Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/590163
48 NOVEMBER 2015 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com New digital sorter released K ey Technology has introduced its Veryx digital sort- ing platform, a suite of belt-fed and chute-fed sorters that includes multiple high-resolution cameras and laser sensors for detecting foreign material and the smallest product defects. The platform is designed for sorting fresh, frozen, and dried fruits and vegetables and other products. Veryx features Key's information analytics, a set of data acquisition and connectivity capabilities that allow users to gather a broad range of produce and operational data from the sorter. Go to www.thekeystandard.com for more information. Scholarships available S hur Farms Frost Protection is accepting applications from students for its 2016 scholarships. Applicants should have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, be intending to major in an agriculture-related field at a two-year college, a four-year college or university or technical school, and submit an essay on why they should be selected. Recipients for 2015 were Skye Bruce, a student at California Polytechnic Institute who is majoring in wine and viticulture, and Nicholas Fantozzi, a civil engineer major at Cal Poly who grew up on his family's vineyards. Contact Amber Andrade at amber@shurfarms.com or (909) 825-2035 for a 2016 application form. Modi partners gear up T he Northern Hemisphere's Class 1 Modi brand apple crop this year is estimated at 15,000 tons, of which 70 percent will be from within Europe and the rest from Turkey, Serbia, and Russia, according to a press release from CIV (Consorzio Italiano Vivaisti), Italian owners of the variety. U.S. partners of Modi (cultivar CIVG198) will develop a retail marketing program, working with the North American International Nursery Network. David Rajkovich of Farmington Fresh, the California group that is developing U.S. production and marketing strategies for Modi, said a very dry summer postponed planting and production. The f i r s t c o m m e r c i a l v o l u m e s w i l l b e available in 2016-17. In the interim, test marketing in the United States will be conducted with imported European Modi apples. Europe produced about 20,000 tons of Modi (fresh and processing) this season, slightly less than last year. Russia continues to be closed to European products, but Modi partners in Turkey (Ozler Tarim), Serbia (Delta Agrar) and Russia (Sad Gigant) are promoting the variety throughout Russia. The Freshmax Group is distributing and marketing Modi in Australia and New Zealand. Frutec is handling propagation and distribution of Modi trees in Uruguay. GOOD STUFF A selection of the latest products and services for tree fruit and grape growers WSU's two-day event will be held at four locations in November and will focus on fruit physiology. by Geraldine Warner F ruit growers and horticulturists in the Pacific Northwest have a rare opportunity this month to brush up on apple and pear phys- iology at a Washington State University Fruit School. The two-day Fruit School will be presented November 17-18 in four locations in English with simultaneous interpretation in Spanish. It will cover basic plant growth and development, nutrient and water management, manipulation of tree growth, plant stress, and fruit maturity and quality. Karen Lewis, WSU extension specialist based in Grant County and chair of the event, said it is designed for industry members wanting to learn the science behind what they do every day as well as for those wanting to catch up with advances in scientific knowl- edge since the last WSU tree fruit physiology short course in 1991. "It's not a winter meeting," she emphasized. "It's a fruit school. It's very focused, and we don't go as broad, but we go deeper." The agenda includes two speakers who were fea- tured in 1991: Dr. Duane Greene from the University of Massachusetts, who will give an update on hormones and plant growth regulators, and Dr. Jim Mattheis, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Wenatchee, who will present the latest research in fruit maturity and quality. Speakers from outside the United States will include: —Dr. Massimo Tagliavini from the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy, who will speak about nutrient uptake and distribution. —Dr. Pierre-Eric Lauri from the French National Institute for Agriculture in Paris, who will discuss apple and pear tree architecture. —Dr. Denise Neilsen with Agriculture and Agri- Food Canada in British Columbia, who will discuss irrigation and nutrient management. Also on the agenda are: Dr. Lee Kalcsits, Dr. Stefano Musacchi, Sara Serra, and Dr. Larry Schrader from WSU; Dr. Todd Einhorn and Dr. Yan Wang from OSU; Dr. Mark Mazzola with the USDA in Wenatchee; Dr. Dana Faubion with AgroFresh; and growers Mike Robinson and Del Feigal. The fruit school will be held at the Confluence Technology Center in Wenatchee with live streaming to Yakima and Richland, Washington, and Hood River, Oregon. Spanish interpretation will be available at each location as long as at least five Spanish-speaking attendees register. The registration fee of $160 includes lunch, a USB flash drive containing all the Powerpoint presentations in English, and a book of abstracts. The event is spon- sored by WSU, the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, and AgroFresh. Go to wsufruitschool.brownpapertickets.com to see the full agenda or to register. Pre-registration is required. • Sign up for Fruit School NOVEMBER November 3-5: Produce Safety Workshop, University of California Davis, postharvest.ucdavis.edu/Education/ Produce-Safety/. November 9-11: Methyl Bromide Alternatives and Emissions Conference, San Diego, California, www.mbao.org. November 10-11: Northwest Cherry Research Review, Red Lion, Yakima, Washington, www.treefruitresearch.com. For information call Kathy Coffey at (509) 665-8271 ext. 2 or email kathy @treefruitresearch.com. November 10-11: 35th Annual Food Safety and Sanitation Workshop, Portland, Oregon, wsu.edu/foodsanitation. For information, call Cathy Blood at (509) 335-2845 or email blood@wsu.edu. November 11-12: Irrigation Show, Long Beach, California, www.irrigationshow.org. For information, email info@ irrigationshow.org. November 12-13: Washington State Grape Society Annual Meeting and Trade Show, Grandview, Washington, www. grapesociety.org. November 13-15: Tilth Producers Annual Conference, Spokane, Washington, tilthproducers.org. For information, call (206) 632-7506 or email organic@tilthproducers.org. November 16-17: Sustainable Ag Expo, San Luis Obispo, California, www.sustainableagexpo.org. For information, call (805) 466-2288. November 24: Stone Fruit Research Review, WSU, Prosser, Washington, www.treefruitresearch.com. For information call Kathy Coffey at (509) 665-8271 ext. 2 or email kathy @ treefruitresearch.com. DECEMBER December 7-9: Washington State Tree Fruit Association 111th Annual Meeting & Northwest Hort Expo, Yakima, Washington, www.wstfa.org. For information, call (509) 728-0010. December 8-10: Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo, Grand Rapids, Michigan, www.glexpo.com. JANUARY January 4-5: Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Conference, Lexington, Kentucky, www.kyhort.org. For information, call (859) 257-5685. January 6-8: Illinois Specialty Crops, Agritourism and Organic Conference, Springfield, Illinois, www.specialtygrowers. org. For information, call (309) 557-2107. January 7-8: Yakima Ag Expo, Yakima, Washington, www. yakimaagexpo.com. For information, call (509) 248-2900. January 11-13: Northwest Food Manufacturing and Packaging Expo, Portland, Oregon, www.nwfpa.org. For information, call (503) 327-2200 or email expo @nwfpa.org. January 15: Cherry Institute, Yakima, Washington, www. wastatefruit.com. For information, call (509) 853-3504 or email cherryinstitute@wastatefruit.com. January 18-20: Ohio Produce Growers & Marketers Association Congress, Sandusky, Ohio, www.opgma.org. January 19-21: Empire State Producers Expo, Syracuse, New York, nysvga.org/expo/information. January 19-21: Indiana Horticultural Congress and Trade Show, Indianapolis, Indiana, www.inhortcongress.org. COURTESY KEY TECHNOLOGY COURTESY CIV GOOD TO GO For a complete listing of upcoming events, check the Calendar at www.goodfruit.com