Good Fruit Grower

January 15

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Grapes Certified grape stock IN SHORT SUPPLY If your nursery order isn't already in, you're too late for 2014. by Melissa Hansen ales of wine grape plant material were down slightly in 2013, but the coming year looks to be a record, a Washington nursery owner says. Historically, the four most popular wine grape varieties sold in Washington State have been Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Riesling, said Kevin Judkins, nursery manager of Inland Desert Nursery in Benton City, Washington State's largest grape nursery. "Those four varieties annually make up 60 percent of our sales," he said during a talk at the Washington State Grape Society's annual meeting in Grandview. "Cabernet Sauvignon is going strong," he said, adding that the number of vines sold in 2011, 2012, and 2013 were approximately 560,000, 520,000, and more than 650,000, respectively. Merlot vines sold in the same time period ranged from more than 210,000 to nearly 290,000. The number of Chardonnay vines sold in 2013 totalled 135,000, down from a peak of 152,500 in 2011. "The problem with Chardonnay is not demand, but that we don't have enough clean wood," Judkins said. Several years ago, Inland Desert made a strategic decision to sell only certified plant material. This meant the company had to replant more than 100 acres with virus-indexed rootstock and scion mother blocks from the new Clean Plant Center Northwest-Grapes. PHOTO BY MELISSA HANSEN S Kevin Judkins says that sales continue to be hot for wine grapes. Consider for your next planting: Krymsk®5 Krymsk®6 [cv. VSL-2, USPP 15,723] [cv. LC-52, USPP 16,114] Dwarfing Cherry Rootstock BENEFITS: • Disease tolerant • Cold hardy • Adapts well to all cherry-growing districts • Forms flower buds and comes into bearing quicker than Mazzard with a better distribution of flower buds Roots available for SPRING DELIVERY Call Tree Connection: 800-421-4001 "Krymsk® 5 and Krymsk® 6 cherry rootstocks have proven to be the best rootstock for our orchards. They are yield efficient, grow and adapt well, and are cold hardy." —John Morton The Dalles, Oregon 503-538-2131 • FAX: 503-538-7616 info@treeconnect.com • BRUCE PONDER 30 JANUARY 15, 2014 GOOD FRUIT GROWER • SUSAN WILKINSON www.treeconnect.com • ADAM WEIL • DAVE WEIL www.goodfruit.com

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