Lynn E. Long Horticulture Extension Agent Oregon State University Wasco County Extension

Sweet Cherry Pickings

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February 2001 Newsletter

Pre-exam training sessions for the private pesticide applicator license will be offered by OSU Extension on February 28 and March 1 at the Pine Grove Grange. A Spanish language training session will be held from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on February 28.  The English language session will be held from 8 a.m.-Noon and 1 p.m. -2 p.m. on March 1. There will be a five-dollar charge for the training sessions. Anyone wishing to take the private pesticide applicator exam can do so on March 1 at 2:30 p.m.

The exam, which is administered by the Columbia Gorge Community College, will be available in English and Spanish. Both the English and Spanish language exams will require the ability to read and comprehend a pesticide label written in English. Anyone planning to take the exam must RSVP by calling OSU Extension in Hood River County at 541-386-3343 to ensure that enough exams are on hand. The exam may be taken at another time. To schedule a different exam time, call the Columbia Gorge Community College Registrar's Office at 541-298-3112.

It is highly recommended that people obtain and read one of the following study guides before attending the training session: the Oregon Pesticide Applicator Manual, OSU EM 8532, available from OSU at 541-737-2513; Manual Para Applicadores Privados de Pesticidas, WSU MISC0126S, available from WSU at 800-723-1763. Also, it is recommended to bring a calculator. For more information or to RSVP for the exam, call OSU Extension in Hood River County at 541-386-3343.

Order OBLR Traps Now

If you have not already done so, now is the time to order your obliquebanded leafroller traps for this spring. Call the Extension Office at 296-5494 to place your order. We will order in bulk and bill you for the cost of the traps.

OSU Extension will be co-sponsoring a workshop exploring the importance of soil quality and irrigation management to tree fruit production on March 8th at the Mosier Grange Hall. Speakers will describe what soil quality is, how it is important to tree fruit production, and how to assess it for a given soil. The effect of mulches on fruit production, weed control, and soil biology and fertility will be addressed in detail. The benefits of monitoring soil moisture and irrigation scheduling will be another focus of the workshop. There will be demonstrations of and opportunities for hands on experience with soil quality and soil moisture monitoring tools during indoor and outdoor sessions. This should be a great opportunity to learn about the importance of soil quality and irrigation management to tree fruit production with opportunities for hands on experience.

The Workshop will be held at the Mosier Grange Hall from 8:45 a.m. until 1:45 p.m. Lunch will be available at the Grange for $5.00 or you may bring your own food. The workshop is being co-sponsored by the OSU Department of Horticulture, OSU Extension in Wasco and Hood River Counties, and Wasco County Soil and Water Conservation District, Mosier Watershed Council. For more information call OSU Extension in The Dalles at 541-296-5494, or Hood River at 541-386-3343, or the Wasco County Soil and Water Conservation District at 541-296-6178.

The 2001 Pest Management Guide for Tree Fruit in the Mid-Columbia is now available at the Extension Office in The Dalles. There is a $1.25 charge (except for Fruit and Produce League members).

The Crop Protection Guide for Tree Fruits in Washington is available from WSU Cooperative Extension by calling 1-800-723-1763. The price is $5.00 plus shipping.

I recently attended a meeting in Yakima, facilitated by Dr. Gary Grove, WSU, on spray oils. The meeting, attended by area fieldmen and Extension Agents, discussed the benefits and limitations of spray oils for powdery mildew control.

In tests conducted by Dr. Grove, spray oils (Stylet and Omni oils) were found to effectively and safely control powdery mildew when used prior to pit hardening. Stylet oil provided control equal to or better than most DMI type fungicides such as Rally and Rubigan (fig. 1). Besides effective control, oils have at least two other advantages. 1) Oils act as both an eradicant and a protectant, providing the destruction of lightly established infections while protecting the leaves from the establishment of new mildew colonies. 2) They provide an alternative mode of action, thereby reducing the likelihood of resistance to current fungicides.

In Groves early work, phytotoxicity became an issue when Stylet oil was applied on a season-long basis. Current recommendations, however, call for only two oil applications. Both must be applied prior to pit-hardening (damage can occur with later applications). The first application should be made at shuck fall. A 1% solution will protect leaves for 10 - 12 days, while a 2% solution is effective for 14 - 18 days. It should be kept in mind that leaves emerging after the application, are susceptible to infection. Strobulorin (Abound) or DMI type fungicides should be used after pit-hardening to obtain season long control. The goal is to be mildew free before going into a DMI program. This basic program has proven safe and effective.

