40 MAY 15, 2016 Good Fruit Grower www.goodfruit.com
T
here is still much to be known about why
cherries are so susceptible to powdery mil-
dew — in ways that many other fruits are not
— but researchers are narrowing the window
of when cherries are most susceptible to the
disease and determining just how many spores pose a
problem at harvest.
Mildew can affect both the leaves and the fruit on the
same tree. Fungicides can adapt to deal with mildew on
one or the other. A three-year project by Washington
State University researchers centered on infection of the
fruit itself.
Dr. Claudia Probst, project lead and research associate
at Washington State University's Irrigated Agricultural
Research and Extension Center in Prosser, Washington,
examined trees and fruit closely, starting at full bloom, to
determine if the presence of fungus has any effect on the
The problem of
powdery mildew
WSU researcher to study
cherries' sudden transition
from resistant to susceptible
during the growing season.
by Shannon Dininny
Cherries
Scientists aren't sure why powdery mildew infects cherries in the
360.333.4044
Casey Schoenberger
Mount Vernon, WA
Natural Fish Fertilizers for
Organic Crop Production
ORCHARDS
VINEYARDS
DRAMM
Manitowoc, WI • U.S.A.
www.FishFertilizer.com
FRUIT
Extremely
high
levels
of
available
Calcium
&
Phosphorus