Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/643470
36 MARCH 1, 2016 Good Fruit Grower www.goodfruit.com What's wanted? S everal challenges helped renew interest in finding new varieties of stone fruit for Ontario. The discovery of plum pox virus in the Niagara region in 2000 led to the removal of 377,400 peach and nectarine trees, compounding a shift that took place through the 1990s as acres of stone fruit orchards shifted into more lucrative fruit, such as wine grapes. With the closure of the CanGro Foods Inc. processing plant in St. Davids in 2008, the industry knew it had to turn its attention to fresh market fruit. "A lot of the focus was in the processing area," said Michael Kauzlaric, a researcher with the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre engaged in outreach to stone fruit growers. "Then, about five or six years ago, there was a lot of excitement from pluots and plumcots that were being grown in California and exported to Ontario. That's when a lot of people got to thinking about new varieties." Rather than compete directly with fruit from the U.S., growers in Ontario sought to focus on early season varieties that could provide local fruit to the market before the onslaught of summer's bounty. A sign of things to come: Vee Blush, a new, yellow-fleshed variety with redder skin and fewer split pits than Harrow Diamond, which is a longstanding mainstay of fresh market growers in Ontario. Harrow Diamond doesn't get as nice a red color as Vee Blush, Kauzlaric said. "Consumers want to see a nice piece of red fruit instead of 70 percent red and 30 percent green." However, Vee Blush matures in late July, whereas four new peach varieties being pre - pared for release will ripen earlier in the month. —Peter Mitham PHOTOS COURTESY ONTARIO TENDER FRUIT EVALUATION COMMITTEE Harrow Diamond has been a mainstay of Ontario peach growers. Get the Chinook FAN BLADE ADVANTAGE! TRITON V-10 TRITON 5.4 PROPANE FUEL INJECTION IVECO NEF 6.7 DIESEL 2921 Sutherland Park Drive Yakima, WA 98903-1891 ENGINEERING RELIABILITY & PERFORMANCE I've been doing business with H.F. Hauff Company since 1978. They engineer their products with a farmer's needs in mind and have tre- mendous integrity. I like the fact that they stay in touch with their growers. • Victair Sprayers are reliable and built to use for a long time. Application windows can be short and you just can't afford to have down time. Any necessary repairs are simple to make. • Wind machines are my insurance plan. In today's world, you cannot afford to lose a crop. If you save just a quarter of a crop, you have paid for the machines. • No under-prop dead-air zone The way other props are designed, they don't push air down around the tower like the Chinook blade. • The Chinook puts out 30% more air, so you can stretch the towers out farther or get more air movement • 30% savings in fuel, it's huge! Chinook wind machines use less fuel because the machines are more efficient. BILL HENRI NAMPA, CALIFORNIA 509-248-0318 fax 509-248-0914 hfhauff@gmail.com www.hfhauff.com TOLL FREE 855-855-0318 KERIAN MACHINES, INC. 1709 Hwy 81 South, P.O. Box 311 Grafton, ND 58237 701-352-0480 • Fax 701-352-3776 sales@kerian.com • www.kerian.com GENTLE: Separates without damaging peaches, apples, mushrooms and fresh tomatoes ACCURATE: Precisely grades grape tomatoes, cherries, nuts, and small berries, maintaining that accuracy for larger products including cantaloupes and pineapple FAST: Thirteen standard models custom- designed to meet your needs sort from 1,000 lb/hr to 100,000 lb/hr SIMPLE: Effective but simple design provides a rugged, low-cost, low-maintenance machine at a high value to our customers. It can even be used in the field! VERSATILE: Specialized rollers allow for the accurate sizing of round products (potatoes, onions, and citrus), long products (carrots, russets, and cucumbers), and irregular products (bell peppers, jalapeños, and garlic) FRUIT AND VEGETABLE KERIAN SIZER