2010 Fruit Year in Review Part 2

2010 Tree Fruit Year in Review Part 2. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

In 2010 WSU’s Kate Evans took a leap into developing a pear program at the college.

EVANS: I have a small program now looking at the feasibility of starting a root sock breeding program for pear. We’re bringing together a whole group of people to give me some input in terms of what the objectives for a root stock breeding program would be. And then the other part of the program is to start to bring together some parental material so that should we decide to establish a breeding program we can go ahead.

Labor issues were and still are major topics of discussion. American Farm Bureau Labor Specialist Ron Gaskill made a point that jobs go first to U.S. citizens, but new requirements would make it even more difficult for farmers to find the workers they need. 

GASKILL: It’s incredibly unrealistic.  It just doesn’t make sense.  The administration and congress have completely overestimated the willingness of domestic workers to take farm jobs.  People don’t want to work on farms.  It's physically-demanding, all-weather work.  It’s very, very difficult.  In agriculture there has been a deficit of workers. Even in current times of economic hardship.

The northwest has seen a new invasive pest, Drosophila suzukii, the spotted wing fruit fly. Dr. Helmuth Rogg, Entomologist with the Oregon Department of Agriculture talked about it.
ROGG: What they do first they cause cosmetic damage because when the female, they actually pierce the skin of the fruit and then they lay their eggs underneath the skin just like a regular fruit fly, the Mediterranean Fruit Fly. The maggot goes inside and causes damage to the fruit while it’s still hanging on the tree or the bush.

More tomorrow.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.