May 1st 2025 Issue

Plastic bags cover terminal leaders in a North Carolina orchard as part of North Carolina State University professor Tom Kon’s trials exploring ways to boost lateral branching. Bagging leaders in order to change the microclimate can induce branching and increase bearing surface, but Kon doesn’t recommend the method for commercial growers because it’s labor-intensive and bad for the environment. (Courtesy Tom Kon/North Carolina State University)

Calling a lateral on fruiting branches

May 14, 2025

Help for vineyardists in the war of the wounds

May 13, 2025

Honeycrisp harvest in Moxee, Washington, in September. Plastic and cardboard padding in the bin and gentle handling are just some of the extra steps that go into producing Honeycrisp for the fresh market. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

High-cost Honeycrisp

May 8, 2025

Shadows and glare are safety concerns at night, but managers and safety officers say artificial light directly on the working area sometimes improves visibility. Here, Ulises Navarro stem clips for Stemilt in 2014 by the light of the platform. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Nighttime harvest becoming the norm

May 8, 2025

Alondra Bruno of Grandview, Washington, prunes PremA153 trees (the apple marketed as Lemonade) from a ladder in March near Prosser, while her co-worker, Areli Galvan of Sunnyside, works on the ground. Sluggish economic conditions in the agriculture and construction industries have made domestic workers more available. (Ross Courtney/Good Fruit Grower)

Less work, more workers for agriculture

May 7, 2025

During its annual Capitol Hill Day in March, U.S. Apple Association officers met with Riley Pagett, left, the U.S. Department of Agriculture chief of staff for international trade. The discussion included the potential for U.S. apple exports to destinations including Indonesia and Japan, as well as a frank exchange on the damaging effects of tariff wars on apple exports — illustrated by the five-year loss of the India market. Attendees included, from second to left: Philip Glaize III of Virginia, Steve Clement of Washington, Brett Baker of New York, Steve Smith of Washington and Jim Bair, the president and CEO of USApple. (Courtesy Jim Bair/USApple)

Apple growers on a Capitol expedition

May 7, 2025

Automated adjustment for robotic apple harvester

May 1, 2025

Farm-grown inspiration and innovation

May 1, 2025

Jesse Stevens, a young grower from Waterloo, Illinois

April 29, 2025

Promotoras making healthy connections

April 25, 2025