Good Fruit Grower

www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER JUNE 2017 5 Chelan Fresh, Borton Fruit merge T wo longtime Washington state fruit companies will join forces when Chelan Fresh merges with Borton Fruit this summer. The combined marketing company will retain the Chelan Fresh name and operate from both Chelan and Yakima. The venture will officially begin on Sept. 1, but prepara- tions for the merger are already underway. Chelan Fresh is one of the largest apple, cherry and pear suppliers in the world. Its suppliers include Gebbers Farms, Crane & Crane and Chelan Fruit Cooperative. Borton Fruit has a history of diverse production and innovation. The addition of Borton Fruit increases Chelan Fresh's marketing and sales portfolio by 47 percent, including organic offerings, early-season cherries, innovative plantings and new pro- prietary apple varieties. Chelan Fresh will market most of the new fruit under the Trout label. The addition marks the largest brand expansion since the label was first marketed in 1923. "Customers want a one-stop-buying experience and shoppers want a wide selection of high-quality apples, pears and cherries all year long," said Tom Riggan, CEO of Chelan Fresh. "With the increase in volume and varieties, we can support any size program 12 months out of the year." The combined company will have more than 13,000 acres of modern, high-density, trellised orchards and be one of the industry leaders in production of Honeycrisp apples. For the complete news release, go to goodfruit.com. QUICK BITES People and industry in the news. Read more Fresh Updates at goodfruit.com/fresh-updates Yan Wang, 1965-2017 Y an Wang, who led postharvest physiology research at Oregon State University, died unexpectedly April 27 at his home in Hood River, Oregon. Leaders in the tree fruit industry praised him as a top-tier researcher who had a passion for helping growers and packers. Wang, 51, joined OSU as an assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture, based at the Mid-Columbia Research and Extension Center in Hood River, in 2011. He specialized in storage and horticultural practices to maximize quality of cher- ries and pears. Before joining OSU, Wang worked as a posthar- vest physiologist for JBT FoodTech Inc., from 2002 to 2011. Wang will be sorely missed at the research center, where he was a key part of the tightknit community, said center director Steve Castagnoli. "He was extremely highly regarded by his peers nationally and regionally, and by our local packers here and in Washington," Castagnoli said. "He was really accessible to the industry and I think they really appreciated that about him. He was willing to go beyond his research projects to help them solve problems." Chelan Fruit horticulturalist Harold Schell praised Wang's work on how to protect cherries for export with modified atmosphere packaging, MAP, matched to each variety, and by fine-tuning cold storage practices. "He'll be sorely missed by the growing community," Schell said. "All of his work was excellent. The thing for me, as a horticulturalist who works with growers, was the simple fact was that his research was directly applicable to what growers are doing in the orchard." Although he was based in Oregon, Wang was also invaluable to Washington growers as well, since Washington State University does not currently have a postharvest physiologist for pears. And Wang was willing to drive all the way up to Okanogan County to share his findings with growers, Schell said. For both winter and summer pears, Wang's research focused on maintain- ing fruit quality with both preharvest plant growth regulator treatments and by fine-tuning storage atmospheres, Castagnoli said. Wang was born in Rongcheng, Shandong, China, on December 22, 1965. He earned his doctorate in horticulture from the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, after earning his master's of science at Zhejiang University and his bach- elor's degree at Shandong Agricultural University, both in China. Wang is survived by his wife, Caixia Li, and their teenage daughter, Sarah. —Kate Prengaman cameronnursery.com 1261 Ringold Rd., PO Box 300 • Eltopia, WA 99330 We ship nationwide, so please call for price and availability! CONTRACTS for 2017 and beyond! Custom Contracted Apple, Cherry & Pear Trees ➱ TOP QUALITY ➱ VIRUS TESTED ➱ VERY COMPETITIVE PRICING HIGHEST QUALITY FRUIT TREES ! Call for: • TREES • ROOTSTOCK • INTERSTEMS • BENCH GRAFTS • SLEEPING EYES • ROYALTIES TIME TO PLAN! 2018 Sleeping Eyes 2020 Budded Tree Scions 2021 Tree Needs STACY GILMORE 509-266-4669 Stacy Gilmore • cnsales@fastmail.com

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