February 15, 2026

Disease Management

Featured stories about tree fruit and grape diseases — and more — in this issue.

February 15, 2026 — Digital Issue

Humma of Ruff Country K9 alerts on a Rainier cherry tree she detected as positive for little cherry disease in 2024 in Zillah, Washington. (Ross Courtney/Good Fruit Grower)

Disease-sniffing dogs leading by the nose

Matt Yeager of Kragworks discusses the use of large language model-based artificial intelligence in farming, while his father, Joel, watches at the Washington State Tree Fruit Association Annual Meeting in December in Wenatchee, Washington. The family uses the Claude chatbot on their own Yakima Valley farm. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

A tale of two bots

Frank Zhao of Washington State University discusses alternative treatments for bacterial canker at the 83rd Annual Cherry Institute in January in Yakima. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Lime sulfur offers two-for-one disease control

Incidence of grapevine red blotch virus has been growing around the world, including in Southwest Oregon, said Oregon State University viticulturist Alexander Levin. (Courtesy Carlee Wormington/Oregon State University)

Red blotch a worldwide vineyard threat

Brookdale Fruit Farm employees harvest Foxtrot Gala in September 2025. The New Hampshire orchard uses an autonomous Revo Piuma platform. Six workers, two on the machine and four on the ground, pick the apples by hand and place them on the conveyor belts, which fill the bin below. Compared to ladders, the platform speeds picking and reduces fruit bruising, grower Trevor Hardy said. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

A strong and Hardy outlook for farming family business

Retail analyst Adam Brohimer says cherries are not as price sensitive as many believe, and there is room to raise prices to improve returns to growers. Brohimer spoke at the 83rd Annual Cherry Institute at the Yakima Convention Center in Yakima, Washington, in January. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Searching for a sweet spot in the cherry industry

Michigan State University tree fruit pathologist George Sundin discusses fire blight during the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO in December. Here, he shows a microscopic view of shoot blight ooze infecting a tree’s parenchyma, the soft tissue that performs multiple functions including storing and transporting nutrients. (Matt Milkovich/Good Fruit Grower)

Doubling down on diseases

Good Stuff, February 15, 2026

Washington State University Extension’s Tianna DuPont, right, coaches Chad Blackburn on where to make the cut on a fire blight-infected shoot during a fire blight field day hosted by WSU at its Columbia Reach research farm in 2024. The pathology research block had plenty of shoot blight for attendees to practice on, as DuPont shared the importance of cutting promptly and aggressively to limit spread. (Kate Prengaman/Good Fruit Grower)

DuPont: Fire blight findings

Chelcie Martin, a young grower from Stow, Massachusetts

2003: Making hard cider is not easy

2003: Hard cider sells better at higher price