The Northwest Cherry Growers’ annual meeting, the Cherry Institute, will be held virtually on Thursday, Jan. 21, in partnership with Washington State University Tree Fruit Extension. Participation is free, but attendees will have to register for each webinar. 

While the traditional trade show, networking and celebration of the newly crowned Cherry King will have to wait until it’s safe for the industry to gather again, the event will feature the research and marketing talks growers expect from the Cherry Institute every year. 

Three live webinars will focus on disease management: a presentation on the latest X disease and little cherry virus research and extension at 9 a.m.; a question-and-answer session with little cherry disease experts at 10 a.m.; and a session on cherry powdery mildew management in the face of emerging fungicide resistance at 1 p.m.

Video presentations will also be available to watch on demand about the 2020 marketing season, both domestically and internationally, along with videos from leading researchers on cherry horticulture and orchard systems.

For the full agenda and registration details, head to: http://treefruit.wsu.edu/cherry-institute-january-2021/.

The live webinars are also part of WSU Tree Fruit Extension’s Tree Fruit Days event, which is co-sponsored by the North Central Washington Fieldmen’s Association, Northwest Pears and the Northwest Cherry Growers. That webinar series will run all next week, with apple disease management talks on Jan. 18, apple IPM and labor management presentations on Jan. 19, and pear IPM and irrigation strategies to protect fruit quality on Jan. 20. On Friday, Jan. 22, talks will focus on rodent control for orchards, apple thinning and matching apple rootstocks to scions.

All the webinars are free to attend, and many qualify for pesticide credits. For more information and to register, head to: http://treefruit.wsu.edu/event/tree-fruit-days/.

—by Kate Prengaman