Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/466321
6 MARCH 1, 2015 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com Cherry growers should prepare for secondary problems of bacterial canker and shothole borer. by Melissa Hansen F ast-dropping temperatures that zapped the Pacific Northwest last November have left tree fruit growers scrambling to put together response plans for tree damage at a level few have ever seen. The Arctic front dropped temperatures to single digits, and in some locations, below zero. In some locales, tem- peratures were in the 60s and trees still enveloped in foliage just a day or so before the cold wave hit. Pockets in Washington State received some damage, but harder hit were Oregon's Milton-Freewater and Mid-Columbia districts. Temperatures in The Dalles, Dufur, and Hood River ranged from 6°F to -4°F. Some orchardists have compared the 2014 event to the historic autumn freeze of November 15, 1955, when temperatures fell to 3°F in Wenatchee, Washington, and -3°F in Yakima. Growers will know later in spring the extent of dam- age, but the Mid-Columbia sweet cherry crop will defi - nitely be reduced. Orchardists there annually contribute around 4 million 20-pound boxes to the Northwest cherry tonnage, so even if half of the crop is affected, industry analysts don't believe the overall volume will be signifi cantly impacted. Last year, the Northwest cherry crop was a record 23 million boxes. Sweet cherry trees can lose half their fl owers and still have a full crop. So tree fruit growers and extension staff in Oregon's Mid-Columbia region initially weren't overly concerned after fi nding up to 40 percent bud kill follow- ing last November's single digit temperatures. But fur- ther assessment of spur and wood damage has painted a different picture. A panel of cherry growers and Oregon State University Extension scientists discussed tree damage and shared Responding to COLD DAMAGE TJ MULLINAX/GOOD FRUIT GROWER *URZHU0LNH2PHJVKRZVDGDPDJHGVSXUFXWIURPKLVRUFKDUGLQ7KH'DOOHV2UHJRQ+HGRHVQ³WNQRZLIVXFKDVSXUZLOOEHYLDEOHFRPHVSULQJDQGEHDEOHWRVXSSRUWLWV½RZHUV PLAY Mike Omeg shows how to identify freeze damage in his orchard and explains his plans to manage the problem at goodfruit.com/media.