Some things to keep in mind when using spray oils:
· Apply prior to pit-hardening.
· Don't apply within 10 days of a micronized sulfur application.
· Don't apply azinphos-methyl before, during or after an oil application.
· Don't apply oils with spreader stickers, Nu-Film-P or Nu-Film-17 (pinolene based products).
· Don't apply when temperatures are in excess of 90°F.
          There have been no reports of damage when applications were made when temperatures
           were below 90°F but climbed above 90°F later in the day.
· Don't apply 24 hours before or after a frost.
· Don't spray oil on heat or water stressed plants.
· Don't spray oil on wet foliage as oil will simply run off.

Stylet oil does seem to be compatible with dimethoate and, in studies conducted last year in The Dalles, with NutraPhos ZnK, Metalosate Zinc, and a combination of Metalosate Zinc and 20-20-20 foliar fertilizer.

Besides early season applications, it appears that there may be benefits to applying a spray oil immediately after harvest. When an application was made a few days after harvest, cleistothecia numbers (the overwintering stage of the fungus) were greatly reduced. In addition, late season applications effectively reduced mite populations.

The following varieties were investigated and evaluated on my recent sabbatical. Although additional evaluation was made on Regina and Attika I did not include a further review of these two cherries, since they are currently under review by both scientists and growers in the Pacific Northwest.

Bigalise: A variety from Delbard of France with Stark Hardy Giant parentage. Bigalise ripens about five days before Van. It is very large in size averaging 30-32 mm (9 row plus). It produces a light crop and it is a light red cherry, which at first is not uniformly red. It has very good firmness, similar to Lapins but is sensitive to rain although not as sensitive as Garnet.

Crystal Champaign: A selection from Marvin Niece in California. A large cherry, 24 to 26 mm in
Crystal Champaign	size (10 row). When I tasted this cherry in Spain it was crunchy firm showing minimal cracking after a number of light to moderate rains. A very blocky cherry with nice shiny skin which gives a nice finish. It ripens after Prime Giant (see below) but before Ruby. It has very good flavor. The pit is medium to large. This one may be worth checking out.

Durone III: Flowering time is very late. It is susceptible to bacterial canker. It is a very large cherry but a very poor cropper and so probably not of interest to us.

Earlese: Ripens four days before Burlat but is larger than Burlat, with good, sweet-tart flavor. Earlese blooms early, 4-5 days before Burlat. Ruby and Prime Giant are pollinizers. Although gaining popularity in Europe I believe it is too soft for our markets so it is probably not worth pursuing.

Fercer: A French cherry that I have heard about for a number of years and some felt was promising. Dr. Valerie Simard of the La Tapy Provincial Research Station in Provence, France, however, has given up on Fercer due to low productivity and sensitivity to cracking.

Fernier: This cherry has good flavor with a little less acid than Van but overall a better quality cherry than Van. Fernier has large fruit, 26 to 28 mm in size (10 to 9 ½ row). The tree grows very vigorously and is a moderate cropper. The fruit has some tolerance to rain. However, the cherry ripens just 2-3 days after Van (Bing timing) so probably not of great interest to us.

Giorgia: This is an Italian cherry that we have been looking at for some time. I saw it in Spain and Italy. In Spain it ripens about 7 days ahead of Van (or Bing). A 10 row plus cherry with very good firmness and good productivity, however, in Italy it was somewhat watery and medium soft. In Italy it was a 9 to 9 ½ row cherry. It has dark red flesh and skin. The flavor was a good sweet-acidic flavor. Due to conflicting firmness levels, it is too early to make a decision on this one.

Karina: A sister to Regina, also from the Jork Research Station near Hamburg. According to the Italians it has much better yield than Regina. A very good cherry with good firmness but there is a slight nose dimple that makes it more sensitive to splitting. Martin Balmer from the Ahrweiller, Germany Research Station commented that the cherry had very good fruit quality with good flavor but in his area it was not a good cropper. Again, conflicting reports makes it difficult to accurately evaluate this variety. It is a very upright tree. Since it ripens with Kordia (Attika) the Germans are recommending Kordia, for this time period, instead of Karina because of the productivity issue. This was a cherry that I was very excited about after seeing it in 1997.

