Tree Fruit Research and Extension
WSU Tree Fruit Research and Extension develops and applies research-based information for sustainable tree fruit production in Washington and the world.
Fruit Matters – Tree Fruit News April 2024
Weather and tech advances; new personnel; nutrient, pest, and crop management; surveys; grant awards and more in this issue.
Recent News
Using Insect Growth Regulators as a Tool in Pear IPM
Insect growth regulators can be used as a tool as part of a pear IPM.
Watch for Fire Blight Risk
With warm conditions projected over the weekend fire blight risk may be marginal to high in areas with open bloom and rain or dew. Watch…
Temperature Inversion Forecasts Available for AgWeatherNet Mesonet Tower Stations
AgWeatherNet (AWN) has rolled out 24-hour temperature inversion forecasts for 21 Mesonet tower stations.
New entomology Endowed Chair excited about opportunity to help tree fruit industry
Tobin Northfield, WSU’s new Endowed Chair of Tree Fruit Entomology and Integrated Pest Management.
Introducing Dani Gray, IPM – ITT Extension Coordinator
Welcoming the new IPM – ITT Extension Coordinator.
Upcoming Events
8
May
May
Día de campo: Importancia y manejo del riego en Frutales
WSU-Prosser Roza Orchard
22
May
May
Food Microbiology 101 for the Fresh Produce Industry Training – May
WSU – IAREC, Prosser
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Featured Videos
Technical Update for AWN
A presentation by Jonathan Contezac, Field Meteorologist at AWN Mount Vernon
AWN Overview
An overview of the WSU AgWeatherNet. AWN collects and delivers high quality, site-specific weather data and products for effective agricultural decision-support, serving irrigated agriculture in central Washington and the rest of the state (farmers, gardeners,…
Managing Mites in Pears
Rebecca Schmidt Jeffris discussed spider mites, rust mites, and blister mites: how different active ingredients work, efficacy, pesticide effects on natural enemies, weed associations and pesticide impacts on outbreaks at NCW Tree Fruit Days. NCW…
Powdery Mildew Best Management
Gary Grove, WSU Plant Pathology spoke at 2024 NCW Tree Fruit Days on powdery mildew management. Topics covered include: management starts with pruning; irrigation starts the infection cycle; importance of suckering; importance of timing products…
Earwig Trapping, Releases and Pesticide Impacts
Aldo Hanel, WSU Entomology spoke at the 2024 NCW Tree Fruit Days on earwigs for biocontrol. Moving earwigs from stone fruit to pome fruit can improve control of woolly apple aphids and pear psylla, but…
Recent Publications
Evaluation of biopesticides for the control of Erwinia amylovora in Apple and Pear
In a recent study, we evaluated non-antibiotic materials for fire blight control in 8 Washington, 3 Oregon, 3 New York and 2 Pennsylvania field experiments conducted between 2013 to 2022.
Investigations of Multiple Approaches to Reduce Green Spot Incidence in ‘WA 38’ Apple
A pre-harvest apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) disorder named “green spot” (GS) was recently identified on ‘WA 38’ apples. Previous work indicated a tentative association between GS and fruit mineral imbalance, and an influence of…
Soil Health Indicators for Central Washington Orchards
To help growers in Central Washington orchards, Washington State University scientists demonstrated that all soil health indicators should include measurements of water availability and root health in addition to standard fertility indicators to meet stakeholder…
Field scale application of Brassica seed meal and anaerobic soil disinfestation for the control of apple replant disease.
Study published June 2021 in Applied Soil Ecology shows potential of anaerobic soil disinfestation and biorenovation with mustard meals for mitigation of replant disease.
Towards rapid detection and mapping of powdery mildew in apple orchards
Chandel, Khot, Sallato Dec 2020. Powdery mildew (PM) in apples is a critical fungal disease that adversely affects yield and fruit quality. Conventional PM identification techniques are laborious. This study evaluated the suitability of non-destructive…
