Getting Ready for Hort

Getting Ready for Hort. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

This year’s annual Washington State Horticultural Associations annual meeting and expo will feature a lot of wonderful information for the fruit growing industry. WSU’s Matthew Whiting will be doing a number of panels and discussions.

WHITING: I’ll be speaking at the cherry session. A couple of talks. I’ll be participating in a panel where we’ll be breaking down cherry harvesting costs. So we’re going to have some growers who’ll be talking about what’s the impact economically of harvesting with a 10-12 foot latter, sort of the classic system.

He says they’ll compare that to what is called pedestrian architectures.

WHITING: The goal there being one could harvest those fruit without the use of any ladders or just perhaps a short step ladder. We’re also going to be talking about some of the work my program has been leading in partnership with the industry and the last 2 elements there are looking at mechanically assisted harvest. Basically that involves some means of shaking and catching the fruit of the tree with a mechanically assisted approach.

And as they say...but wait! There’s more.

WHITING: The one that I specifically will be addressing in the panel is looking at an update on the potential for a fully mechanical harvest of fresh market quality sweet cherries. And the bottom line each of us are to address in this panel is really looking at the economics

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