April 15, 2026

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Pear blossoms

Soils and Weed Management

Featured stories about soils and weed management — and more — in this issue.

Researchers hydroseed subterranean clover — known to thrive in poor soils and grow large root systems — under the vine row in March at a Washington State University soil health research vineyard near Prosser. They are testing the nitrogen-fixing legume as an alternative to herbicide application. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

More to come from long-term soil study — Video

Looking for rootstock big shots

Freestanding apple trees at Alber Orchard & Cider Mill in Manchester, Michigan. Some of the trees at Alber, one of the state’s oldest orchards, are more than 150 years old and yield heirloom apples. (Matt Milkovich/Good Fruit Grower)

Past meets present on a Michigan farm

When grower Jim Baird removes an orchard, he chips the wood and discs it into the soil to boost soil health for whatever comes next. In this case, an aged-out block of Aztec Fuji makes way in March for new cherry trees at his Othello, Washington, farm. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Invest in rest for your orchard

A new blueberry planting with black weed mats at Michigan State University’s Trevor Nichols Research Center in October 2019.

Research to help blueberry growers replant right

Mulch in an orchard

Mulch makeover

Good Stuff, April 15, 2026

Rain and rainbows highlight pear blossoms in Parkdale, Oregon. (Photo by TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

April 15, 2026 — Digital Issue

A MyLand algae treatment tank fertigates a Honeycrisp block in May 2025 at a Washington Orchard Management farm near Royal City, Washington. (Ross Courtney/Good Fruit Grower)

Elevating soil algae

A sample of roots excavated from an almond tree, laid out on a scanner to allow University of California, Davis, researchers to measure the total surface area of fine roots — the finest of which do the critical uptake of water and nutrients during their short lifespan. Because they are fine, ephemeral and difficult to study, much about root dynamics remains unknown, physiologist Astrid Volder told the International Fruit Tree Association in February. (Courtesy Astrid Volder/University of California, Davis).

Rethinking your roots

1974: Soil fumigation helps replants in old apple orchards

Alberto Acevedo, a young grower from Royal City, Washington