Fruit Bites May 10-12 Field Update
FRUIT BITES S6E6 MAY 10-12 FIELD UPDATE
BL: Welcome back to another “Fruit Bites” brought to you by Valent U.S.A. And with us as always is Valent’s Allison Walston. And this week Allison, we’re talking about what we’re currently seeing in apples, pear & cherries.
AW: I’ve been across the entire PNW fruit growing area in the past few weeks setting up apple thinning demos with Valent’s Accede PGR. For apples, in warmer areas, some growers have apples that might not need much thinning while other growers in cooler areas had apples that were still tight pink when the weather happened. Accede apple thinner gives growers the opportunity to wait a bit longer, 15mm to see what fruit will develop.
BL: Sure, all that snow & freezing in April was almost as crazy as last summer’s heat dome.
AW: That heat dome reduced fruit bud development in apples and occurred during cherry harvest. Freeze crop loss estimates are still being conducted for cherries and pears which were further along in development. In addition to losing fruit to freeze, it was too cold and overcast for the bees to pollinate during bloom. Rumors are that crop loss is patchy and ranging from 15 to 60%.
BL: Well, thanks Allison. Join us again next time for Fruit Bites, brought to you by Valent. Until then, I’m Bob Larson.
