05/21/07 How Does Your Orchard Grow?

How does your orchard grow? I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. I've been keeping an eye on my one lone cherry tree and as I've said, if it's any indication this years cherry crop should be a good one. Gip Redman with Oregon Cherry Growers says things are moving along nicely. REDMAN: The cherry crop has been pegged at the early forecast to be maybe even a little bit bigger than last year and I think that it's subsequently been knocked down to be closer to last year and that has to be due to all new surface area and new orchards coming into bearing. The has been some damage due to some cold weather early on but Redman thinks the cherry harvest will be getting under way in the not too distant future. REDMAN: This year going to probably be somewhere around the 5th to the 8th as a beginning for Chelan's and some of the warmer areas early Mattawa areas, early Tri-Cities areas. Of course one of the factors again this year will be pickers. REDMAN: If they've got a big cherry crop in California, what's the reason to leave that and come up north? They will but it may be a little bit later so those cherry blocks that are light may have more of a struggle getting picked which could ultimately affect the size of the cherry crop overall. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.