Project Description
Sustainable Agriculture
Featured stories about organic pest control and fruiting walls appear in this issue.
Last Bite
1 True or false? The Z-Trap is a device for killing Zetzellia mali? 2 How many gallons of fuel does it take to transport a
White varieties need more water
What works well on red wine grape varieties might be too much of a good thing for whites. Grape growers in Washington State have learned
Nothing easy about organic weed control
Research in a newly planted organic vineyard showed just how difficult and labor-intensive weed control is under organic conditions. Not only can weeds and cover
Heavenly host
For brown marmorated stinkbugs, the tree of heaven appears to be just that—a heavenly place to live. “They can live there and rear their young
Top five things to consider before going organic
When you heard at the coffee shop that organic Honeycrisp apples were returning well over $1,000 a bin to the growers this spring, it was
Organic hurdles
Growing apples in the eastern United States under USDA organic certification standards is not easy, and it’s still not clear whether there is much future
Optimizing production
With some new apple varieties, like Honeycrisp, selling for more than $50 a box wholesale, suddenly orchards are capable of producing levels of annual income
Fruiting walls with windows
American fruit growers are land-rich by Italian standards, Dorigoni says. In Italy, orchard land has been in use for centuries and is continually renewed
Fruiting wall principles
The tall spindle orchard design that is being so steadfastly encouraged by researchers—and adopted by growers—in the eastern United States came about from the discovery
Food Alliance’s future uncertain
A lack of funding has forced the Food Alliance to suspend its operations, though its licensed producers will be able to use the eco-label through
Trends in organic tree fruit
Washington State University’s sustainable agriculture specialist David Granatstein keeps tabs on organic tree fruit production statistics, compiling charts and graphs from data supplied by the
Plantings set record pace
If Washington’s 129-million-box apple crop took you by surprise last fall, consider this. If there hadn’t been hailstorms throughout Washington State during the growing season,
Pest pressures challenge organics future
The favorable climate and relatively low pest and disease pressure in the arid West have been blessings for organic tree fruit growers. Those conditions explain
Pear growers surveyed on biological control
Implementing stable biological control programs requires growers and pest managers to have a much better understanding of management actions against not only pests, but also
Why organic cherries are in decline
Organic cherry acreage in Washington State was up. Now it’s down. What’s behind the flux in acreage? Organic cherry acreage reached a high of nearly