WSU Hosting Sunburn and Delayed Sunscald Field Visit

Washington State University is hosting an opportunity for apple growers to see their most recent research into sunburn and sunscald in Quincy on May 25^th.

Dr. Rob Blakely said this will help growers prepare for the upcoming season.

“Apples need light to have good flavor and good color, but an excess of light can lead to sunburn damage on the fruit. Farmers spend a lot of effort trying to mitigate sunburn and this is just to help them keep up with some of the latest technology that’s available.”

Topics will include sunscald prediction, impacts of colored netting, suggests to manage sunburn and sunscald and a field trip to McDougall and Sons to see a fourth leaf Honeycrisp orchard.

The workshop has both English and Spanish opportunities, with English in the morning and Spanish in the afternoon, and Blakely said the goals for growers are simple.

“I’m hoping that they can achieve slightly less sunburn and have better quality fruit and improved returns for their efforts.”

Interested growers can gather at White Trail Produce at 10:00 for the presentations before the group heads out to the field.

If you have a story idea for the Washington Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail krounce@cherrycreekradio.com.