Little Cherry Disease Update Pt 2
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with today’s Fruit Grower Report. Little Cherry Disease is still a major concern for cherry growers in the Pacific Northwest.
But, BJ Thurlby, Northwest Cherry Growers president, says it doesn’t appear to be driving growers out of the industry …
THURLBY … “I mean if you talk to nurseries, cherry trees are backed up, you can’t buy cherry trees another year or two. And people are planting cherries still, so it’s not like they’re not. So, we assume that there’s a kind of leveling effect of new cherries going in and some old, little cherry blocks going out.”
Thurlby believes we’ll see more fruit being planted in the early districts, but when it will be harvestable is not yet known …
THURLBY … “I keep talking to growers and people are saying, well I’ve got another, you know, 40 acres that I’ve planted down in, near Walla Walla that will come in this year. So, we’re going to start seeing more fruit on the front end of this deal than we’ve seen in the past.”
But the final numbers, Thurlby says will have to wait …
THURBLY … “I’ve had people on the sale side of the industry tell me that they think we’re heading towards a 30-million box crop this year. And, the reality is it’s the cherry business. I mean, we could be back to 15. I mean, you just don’t know and, knock on wood … knock, knock, knock … that we have a nice 23-24 million box crop because we know we can sell it and we know can sell it at a profit.”
So, for 2023, Thurlby says, fingers crossed.
