06/18/07 Cherry Field Day Part 2

Cherry Field Day Part 2. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. Last week a record number of cherry producers attended the WSU-Prosser Annual Cherry Field Day and according to the project leader, Matthew Whiting, one of the highlights was a demonstration of a new automated picker. WHITING: That's one we've been looking at for about 4 years now. The unit that we're testing is a prototype harvester developed by Dr. Don Peterson and we have agreed to continue to test that prototype in our research orchards here in Prosser. Whiting says the harvester has come a long way and with this particular model they are down to just tweaking. WHITING: At this stage we feel like we're really coming to the fine tuning of it and we're trying to better understand some of the components more related to the biology of the trees and fruits themselves rather than making any changes to the harvester. What we're trying to do now is to figure out how to maximize the efficiency of the harvester, getting a complete uniform removal of fruit when we harvest and also looking into the impact that that mechanized harvest has on fruit quality. This particular harvester provides a stem free cherry. WHITING: We're also interested in better understanding what potential impact that may have on storability and shelf life of cherries. The final component is to understand how consumers respond to cherries that are without stems. For more information on this new harvester, contact Matthew Whiting at WSU-Prosser. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.