Good Fruit Grower

August 1

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56 AUGUST 2015 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com The Lady and the gang W ould you rather buy a Pink Lady or a Cripps Pink? Despite the fact that they're the same apple, most consumers surveyed say they would prefer a Pink Lady. Some associ- ated the name Cripps Pink with a gang. A female gang, perhaps? Pink Lady is the brand name for the Australian cultivar Cripps Pink. The apple can be packed and sold under either name, but only licensed growers can use the Pink Lady name, and the fruit must meet specifi ed standards. Pink Lady America conducted a digital survey of hundreds of "millenials" (those born around 1980 to 2000) and found that more than 80 percent believe that Pink Lady brand apples are higher quality than Cripps Pink and 68 percent had never heard of Cripps Pink. Consumers associated Pink Lady with terms like "fancy, fresh, tart, elegant, juicy, classy, and fun," while Cripps Pink conjured up images such as "crippled, disease, crypt, and bloods." In fact, Cripps Pink was named after John Cripps, who bred the apple in Western Australia. John Reeves, general manager of Pink Lady America, is sharing results of the survey with retailers. "Now that we have tangible results that consumers are specifi cally looking for Pink Lady branded apples in grocery stores, it will be confusing to see Cripps Pink sold in its place," he said. Module extends shelf life T he Janny MT controlled-atmosphere module is a bin-size container designed to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Through a combination of the respiration of the produce and the lid's patented mem- brane, the atmosphere inside the module can be mod- ifi ed to reach 3 percent oxygen and 3 percent carbon dioxide at almost 100 percent relative humidity. The atmosphere can be monitored with a hand-held gas analyzer to ensure the levels remain within the opti- mal range for the produce. The modules are stackable and require no electricity or additional equipment. According to the manufacturer, the potential shelf life of apples held in a Janny MT module is increased to 330 days, compared with 90 days in regular cold storage. Shelf life is increased from 7 to 25 days for cherries, from 12 to 50 days for plums, and from 90 to 240 days for pears. The module was launched in France in 2009 and was recently introduced to the North American market. It is distributed by JMT UDS LLC, a subsidiary of Janny MT. For more information, check the website www.jmt-us. com or phone (707) 496-0937 in California or (517) 215- 5970 in Michigan. Long line T he new commit-to- pack apple line at Stemilt Growers' Olds Station plant in Wenatchee features one of the longest sizers in the world. Stemilt produces about 8 percent of the Washington apple crop, which this season totaled close to 150 million boxes. The Greefa line is the length of a football fi eld and has ten lanes and 79 drop points. It features opti- cal sizing and electronic internal and external defect sorting and is designed to accurately color sort new bi-colored apple varieties such as Cripps Pink, Gala, and Fuji, which will continue to be a big focus at Stemilt, according to communications manager Brianna Shales. The cost of the new Greefa line was not disclosed. Most of Stemilt's apples are packed on this line, though Douglas Fruit Company in Pasco also packs some of the company's apples. Stemilt has dedicated pear, cherry, and organic packing lines in Wenatchee, also. Pay by weight, not volume F airPick is an auto- mated weighing sys- tem available from 2nd Sight Bioscience, based in Spokane, Washington, that enables growers to pay pickers by weight versus volume. To use the system, employees place their harvesting containers on the scale and scan their pre-assigned RFID tags. The employee name, weight of the fruit, time, date, GPS coordinates, and other infor- mation entered by the grower, transfer automatically and wirelessly to the FairPick base station. The base station, which features a touch-screen, acts as a time clock and prints end-of-day receipts for employees' records. At the end of the day, weight data can be uploaded to the 2nd Sight server for automated payroll reports that can be imported into any software that accepts .cvs or Excel fi les. Check the website www.2ndSightbio.com for more information. GOOD TO GO For a complete listing of upcoming events, check the Calendar at www.goodfruit.com Learn about irrigation T he University of California, Davis, has teamed up with the Institute of Agriculture and Food Research and Technology (IRTA) in Catalan to present a one-week international course on irrigation, October 5-9, in Lleida, Spain. The course is designed to help orchard irrigation managers make strategic decisions with an under- standing of the implications for crop production. Topics include soil physical properties, soil hydraulic properties, use of water meters, evaluation of plant water status, irrigation scheduling techniques, mea- surement of tree water stress, carbon acquisition and inter-organ competition, productive responses to withholding or applying water, and irrigation strat- egies. Specifi c information will be given about irri- gation in pome fruits, nuts, grapes, olives, citrus, and annual crops. The course includes fi eld lab exercises and a fi eld trip. Speakers will include Ted DeJong, plant physiolo- gist at UC Davis, and Dr. Ken Shackel, who conducts research at UC Davis on tree and vine responses to water stress and Regulated Defi cit Irrigation. For more information, check the website www. irta.eu or email international@irta.eu. Pear fair to debut in Italy T he first European fair dedicated to the pear, FuturPera, will be held in Italy November 18-20 in conjunction with the Interpera world pear forum. The event will be held in Ferrara, in Emilia Romagna, one of Italy's main pear producing regions, which is renowned for its Abate Fetel pears. The Interpera agenda will include technical and economic topics such as: reports and forecasts of pear production around the world; innovative systems for cultivating pears; trade barriers and phytosanitary requirements; new varieties; pest control; and health benefi ts of eating pears. For more information, go to interpera.weebly.com. GOOD STUFF A selection of the latest products and services for tree fruit and grape growers Crunch Pack sells Pink Lady slices C runch Pack of Cashmere, Washington, began produc- ing branded Pink Lady fresh apple slices this summer. The slices are sold in a convenient peel-and-re- seal container in sizes up to two pounds. Crunch Pak, which was founded in 2000 and is a leading supplier, produces two million apple slices per day. apple, most consumers surveyed say they ated the name Cripps Pink with a gang. A COURTESY JANNY MT COURTESY STEMILT COURTESY 2ND SIGHT BIOSCIENCE AUGUST August 8: Summer Cider Day presented by the Northwest Cider Association, Port Townsend, Washington, www.brownpapertickets.com/event/874059. August 15-16: Pioneer Power Show & Swap Meet sponsored by Central Washington Antique Farm Equipment Club, Fullbright Park, Union Gap, Washington, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. For details, call (509) 949-2100 or email cherylhall @gmail.com. SEPTEMBER September 13-18: International Conference on Fresh- cut Produce, University of California Davis, fresh-cut2015. ucdavis.edu/. September 23-25: Macfrut: Italian Fruit & Vegetable Trade Fair, Rimini, Italy, www.macfrut.com. OCTOBER October 5-9: Irrigation course for orchard managers, Lleida, Spain, presented by University of California, Davis, and the Institute of Agriculture and Food Research Technology. For information, go to www.irta.eu or email international@irta.eu.

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