The Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission has developed a simple test for growers to determine the susceptibility of their cherries to rain cracking. All that’s needed are around 50 randomly collected cherries from trees, distilled water, a large pan, and two hours of time. Through years of study to find effective antisplitting materials for cherries, Dr. Ines Hanrahan has learned that cracking susceptibility varies from year to year, by variety, and changes during the growing season. Although she continues her trials on anti­cracking agents, she’s yet to find a material completely eliminating cherry splitting induced by rain. However, in many […]