05/22/08 Checking on the Fruit

Checking on the Fruit. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. It has been a cool spring. So much so that it has some fruit growers concerned. BJ Thurlby says growers are scratching their heads. THURLBY: You know this spring has been the coldest April in recorded meteorological history here in our neck of the woods in the state of Washington and the northwest so it hasn't been perfectly conducive to the cherry crop and all it would take is one cherry grower to tell you that this thing is not going to game plan this year. And he says that it is hit and miss. THURLBY: Overall the cold weather we had in April and March shortened this crop down thinned it out significantly and now we're just looking at trying to figure out what we've got left on those trees. And it really appears to be almost by orchard, by variety, by root stock. Dave Carlson with the Washington Apple Commission says the early frost damage is mostly in the southern district with the Basin and Wenatchee about normal at this time. He also added that export numbers are still good and so are shipments. Prices are firm and southern hemisphere arrivals are way down from last year with Chilean Gala experiencing some delivery quality problems so much so that Canada has stopped importing from Chile. Tomorrow, more on the fruit crop in the northwest. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.