Project Description
Cherries
Featured stories about cherries and their varieties appear in this issue.
Click here to view a PDF version of this issue.
Chelan Fruit gears up
Orondo Ruby is a yellow-fleshed cherry that has more blush and matures earlier than Rainier. PHOTO COURTESY OF G&C ORCHARDS Cherry production in north central
Tip top cherry
Kim and Troy Toftness with their children Brock and Brylee. Their Skylar Rae cherry brand is named after their first daughter who lived for only
Nurseries invest in Phytelligence
Four major nurseries that form the North American group of the International New Varieties Network (INN) have made a significant investment in a new biotechnology
Cherry rootstock testing continues
It will be a few more years before new precocious, dwarfing rootstocks for sweet and tart cherries become available from the Michigan State University rootstock
Outreach: The final goal
Field horticulturists from Chelan Fruit Cooperative examine beneficial insects during a hands-on workshop offered in February. Inset: Angela Gadino discusses natural-enemy monitoring techniques with Leo
First Bite
As the Northwest cherry season draws closer, for the first time in six or seven years I am thinking that the 2013 harvest has the
Great expectations
Milinda Dwyer Mega retailer Costco Wholesale has high expectations when it comes to food safety and requires more from its suppliers than most, says Milinda
Food safety mistakes
This creative, portable handwashing facility meets GlobalGAP requirements. Water is clearly labeled. PHOTO COURTESY OF SUSAN PHEASANT For growers just getting started in the food
The NOSB’s ‘lose-lose’ decision
A decision by the National Organic Standards Board not to extend use of a key antibiotic to control fireblight in organic fruit production represents a
Cherry insurance reduces risk
Cherry insurance can provide a financial shelter for growers when the crop is rained on. PHOTO BY GERALDINE WARNER The federal cherry crop insurance program
SWD challenges growers
Unlike the common drosophila flies, spotted wing drosophila will attack cherries before they are ripe. PHOTO BY PETER SHEARER, OSU After feeling little pressure from
SWD in Europe
A female spotted wing drosophila lays eggs on a cherry. PHOTO BY PETER SHEARER, OSU Fluctuating populations of spotted wing drosophila from year to year
Top five ways to grow large cherries
Lynn Long, Oregon State University Extension educator, gives a pruning demonstration during an international tree fruit meeting held last winter in Boston. The days of
Last Bite: Test your cherry knowledge
1 What percentage of Northwest fresh cherry exports was shipped to China (including Hong Kong) last season? a. 9 percent b. 19 percent
Popular cultivar almost wasn’t
Coral Champagne cherries ripen after Chelan and about ten days before Bing. New tree fruit varieties can take decades before going mainstream and becoming popular
Widely planted
Coral Champagne has been the hottest selling cherry variety in California in recent years, according to accounts from nurseries, brokers, and growers. Dave Wilson Nursery,
Achieving the optimal crop load
Precision pruning is a good first step to adjusting crop load and producing fruit of the best size and quality. Pruning to a specified number
Chemical thinning is getting more precise
To evaluate thinning effectiveness using Duane Greene’s fruitlet model, individual apples must be labeled and measured two or three times to assess their rate
Yakima Valley AVA turns 30
PHOTO COURTESY OF WASHINGTON WINE COMMISSION The Yakima Valley American Viticultural Area, established by the federal government on March 23, 1983, is celebrating its 30th
Yakima Valley is the industry’s backbone
Two Blondes Vineyard near Zillah was planted in 2000 by Andrew Will and Chris Camarda. PHOTO CPHOTO COURTESY OF WASHINGTON WINE COMMISSION Andy Perdue has
Science on the Hudson
Modern apple tree plantings have been made at the Hudson Valley Lab. PHOTO BY RICHARD LEHNERT Workers at Cornell University’s Hudson Valley Laboratory at Highland,
Good Point: China
I have talked about the immediate threat of the excessive increases in apple production from Washington State and went so far as to say that
Quick Bites
New cherry bulletins, videos Two new publications on cherry production and several sweet cherry videos covering training systems and pruning are available free to growers.
Good Stuff
Book of secrets Karin Argo of Zillah, Washington, is selling the second edition of her popular The Secrets of Eastern Washington Cookbook. Argo, who grew
Leading by example
Servando Rodriguez manages the production of 400 acres of apples and cherries and 450 acres of wine grapes for Sagemoor Farms. PHOTO BY MELISSA HANSEN
Cherry cracking test
The Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission has developed a simple test for growers to determine the susceptibility of their cherries to rain cracking. All that’s