Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/572389
www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER OCTOBER 2015 23 has a FOR QUALITY Geneva 895 proved to be a vigorous but precocious rootstock. Although some people avoid G.16 because of its sensitivity to latent viruses, Allen said the trees in his four-acre planting on that rootstock look phenomenal. A block of G.30 on a replant site did extremely well, where other rootstocks didn't perform. "They are out of control, vigorwise," he said. "But they pump a lot of fruit out." Unless the rootstock is precocious, the trees will go into biennial bearing and won't grow sustained yields year after year, he warned. "I'm just a firm believer that you have to identify the most precocious rootstock in terms of yield efficiency that will fill your canopy with your system." Color Overtree cooling is used throughout the orchard to prevent sunburn. A block that the IFTA tour visited had Extenday reflective mulch on alternate rows to promote color development. The block is planted on a slope and the mulch is not laid on the rows where the tractor drives uphill because it would otherwise damage the material. Allen said he understands that Extenday in alternate rows provides about 70 percent of the benefit of a total treatment and at half the cost. Close to harvest, a mylar film is put down in rows without Extenday. The objective of using Extenday is not to increase the amount of premium grade fruit, but to ensure that fruit picked for long-term storage has enough color at harvest and to increase the percentage of fruit in the first pick. He measures pressure, starch, and Brix level to assess harvest maturity and has bought a DA meter to monitor maturity of the fruit on the tree. "But my final rule of thumb is if it doesn't taste good, you probably should not pick it," he said. "And it should have some minimal color." • "My guess is in the next two years we will be shipping 12 to 14 million boxes (of Honeycrisp) out of Washington, and we will get up to 20 million. It's going to be our No. 3 variety, I think, within five years. —Bruce Allen Chiawana Orchard's Honeycrisp harvest in 2013. PHOTOS BY TJ MULLINAX/GOOD FRUIT GROWER