Cherries were highlighted on Day 2 of the 2023 Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Dec. 6.
During an educational session focused on cherries, Michigan State University associate professor Catherine Lindell discussed the effects of netting on bird damage and fruit quality in sweet cherries.
In 2023, Lindell’s biology lab investigated whether high-density sweet cherry plantings might be at higher risk for bird pests than conventional plantings. Their study found greater bird activity in the high-density cherry plantings versus the conventional plantings.
Lindell’s team also studied netting on high-density sweet cherries and its effects on spotted wing drosophila, bird damage and fruit quality. Their findings:
—SWD was not present during the study.
—Bird damage was significantly lower in netted rows compared to non-netted rows.
—There was no significant difference in fruit weight, percent soluble solids, color, canker presence and number of cracked cherries.
They’re still analyzing fruit firmness, temperature and humidity data. They’ll repeat the study in 2024, Lindell said.
Curtis Rowley, Utah tart cherry grower and chairman of the Cherry Industry Administrative Board, discussed the economics of the tart cherry industry — a tumultuous topic. Crop sizes have been all over the place in the last several years, and prices have been low. Rowley’s underlying message was that the tart cherry industry is more successful when growers and processors work together.
“I don’t have all the answers,” he told the audience. “I believe the answers come when we work together as a group.”
MSU entomology professor Julianna Wilson discussed the prospects of biological control of SWD using parasitoids. Look for a story about her research in a future issue of Good Fruit Grower.
—by Matt Milkovich
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