New, late-maturing cherry varieties developed in British Columbia, Canada, have helped keep the province’s cherry growers in ­business. “At one stage, the cherry industry was dwindling away until these late varieties were introduced,” recalled Dr. Frank Kappel, cherry breeder at the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in Summerland. The Summerland program continues to develop new late varieties that allow Canadian growers to be in the market after Washington’s peak production, when prices tend to strengthen. While the province’s apple acreage is being converted to vineyards, its cherry industry has been stable. There are about 4,500 acres of cherries, which ­produced about […]