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Old orchards and old problems for pest control

Several industry groups in the Columbia River Gorge region between Washington and Oregon have developed online reporting systems for unmanaged orchards and backyard fruit trees to aid in areawide pest mitigation.

Unmanaged fruit trees, either in backyards or in abandoned orchards, can harbor pests such as codling moth that put pressure on nearby commercial blocks, especially those under organic programs. Pest control authorities have some tools to mitigate those pressures if they know about them.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture, Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers, Hood River Soil and Water Conservation District and Oregon State University Extension have teamed up to create the following online reporting tools to help the group build a database to track the problem’s scope, as well as a list of orchard properties for sale or lease.

To report unmanaged orchards, visit: bit.ly/report-unmanaged-orchards.

To report backyard fruit trees, visit: bit.ly/report-backyard-trees.

For growers interested in information about properties for lease or sale, visit: bit.ly/columbia-gorge-properties.

For physical reporting forms or more information, contact Mike Doke, executive director of the Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers, by email at: cgfg2@hrecn.net.

—by Ross Courtney