With the price of fertilizer ­rising, orchardists are trying to use nitrogen in the most efficient and economical ways possible, says Lee Gale, horticulturist with Northwest ­Wholesale, Inc., in Wenatchee, Washington. However, they can’t afford to cut rates any lower than they are now because of the impact it would have on production, he said. Most growers have already changed the way they use nitrogen and are applying less nitrogen than they did five years ago. “We have to get nitrogen on,” he said. “We can’t cut the rate of nitrogen. The only thing we can do is try to […]