Northwest Cherry Growers are still expecting 18.4 million 20-pound boxes of cherries this season, in spite of June rains which have damaged some orchards, according to Friday’s (24th June) crop update.
June rains, which can cause ripening cherries to swell and split, in the 600-square-mile Northwest cherry production areas often are highly localized, walloping one grower and leaving a neighbor completely dry.
B.J. Thurlby, president of Northwest Cherry Growers, called this year’s rain problems “routine” in an email to the Good Fruit Grower.
“Every season it seems, we experience a rogue weather pattern or two,” Thurlby said in the crop update. “As we saw in 2013, a series of cloudbursts over parts of the Northwest last weekend skipped some orchards entirely while damaging 5 percent in others and upwards of 40 percent in a few.”
However, even many growers hit by rain were spared the brunt of damage because wind and mild temperatures followed the late spring and early summer storms, the crop update said.
The Northwest Cherry Growers, based in Yakima, Washington, represents cherry growers in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Utah.
Source: goodfruit.com