Pacific Northwest

Harvests start with high hopes for apple season

Apple growers in Washington, Michigan and New York are optimistic for the 2023-24 fresh apple season. With weather described as “near-perfect,” Washington dodged the heat and cold from the past two seasons. The U.S. Apple... more »

U.S. apple crop forecast at 256 million bushels

The U.S. apple crop for 2023-24 is expected to top 256 million 42-pound bushels, according to the U.S. Apple Association. USApple’s forecast is about 6 million bushels over the USDA’s annual forecast. The USDA released... more »

WSU releases WA 64, a Honeycrisp, Cripps Pink hybrid

Washington State University’s (WSU) newest apple variety, WA 64, is a sweet, tart, firmly crisp hybrid of Honeycrisp and Cripps Pink, a variety that includes the well-known Pink Lady brand. Officially released for commercial licensing... more »

Pacific Northwest pear growers vote to keep marketing order

Pear producers in Washington and Oregon have voted to continue their federal marketing order this year, with the largest margin in the order’s history. Pear growers vote every six years on whether or not to... more »

Higher 2023 Washington apple production forecast

“Near perfect” growing conditions should help Washington increase its apple crop. The state is forecast to produce just more than 134 million 40-pound boxes of fresh apples, a 28.8% increase from 2022’s 104.3 million boxes,... more »

Construction begins on USDA-WSU research building

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new plant sciences building that will house scientists from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Washington State University (WSU). ARS and WSU... more »

Irrigation to be focus of July 21 WSU Smart Vineyard field day

Precision irrigation sensors and technologies to mitigate heat stress are scheduled to be on display at the Washington State University’s Smart Vineyard field day. At the field day, scheduled for July 21 from 10 a.m.... more »

Sensors help trees tell growers when they are thirsty

The traditional method of using technology to alert growers of the need to irrigate involves soil-based sensors, which do well at relaying moisture data at a specific depth and location. Dendrometers, which measure the expansion... more »