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.
Recent News
Resources for Little Cherry & X-disease Scouting and Sampling 2023
Resources available for scouting and sampling of X-disease and Little Cherry disease during the 2023 season.
WSU Decision Aid System Update June 2023
As warm weather continues, follow updates to important pest, pathogen, and fruit growth models on DAS.
Summer pear psylla management, 2023
Phenology-based pear psylla management options are under evaluation on commercial farms. Programs in the Wenatchee Valley are defined and compared in this article.
Rally the troops: free earwigs to be distributed to pome fruit growers at TFREC workshop
Earwigs are a powerful pest management ally in apple and pear. Get some for free on July 12 at a WSU event led by the…
Pruning out Fire Blight Infections
It is important to quickly prune out fire blight infected materials soon after an infection occurs to reduce the bacterial ooze which insects and wind…
Updates from WSDA Pesticide Management Division
Prevent Pesticide Drift As spraying season approaches WSDA is reminding pesticide applicators to ensure pesticides do not drift off target and offering tips on how…
Upcoming Events
18
Oct
Oct
Fire Blight Webinar Series: Using Weather & Environmental Conditions to Optimize Biologicals and Biopesticides for Bloom Protection
Virtual
Featured Videos

Codling Moth Series 01 Biology and Ecology
Peter McGhee presents Codling Moth Biology and Ecology

Codling Moth Series 02 Predictive Modeling
David Crowder presents Predictive Modeling

Biopesticides: Efficacy and Use
With increasing organic acreage and scrutiny of antibiotics use, alternatives to antibiotics for the control of fire blight are necessary. Dr. Ken Johnson, Oregon State University, talked about biopesticide efficacy and their use for the…

Managing Fire Blight Infections: Pruning, Sanitation
Is it important to quickly prune out fire blight infected materials soon after an infection occurs? How we remove them effectively? And what about sanitizing or not our tools? Tianna DuPont, Washington State University Extension,…

PACMAN Briefings: Session 1, Episode 1
Terence Robinson – Updates on horticultural work, Flow chart for Precision Crop Load
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…