Margit: In Italy I was told this was a good cherry but had poor productivity. In Italy it ripens 7-8 days after Burlat, so it may be earlier than Chelan; however, in Norway it looked a day or two later than Chelan. In Germany, the cherry was 10 row in size and very firm. It had a white to red flesh and red skin with a very small stone. It has an excellent sweet-acid flavor. This looks to be a very good cherry except for the question of productivity. In Germany some growers had removed Margit from their orchards due to production problems. Margit was said to be significantly less productive than Regina, even on Weiroot 154 and 158. Tobias Vogel said that once the tree matures production increases and he feels that it is worth waiting for. I saw trees in their seventh leaf that were grown on Weiroot rootstock that had cropped well for the very first time. Cherries on these trees showed some cracking but were very firm.

Picota Varieties: This is a group of four varieties, collectively known as "Picota". These cherries are grown in the Jerte Valley of Spain and are distinctive for two reasons. First, and most importantly, they are unique due to the fact that they are marketed as stemless cherries. Sixty percent of all Picota cherries are marketed in the sophisticated markets of England and Germany. However, grower return for the Picotas are significantly lower than other cherry varieties. For example, mid-season Van's return $0.80/lb while the Picotas receive only $0.53/lb. They are marketed under the name Picota in ½ kg clam shells and are quite attractive on the market shelf. The second reason for their distinctiveness is their late ripening date. All four are very late ripening varieties. The earliest is harvested with Sweetheart while the others are all later. Ambrunés is the largest of the four varieties and probably the best quality. Those that I purchased in England were 10 row and very firm. The shape was round, although the other varieties are all cordate. The skin of Ambrunés was dark mahogany and the flavor was sweet but somewhat flat.	Picota Ambrunés

Prime Giant: This cherry ripens with Brooks about 7-10 days after Burlat. It is very firm and
	large and has an excellent, sweet-tart taste. Seven days before harvest this cherry had a much stronger and better flavor than a ripe Burlat. Sugars and flavor are produced early, before the cherry is ripe. Marvin Niece in California developed prime Giant. I thought this was a good cherry but I have two major concerns about this cherry. First, it is susceptible to rain cracking, and second, trees in Europe had a virus that was killing the trees. It needs to be cleaned up before it is of interest, but otherwise a great looking cherry.
Prime Giant on bottom, Burlat on top

Techlovan: Along with Kordia this cherry is from the Czech Republic and is a large cherry, bigger than Kordia, with a potential size of 12 grams (9 row). It seems to ripen just ahead of Lapins. At the Ahrweiller, Germany Research Station it was a very large cherry with good firmness. It was similar to Van in cracking susceptibility. We currently have it in our GRC plot here in The Dalles so it is worth keeping an eye on it.

Vera: This is a medium to late ripening cherry from Hungary. It is self-fertile with a good sweet-acid flavor. The cherry is firm but not crunchy. Both the flesh and skin are red. Vera produces a heavy crop each year but the cherry splits in light rain and so it is probably not interesting.

New Releases from Professor, Dr. Sansavini in Italy
Early Star: this cherry has very poor precocity. It is self-fertile and flowers heavily once it starts to produce, but generally a large fruit drop reduces the yield substantially and so overall it is not very productive. As the name implies, Early Star is an early ripening cherry, ripening a few days after Burlat. The fruit is large, generally 10 ½ to 9 ½ row in size. The cherry is not very flavorful but has a strong acid taste. Firmness is medium to firm. Flesh is white, skin is red to dark red.

Blaze Star: Another early cherry, but 12 to 14 days later than Burlat. Parents are Lapins x Durone Nero II. Blaze Star is an 8 gram cherry of only moderate size, and needs to be pruned hard to encourage fruit size. It is tolerant to rain. It had a good flavor, but somewhat watery and only medium soft in firmness. It is probably not very interesting due to its size and firmness.

LaLa Star: Sweetheart timing. Good firmness with a very good sweet-acid flavor. Mahogany red skin and red flesh. LaLa Star is rain tolerant. A very good cherry except for the fact that it is too small. Fruit were 11 to 11 ½ row. If fruit were two sizes larger this would be a tremendous cherry.

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