09/23/08 Mechanization and blossom thinning

For most of this decade Dr Essie Fallahi has been experimenting in apple orchards with various chemical treatments for blossom thinning. Recently at the University of Idaho Parma Research Center he worked on mechanical device given the uncertainties of finding adequate migrant labor. He imported a machine from Germany that hooks to the back of a tractor. FALLAHI "Image it is like a giant weed eater that is staged horizontally When the strings on the weed eater rotate they can knock the blossoms out." Working with Washington State University and Washington Tree Fruit Commission Fallahi tried this method on nectarines, peaches and apples. He's also used compressed air, with and without water, to thin blossoms thanks to a giant compressor. FALLAHI "This whole unit will be mounted on the tractor and then we are targeting blossoms as well as fruits to knock them down, to bring the level of excess crop down." It works, he says, because the first test blew a branch right off the tree. Fine tuning obviously had to follow. His goal is to look for ways to save growers money by solving what he says are the economic facts they have to deal with every day. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott