Getting a Good Cherry Set

Getting a Good Cherry Set. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. The weather has been fairly cooperative so a lot of fruit trees are in bloom. BJ Thurlby, Executive Director of the Washington State Fruit Commission & NW Cherry Growers says after last years monster crop things appear to be leveling out and even some of the growers have been downgrading their estimates. THURLBY: You know we're still expecting a full crop out there. As big as last year - no way. The trees aren't going to do it two year in a row. You know early-wise I've talked to two or three larger growers that are saying that they don't know how well we've set. We had beautiful weather and then it cooled off there for the early district so there's – I think some of our early growers are thinking they're a little lighter than they would like to be. With that in mind some of the shippers have been revising their early estimates down. THURLBY: But so far in the mid-season it looks like we're going to have a good set. I mean pollination was great. People used pollen and people are thinking they're setting a good crop so it looks very positive. Thurlby says there is separation in this crop. THURLBY: The early end is early; the mid-season is a couple of days early compared to normal. You know still significantly than last year and the back end is looking to be fairly normal but later. We like to see during harvest that separation. It just makes for a lot more continuity when the crops coming off. Not like last year when the whole thing came off literally in 35 to 40 days. Right now we like the way this crop is appearing to come off. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.