Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/675334
www.goodfruit.com Good Fruit Grower MAY 15, 2016 37 Not so easy anymore Once upon a time, cherries were considered a relatively easy tree fruit to grow in California. They required few sprays, about three weeks of intense labor for only two varieties — Burlat, an early ripening variety, and Bings, "the main show," said Greg Costa, a Lodi grower and member of the California Cherry Board. The industry centered in the Santa Clara Valley south of San Francisco, a place with moderate temperatures and conducive soils with which no other cherry growing region in the nation wanted to compete. Eventually though, urbanization and high land prices in the area now known as Silicon Valley pushed the cherry farming families — mostly descendants of Italian immigrants — into the Stockton and Lodi areas of the Central Valley of California, where about 70 percent of the state's cherries are grown today. In the 1960s, the onset of cherry buckskin disease ushered in the days of year-round maintenance and at one point took the California acreage way down. "That eliminated cherries from certain parts of California," Costa said. The early 1990s brought about chemical bloom manipulators that helped growers overcome low chill, 2015 near Kingsburg to capitalize on cherry expansion in southern counties. Ross CouRtney/Good FRuit GRoweR Get the results you want with KDL ® 0-0-24, AGRO-K's foliar nutrient fruit sizing and color program BIG cherries with great color and high sugar offer growers the best returns. Large bloom and heavy sets increase the risk of small fruit and uneven maturity. Maximize your returns by maximizing your fruit size and uniform maturity at harvest with KDL ® , Agro-K's foliar cherry size and color promoter. Peak demand timing for potassium in cherries begins at color break and should be supported by foliar potassium, in the right form, to maximize cherry size, color and sugar and to encourage uniform fruit maturity at harvest. KDL's unique sugar-based potassium formulation is designed for fast and complete uptake and when applied beginning at color break, can dramatically improve cherry size, color and sugar, while encouraging uniform fruit maturity. KDL links potassium to a sugar complex that quickly penetrates fruit and leaf tissue – encouraging the sugar development process within the leaf and aiding in transport into the fruit – leading to increased sugar levels and improved color. KDL also maximizes cell bulking leading to larger, firmer cherries that ship better and store longer. Bulking, sugar content and color are all indicators of ripening fruit. By influencing these quality factors, KDL also promotes greater uniform maturity at harvest for less small green fruit. KDL is compatible with most pesticides used for powdery mildew and fruit fly. For more information on how KDL ® can influence your cherry crop, contact Agro-K today. AGRO-K CORpORAtiOn 8030 Main Street, NE • Minneapolis, MN 55432 800-328-2418 • www.agro-k.com When big isn't big enough! Science-Driven Nutrition SM