Overhead irrigation of blueberries during bloom in late May 2023 at Michigan State University’s Trevor Nichols Research Center in Fennville. During periods of extreme heat at bloom, MSU researchers recommend overhead watering to help protect pollen from heat damage. (Courtesy Rufus Isaacs/Michigan State University) Until recently, Michigan blueberry growers didn’t have to worry too much about extreme heat during bloom. May temperatures in Michigan generally range from 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. But in two of the past six seasons — 2018 and 2022 — temperatures reached higher than 90 degrees i ..read more

Washington and Oregon cherry growers are eligible for emergency loans following crop losses in 2023. In February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved Oregon’s request for a natural disaster designation after the state’s cherry growers lost an average of 35 percent of their crop.  The designation cites two weather events in July that caused crop loss: excessive rain in Hood River County and a drought and heat event in Wasco County, according to a news release from the Oregon governor’s office. Under this designation, growers in the primarily impacted counties and neighboring counti ..read more

Editor’s note: This story has been updated from the April 1 print edition to reflect that the launch of the new cost-of-production calculator website has been delayed.  Trent Ball, a Yakima Valley College professor, discusses the wine industry’s updated cost-of-production calculator in February at the WineVit conference in Kennewick, Washington.(Ross Courtney/Good Fruit Grower) It costs a lot more to operate a vineyard than it did in 2011. So, the Northwest grape industry is updating an online cost-of-production calculator and wants growers to put it to the test. Funded with a Specialty ..read more

Derek Sandison, director of agriculture for the state of Washington, talks about the important trade relationship between Washington and Vietnam in front of a Washington Apple display at a MM Mega Market in the An Phu district of Vietnam on April 11. (Courtesy Washington State Department of Agriculture) On April 8, the Washington State Department of Agriculture signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam’s agriculture minister to strengthen agricultural trade, development and research between the two regions.  The signing kicked off a Washington state trade mission held April 8–12 i ..read more

family background/ Orlando is pursuing a graduate degree in horticulture at Washington State University. He is the son of Alison and Erik Howe; his biological mother is Maria Mendoza. age/ 25 hometown/ Wenatchee, Washington crops/ apples, cherries role/ student, research technician business/ Washington State University How did you get your start? I was born in Chelan, Washington, and moved to Wenatchee when I was around 5 or 6 years old. During high school, I did Running Start and originally wanted to be an engineer like my father. I learned that I was trying to live up to an expectation th ..read more

Michigan State University researchers are testing different ways to schedule trickle irrigation in this high-density apple block at MSU’s West Central Michigan Research and Extension Center in Hart. (Matt Milkovich/Good Fruit Grower) The fruit-growing regions of West-central Michigan and Northwest Michigan, both bordering Lake Michigan, are known for their generally sandy soils.  But both regions also are home to a growing number of high-density apple plantings that require trickle irrigation. Because high-density apples on sandy soils is a relatively new phenomenon in the state, growers ..read more

Photos by Kate Prengaman/Good Fruit Grower During the AgAID Institute field day, held on a hot September day at Washington State University’s Sunrise Research Orchard outside Wenatchee, WSU researchers explained how new technologies can help growers better protect cherries from cold. From right: Jake Schrader, Srikanth Gorthi and Lav Khot discuss their research into precision frost mitigation using data from 30-foot-high AgWeatherNet towers, like the one behind them, and the drones on the table in front of them to map inversion conditions.(Kate Prengaman/Good Fruit Grower) Related: Freezing fo ..read more

These maps show the variability in soils in an apple orchard for both phosphorus, at left, and potassium, at right, which are derived from scanning the block with a SoilOptix sensor and taking traditional samples for analysis. Nutrien agronomist Jill Tonne used these maps to set a variable-rate application plan to bring up the performance of weak spots in the block. Units are pounds per acre and total pounds. (Courtesy Jill Tonne/Nutrien Ag Solutions) In almost every orchard, there are trees failing to reach their full potential.  Variable-rate nutrient applications could be one way to he ..read more

This apple needs a splashing, memorable brand name, so Washington State University is plying the public for suggestions with a name contest. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower) HoneyPink? PinkCrisp?  Too obvious. Washington State University is seeking the public’s help to select a brand name for its latest apple release, a Honeycrisp and Cripps Pink cross. The naming contest launched April 5 and promises a box of the new apples and various WSU swag for the contest winner.  Formally known as WA 64, the new cultivar produces small to medium apples with a pink blush over a yellow background ..read more

Construction worker Gilbert Sumerlin puts the finishing touches on a new X-ray module in February in Eastern Washington that M3 Agriculture Technologies will use to sterilize codling moths for release over U.S. orchards. Currently, sterile moths released in the U.S. are imported from a 30,000-square-foot facility in British Columbia. (Ross Courtney/Good Fruit Grower) The tech company behind sterile insect release in Washington is launching a new way of making infertile codling moths. With help from a federal grant, M3 Agriculture Technologies is building modular X-ray facilities to sterilize m ..read more