The newly produced Pacific Northwest dark sweet cherry index chart card. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)
Get ‘em while they last.
New cherry color and size cards from Northwest researchers are available in limited supply.
“Unfortunately, I only have about 50 left over,” said David Gibeaut, an Oregon State University horticulturist who helped develop new cards, officially called Pacific Northwest Sweet Cherry Development Index Charts. Rob Blakey of Washington State University in Prosser has about 150 left, he said.
The researchers technically have two different charts, both printed on plastic about as thick as a credit card. One is 5-by-6 inches and contains row size holes and seven hues of red labeled by name and a corresponding percentage of maturity, as well as metric and imperial rulers. The other is 2-by-6 inches and has only the color codes and the rulers.
Gibeaut drafted and printed the cherry cards with the help of Todd Einhorn, a former OSU researcher now at Michigan State University. Printing costs were covered by a $6,000 grant from the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission.
To get of one of the cards, email Gibeaut at david.gibeaut@oregonstate.edu or Rob Blakey, a Washington State University extension specialist in Prosser at rob.blakey@wsu.edu.
To see a video of Blakey explaining how to use the cards, watch below.
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