December 2015

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Grower of the Year 2015

Featured stories covering the Good Fruit Grower of the Year and annual convention previews in this issue.

Click here to view a PDF version of this issue.

Nick Plath, a young grower from George, Washington

In addition to the United States, the Trans-Pacific Partnership includes Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. (Jared Johnson/Good Fruit Grower illustration)

Benefits of the TPP

New focus on grade standards

Orchard workers used tablets to answer questions about their work and symptoms of heat-related illness. (Courtesy Stacey Holland, PNASH)

Avoiding heat-related illness

Ken Eastwell at the Yakima Valley Convention Center in Yakima Washington on Jan 10, 2014. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

WSU virologist retires

A first-leaf planting of SugarBee apples is on the left and Gala on the right. Sam Godwin planted the SugarBees 18 inches apart with 10 feet between rows, hoping for mature yields of at least 80 bins per acre. (Geraldine Warner/Good Fruit Grower)

Surviving as a small grower

SugarBee causes a buzz

Brown marmorated stinkbug were added to Pinot Noir grapes. Researchers analyzed juice and wine throughout the winemaking process to learn if the stinkbug odor could taint or contaminate the wine. (Courtesy Oregon State University)

Stinkbug taint in wine

Dormant mason bees are delivered to the grower in a plastic tube with the hole taped closed. As soon as conditions warm up and the tape is removed, the bees will emerge. (Courtesy of Crown Bees.)

Domesticating mason bees

Left, a toothpick-size thread of frass, made up of compacted sawdust from the bore hole, is a sure sign of borer activity. (Courtesy Liz Tee) Right, a line of bore holes climb this tall spindle tree. Holes are often discolored and oozing. (Courtesy Deb Breth)

The growing threat of black stem borer

Warner: The never-ending story list

Phil Tregunno’s Tregunno Fruit Farms Inc. near Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, has 700 acres of stone fruits and grapes. The grapes now account for a quarter of the farm’s production. Peter Mitham for Good Fruit Grower)

Growers rebuild after plum pox

Goose Watch Winery was the first in the nation to offer the new wine varietal Aromella, made from a grape developed in Cornell’s breeding program. (Courtesy Lindsay Bolton)

New York wine varietal debuts

Bruce Reisch harvests grapes as part of the Cornell grape-breeding program, which has several new varieties in the pipeline. (Courtesy Elizabeth Takacs)

Cornell’s grape choices

Jeff Sample sells certified grape plant material from Terroir Nouveaux Nurseries in Sunnyside, Washington. (Melissa Hansen/Good Fruit Grower)

Learning about new grape clones

Protect vines from the cold

Craig Young (center) learns about the characteristics of WA 38 during a field day at Washington State University’s Sunrise Orchard between Wenatchee and Quincy. It is a vigorous variety well suited to a bi-axis system. (Geraldine Warner/Good Fruit Grower)

How to grow WA 38

An brown marmorated nymph in it's fifth instar stage is caught in a researchers net during a search for stink bugs at Walla Walla, Washington area vineyards on October 2, 2015. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Stinkbug continues its spread

Hort program highlights food safety

The large, flavorful, and productive PF 19-007 is finding a niche. (Courtesy Bill Shane)

Expo preview: Growers seek peach varieties that are hardier

Worker worries: 2015 Grower of the Year

Oasis Farms company sign outside of their new office in Prosser, Washington. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Learning from the board: 2015 Grower of the Year

Fruitful fortitude: 2015 Grower of the Year

New ways of doing business: 2015 Grower of the Year

Dr. Melba Salazar-Gutierrez, WSU, speaks at the Washington Hort Show in Kennewick, Washington on December 2, 2014. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Preview the 111th Washington Hort Show

Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable, and Farm Market EXPO

Learn about Michigan’s Expo: Fruit variety showcase