Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/418083
84 DECEMBER 2014 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com Van Well offers new varieties V an Well Nursery has published a new 32-page, color catalog describing its 39 apple varieties, 11 cherry varieties, 35 peach varieties, 13 pear varieties, and 27 varieties of plum, prunes, apricots, and nectarines. Apple varieties include four new introductions: Lady in Red, Aztec Fuji, Red Rubens, and CrimsonCrisp. Lady in Red is a new Cripps Pink sport. Aztec Fuji is a red Fuji cultivar. Red Rubens and CrimsonCrisp are new apple varieties. The catalog also gives a detailed description of major apple rootstocks available from Van Well and pro- vides pollination and planting advice. To obtain a copy, email the nursery at vanwell@vanwell.net. System automates irrigation F armSolutions of Westlake Village, California, is selling an automated irrigation control system that creates an optimized irrigation schedule through use of soil sen- sors, fl ow meters, valves, weather services, and software for use with desktop, tablet and mobile devices. The irrigation schedule can be implemented either manually or by an automated system with valves opened and closed remotely. The company also offers farm data analysis services that transform aerial imagery into plant problem identifi cation maps. For more information, visit www.farmsolutions.com. New apple variety launched A new apple variety grown by apple growers in New York will be launched in the Wegmans supermar- kets starting in November. The apple, trademarked SnapDragon, has a crispy texture, sweet, juicy fl avor, and distinctly bright red dappled color. New York Apple Growers, a grower-owned company with 145 members, is licensed to manage the release of SnapDragon and another apple variety trademarked RubyFrost, bred by Cornell University breeder Dr. Susan Brown. SnapDragon is a hybrid of Honeycrisp and has excellent quality, storage, and shelf life, according to Jeff Crist of the NY Apple Growers. The grower group was formed in 2010 with the mission of introducing exclusive, pre- mium-fl avor apple varieties to the marketplace. Marketing efforts at Wegmans, which is a regional supermarket company headquartered in New York with stores in the mid-Atlantic and New England regions, will include point-of-sale materials, high-graphic packaging, in-store demonstrations, public relations, and social media activities. A website is devoted to SnapDragon. Growers also made in-store appearances during demos in November. Both SnapDragon and RubyFrost are produced in limited quantities. About 400 acres are in the ground, but most were planted since 2011. RubyFrost is the more tart variety of the two and tastes best after a couple months of storage. RubyFrost will go to market in January. For more information, visit www.snapdragonapple. com. Irrigation software updated T oro has upgraded its AquaFlow drip irrigation design software to version 4.0. to improve user access and convenience. It can now be used online, and pull-down menus have made it easier to use. AquaFlow supports Toro's Aqua-Traxx drip tape, Neptune flat emitter dripline, and BlueLine dripline laterals. As with previous versions, multiple slopes can be entered for laterals, submains, and mainlines, and submain and mainlines may be telescoped with multiple pipe sizes. Users can select from English or Spanish and from imperial or metric units. To access or download AquaFlow, go to driptips.toro.com. EMSPRING BENEFITS ADVISORS The best strategic decision you can make for your Employee Benefi ts B E L L E V U E | YA K I M A | S P O K A N E Pat Leahy, MBA 877-550-0088 ext 107 emspring.com