09/22/08 Fruit Outlook

Fruit Outlook. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. Fruit is coming off the trees around the northwest and for the most part it is looking pretty good even though there was some early concern due to the long, cool spring. According to grower Gip Redman, things have turned out better than expected. REDMAN: Down here in Wapato as opposed to the traditional pear country up north, we've already done our Bosc and we had a good crop; a lot of frost marked and around misshape because of the frost. I think we all had our share. Gip says that you should expect some nice sized fruit coming to the market shortly. There is a lot of fruit being harvested now. REDMAN: Apples definitely have started. I think people are going to fight some size. It's been a wonderful color season but size may be dictated a little bit by the fact of quite a bit of king bloom. Now that's not everybody and I certainly don't want to put a hex on the apple market but I think they're going to have to deal with a few more small ones than they had to the last couple of years. Most of the fruit being picked seems to be pretty good quality and at least at the moment, there are plenty of hands to pick it. But Redman says there are a few signs up around the area. REDMAN: We're going to be brushing up against 100-million boxes which will make it about the 3rd largest crop in the history so that means there's a lot of apples to pick so the usual movement around of pickers coupled with the fact that there's a lot of apples to pick has got some signs out That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.