Written by Karen Lewis, August 2021
Spots, rots, splits, and other bummers in the bin can be a challenge to identify. Is it pest damage, a disease, an environmental or physiological disorder? Resources are available in multiple formats to assist you in narrowing down what it could be and/or eliminating what it is not. With due diligence, these references can get you to a high confidence in identifying the specific pest, disease, environmental or physiological disorder. The postharvest section of the WSU Tree Fruit Website is packed with user-friendly resources to identify the disease or defect, the cause, and management options of the specific issue.
Pages within the postharvest section include:
WA 38 Defect Guide
Defect Image Rotators
Postharvest Diseases
Diseases ID Guide
Export & Quarantine
Shipping
The Defect Image Rotators are interactive 360-degree rotating images with captions for roughly 70 different defects, diseases and disorders found on apple. This is a very cool tool!
Postharvest disease pages are fact sheets with photos of the most common rots and molds in apple and pear. The Diseases ID Guide includes the rotator images and a photo gallery for the most common rots and molds in apple and pear.
The WA 38 Defects Guide is specific to the common defects and unique characteristics of WA 38 near harvest and during storage.
So if you are stumped or want to double-check your best guess … visit the Postharvest section
But wait, there’s more…
For an easy-to-read, full-color visual wall display, purchase our Postharvest Defects and Disorders posters.
Available titles:
Honeycrisp Disorders (English and Spanish)
Postharvest Diseases (English)
Postharvest Defects (English and Spanish)
Posters sell for $35 each (cash or check only) and measure 32” high by 21” wide. They are available at Chelan, Grant, Benton, and Yakima WSU Extension Offices. Please note that only the Grant County office can fulfill mail orders; all others are in-person pick-up only.
Click here to see the posters and locate an office near you.
Articles from the Tree Fruit website may only be republished with prior author permission © Washington State University. Reprint articles with permission must include: Originally published by Washington State Tree Fruit Extension Fruit Matters at treefruit.wsu.edu and a link to the original article.
