Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/79982
We grow organic Mandarins, Pluots and Kiwis on 16 acres. Every year we have trouble with cold weather in the springtime. Previously we had water protection only, but we put in our 1st Chinook Wind Machine this last summer and it really saved our bacon. This year we didn't lose anything. I can't say enough about the coverage we get. One neighbor's field was not COMPANY INC. H.F . HAUFF 1801 Presson Place • Yakima, WA 98903 509-248-0318 fax 509-248-0914 hfhauff@gmail.com www.hfhauff.com protected and he lost all of his fruit. We protect 14 acres with one Chinook Wind Machine. The Chinook blade moves a lot of air, and it's economical. I use 4 gallons of diesel an hour, while another neighbor uses 13 to 16 gallons of propane an hour with a competitor's machine. On top of it all, the Hauffs are very good people to deal with. Clyde Litchfield and son-in-law James Day MARYSVILLE, CALIFORNIA 5 Increased Radius Coverage by 80-150 Feet with Same HP Draw "We're turning off an apple enzyme. It's as simple as that." —Neal Carter People would happily pick up a fresh-looking slice of apple from a platter, he said, while they hesitate to pick up a whole apple and eat it. The whole apple is more than they want to eat, and they'll take none rather than take a bite and throw the rest away. Long process Interestingly, the decision to develop a nonbrowning apple—and the actual creation of it—took place years before the huge growth in the market for fresh apple slices. The challenge in that business was how to keep the apple fresh and not turn brown, and the solution now used is a solution of antioxidants like calcium and ascorbic acid. In tests, Carter said, Arctic apple slices rinsed in slightly 5 Air Flow Starts 14'' from Hub 5 Donier Swept Tip—Reduces Tip Drag 5 The Only Fan Blade with the "Trailing 5 Advanced Flow Design 5 Increased Horsepower 5 LESS FUEL CONSUMPTION 5 Quality Built, Affordable, Fast Payback Edge Wedge" (widens sector angle and increases air velocity) chlorinated water and put in plastic bags and refrigerated lasted about 15 days. That, he said, is long enough for a mom who wants to cut a supply of apples on the weekend to last her kids for the week's school lunches. "With commercial-type packaging, it is highly likely that longer shelf life is quite feasible so that Arctic varieties would lend themselves to many foodservice applications—a place where the apple industry doesn't currently get its fair share of the plate," Carter said. All that aside, how relevant is the argument, "we don't need a nonbrowning apple?" "Do we really need a redder sport of Gala?" Carter asks. "We don't know what we need. It's up to the market to decide that. Let the consumers decide." John Rice, at Rice Fruit Company in Aspers, Pennsylva- nia, was quoted in an article in the New York Times saying he thought the nonbrowning trait would help growers and packers. "We discard an awful lot of fruit for even minor bruising," he said. Carter said he feels a sense of confidence. "We do anticipate it being deregulated," he said. "We're turning off an apple enzyme. It's as simple as that. "What gives me confidence is that APHIS has changed its process to give people more opportunity to submit comments but still makes science-based decisions. Even with all the headwinds, a lot of genetically modified crops are being planted, and the government finds they are safe." ARCTIC APPLES get cold shoulder Arctic apples coming to market, citing concerns about consumer reaction but no fears about the safety of the apples. They made their initial statements about 18 months T ago, and reiterated them in July. In a statement on its Web site, the U. S. Apple Associa- tion said, "USApple does not support the approval of this product. "USApple's position is not based on any question about human health or safety," it said, but did not state a core reason for its opposition, citing instead that "con- sumers like their apples and are not calling for non- browning cultivars," that browning is natural, and that there are no genetically engineered apples now in the marketplace. Bottom line, it agreed that "Ultimately, the future of GE apples in the United States will be determined by USDA's decision on the two petitions and by the marketplace. The market will have time to decide, since new apple trees take years to come into production after starting in the plant nursery and being planted in the orchard." —R. Lehnert 16 SEPTEMBER 2012 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com he U.S. Apple Association, the Northwest Horticul- tural Council, and the British Columbia Fruit Grow- ers' Association have all stated their opposition to