lesser Clowney sort apples that have come back from the market unsold. They may go to Knouse Foods,
New fungicides benefit from lessons of Benlate
Fruit growers will have new fungicides this year to help manage diseases as diverse as leaf spot in cherries, scab in apples, and brown rot
Contractors are a source of workers
Using farm labor contractors can be beneficial for both employers and workers, as they can turn sporadic seasonal work into full-time employment, says Dan Fazio,
Exports boost pear returns
James Foreman advocates expanding exports and giving up segments of the U.S. market to Argentina Lowering f.o.b. prices in a big crop year does nothing
Retail is cool
Ben, 26, carries on the transition from growing fruit for processing to growing fruit for retail sales Richard Lehnert What Ben Wenk is building on
Learn to store Honeycrisp
Above: Honeycrisp is sensitive to chilling disorders such as soggy breakdown. Center top: Radial browning is another common storage problem for Honeycrisp. Center middle: Soft
Manage resistance at the warehouse
Chang-Lin Xiao recommends that use of Penbotec and Scholar alternate from year to year to preserve their effectiveness against fungal pathogens like this blue mold
Food alliance certifies eastern orchards
Last year, Three Springs Fruit Farm, operated by Dave, John, and Ben Wenk in Aspers, Pennsylvania, was certified by Food Alliance. An Oregon-based organization, Food
Access to China is near
It’s been almost two decades since the U.S. pear industry began pushing for access to China, but it finally appears that the market might open
Bunch rot, a different beast
Michelle Moyer reminds growers who had powdery mildew problems last year to prepare for disease carryover this year. Botrytis bunch rot is a different beast
Dealing with carbon dioxide sensitivity
Left: In carbon dioxide-sensitive apple varieties, like these Golden Delicious, fruit harvested early tends to have peel injuries. Right: Internal breakdown occurred in this Golden
A flair for selling fruit
Left: Sidney Kuhn, 32, owns the direct marketing arm of Kuhn Orchards. Right: David Wenk and uncle carry on the family farm that dates to
In The Box
What’s the appeal? Dear Good Fruit Grower: I’d like to respond to the recent articles “What’s the appeal of Honeycrisp?” and “Honeycrisp is set to
Growers fear loss of antibiotics
The shape of organic apple production in the future could well hinge on decisions made in the next few years about the continued use of
Good Stuff
Tote bagger Graybill Machines, Inc., of Lititz, Pennsylvania, which specializes in designing and building automated machinery, has introduced the Graybill Apple Bagger, a packing-house machine
Strategies for controlling bacterial spot
The O’Henry peach variety is a poster child, highly susceptible to bacterial spot. Symptoms include fruit spots, leaf spots, and twig cankers. Bacterial spot is
Last Bite–The Empire State apple
Empire was developed in an effort to combine the sweetness of McIntosh with the flavor of Red Delicious. The Empire apple is considered the most