Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/643470
38 MARCH 1, 2016 Good Fruit Grower www.goodfruit.com Late fruit grower's children publish book about father T he children of Max E. Benitz Sr. have published a book about their late father, a Washington state senator and one of the pio- neer fruit and wine grape growers in the Roza Irrigation District. Senator Max E. Benitz, Sr.: 'Mr. Energy' chronicles the life and career of Benitz, who helped create Washington State University, Tri-Cities, and worked with the late Dr. Walter Clore to plant some of the early wine grape vineyards in Washington. The book, pub- lished by NorTex Press of Fort Worth, Texas, was written by his daughter, Eileen M. Benitz Wagener, of The Woodlands, Texas, and Dr. Michele S. Gerber, a Richland, Washington, historian and author hired by the family. Wagener's four siblings also contributed. Benitz, who moved to Washington in 1934 from Wathena, Kansas, fi rst planted crops near Prosser in 1946, growing more than 700 acres of hops, wine grapes and tree fruit over 45 years. He served as the state Farm Bureau president and on the National Farm Bureau board of directors. Benitz, a Republican from Prosser, Washington, represented the 8th District in the state House of Representatives from 1968-1974 and the state Senate from 1974-1990. He co-sponsored several pieces of legislation that encouraged growth in the state's wine industry, including the 1987 bill that created the Washington Wine Commission. He died on Aug. 29, 1990. The library at WSU, Tri-Cities, is named in his honor. The book sells for $19.95 on Amazon. Fine Americas releases new bloom-thinning PGRs F ine Americas has released a new formulation Exilis 9.5 SC as its leading post-bloom thinning agent for apples and pears based on the active ingredient benzyladenine. The new formulation is fi ve times more concentrated than current formulations on the market to improve handling and mixing, reduce storage space and reduce environmental impact, while still providing fruit thinning and increased fruit size. It is sold in 1-quart containers, compared with Exilis Plus in 1-gallon containers. Fine Americas worked with leading industry researchers over a number of years to develop this advanced formulation. "Our research has shown that growers will get the same top-notch performance in terms of thinning with Exilis 9.5 SC that they saw with Exilis Plus," said Jim Scruggs, technical services manager for Fine Americas. Company representatives are currently offering measuring cups to assist in accurate mixing as growers adapt to the new formulation. For more information, visit www.fi ne-americas.com. LiftGator releases battery-charged liftgate L iftGator, based in Atascadero, California, has released its LiftGator XTR, a full-size liftgate that is capable of lifting up to 1,200 pounds and features a self-contained battery system. The battery system allows the LiftGator XTR to be attached to any truck at any time, making it an optimal solution for users with multiple trucks. More than 30 lifts can be completed from a single charge, and the battery can be recharged from a truck's seven-pin trailer connector or a 110-volt wall outlet. For more information visit www.LiftGator.com, email info@LiftGator.com or call 805-448-7183. Farm Fuel Inc. offers mustard seed cover crops F arm Fuel Inc., a research and development firm that provides consultation to farmers and orchard- ists, is promoting the increased use of mustard seed cover crops for soil biofumigation and weed control. Farm Fuel is a distributor of Pacifi c Gold and IdaGold cover crop seeds, which are sold under the brand name Mighty Mustard by Davidson Com- modities of Spokane, Washington. A Pacifi c Gold mustard cover crop, grown for eight to 12 weeks, releases glucosinolates when irrigated after it is chopped up and either incorporated or left on top of the soil. These gluco- sinolates, which are the "heat" of the mustard plant, aid with control of unwanted pests like root knot nematodes and fungal diseases. IdaGold shades out unwanted weeds and eventually emits its own type of heat into the soil when chopped and irrigated to suppress weed seeds. For more information, contact Ellen Farmer at 831-763-3950. New distributor for Shur Farms S hur Farms Frost Protection has a new distributor serving Canada and the northeast- ern United States: Provide Agro Corp. of Ontario, Canada. A company of N.M. Bartlett Inc., Provide Agro has over 100 years of experience in agriculture and agricultural equipment distribution. The company will work closely with Shur Farms to provide growers with state-of-the-art frost protection solutions. Growers may contact Provide Agro toll free at 800-263-1287 or 905-563-8261, by email at info@provideag.ca, or visit www.provideag.ca. For more information and a list of international distributors, visit www.shurfarms.com. Good StUFF A selection of the latest products and services for tree fruit and grape growers PHOTO BY FERNANDO GARCIA AVOID THE ORCHARD OF NO RETURN WITH SOIL FUMIGATION CALL TODAY TO SCHEDULE YOUR APPLICATION: Northwest Washington: Tim Purcell 360-630-4285 Yakima Valley: Robert Rauert 509-728-2004 Columbia Basin: Jason Rainer 509-731-5424 Okanogon Valley: Adam Zediker 509-828-0691 Oregon: David Sbur 971-563-8848 Office 360-225-3588 Soil fumigation in replanted orchards produces earlier, bigger yields and higher profits—not just in the early years, but over the life of the orchard. Trident Agricultural Products can help you create that orchard. With 30+ years of experience, Trident is the Pacific Northwest's soil fumigation specialist. Trident offers custom application of Telone ® C-17, Telone C-35 and Pic-Clor 60. Applications can be made in tree fruit, hops, grapes, berries and nursery crops. ® Trademark of the Dow Chemical Company ("Dow") or an af�iliated company of Dow. Telone is a federally restricted use pesticide. Always read and follow label directions.