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Fruit Trees

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Featured Resources

2022 Pest Management Guide for Tree Fruits: Hood River, The Dalles, White Salmon, Rogue Valley

This guide provides tree fruit growers with the latest information on pesticides and herbicides for fruit trees. People who grow apples, pears and cherries can learn application rates and recommendations for each stage of tree growth.

Ashley Thompson, Rick Hilton, Achala KC, Marcelo Moretti, Jay Pscheidt, Nik Wiman, Andony Melathopoulos | Mar 2022 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Orange level)

Best practices for produce safety after a wildfire

When assessing the safety of exposed produce, the difficulty is knowing what has been burning. If it is just vegetation smoke then it’s probably safe to eat produce after rinsing off the ash, although it might still taste/smell smoky. If the air pollution has particulate matter from treated timber, tires, non-food grade oils, or anything plastic or chlorinated that burned it may include a mixture of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins, and metals. Exposure to fire retardant may have also occurred.

Sep 2020 | Online resource

Latest News

Fledgling olive industry gets support from OSU research

OSU Extension the and Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station started Olea: Olive Research for Oregon.

Neil Bell | Feb 2022 | Impact story

Give overgrown trees a makeover with new OSU pruning video series

Knowledge is everything when it comes to pruning mature trees.

Kym Pokorny | Feb 18, 2022 | News story

Love them or leave them: Fruit trees take plenty of work

Research has resulted in easier methods of dealing with pests and diseases, from resistant trees to low-toxicity products.

Jan 14, 2022 | News story

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Sweet Cherry Cultivars for the Fresh Market

Ashley Thompson Matthew Whiting and Lynn E. Long

This publication describes dark red and blush sweet cherry cultivars, including harvest timing, color when ripe, suggested pollinizers and rootstocks, size, firmness, yield potential, and other traits. Includes color photo of each cultivar.

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Cherry Resources

2021Cemetery Block Cherry Variety Evaluation

2021 fruit characteristics of sweet cherry cultivars and selections under evaluation in The Dalles at the Cemetery Block. All data was evaluated from 25 samples of each cultivar.

Lynn Long, Ashley Thompson, David Crawford, Pamela Manning | May 2022 | Educational document

Sweet Cherry Rootstocks for the Pacific Northwest

Cherry growers have many options when it comes to choosing rootstocks. The combination of new dwarfing rootstocks with high-density training systems leads to earlier production. But growers need to consider soil fertility, scion ...

Lynn Long, Clive Kaiser, Ashley Thompson | Sep 2021 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Orange level)

How to Spot Signs of X-Disease in Cherries

Field workers picking cherries can use this card to identify signs of X-Disease in a cherry orchard. One side of the card is in English and the other side is in Spanish. Los trabajadores de campo que recogen cerezas ...

Ashley Thompson | Mar 2020 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Orange level)

Integrated Pest Management Strategic Plan for Pears in Oregon and Washington

Katie Murray Paul C. Jepson and Chris Hedstrom

This publication outlines major pests, current management practices, critical needs, activity timetables and efficacy ratings of various management tools for pear growers in Oregon and Washington.

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Apple and pear resources

2022 Pest Management Guide for Apples: Willamette Valley

Learn the latest recommendations for insect, mite and disease control in Willamette Valley apple orchards.

Nik Wiman, Jay Pscheidt, Marcelo Moretti | Apr 2022 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Orange level)

Extension’s experimental cider orchard to boost budding Oregon industry

The orchard, established at Oregon State University’s North Willamette Research and Extension Center – 23 miles south of downtown Portland – is the brainchild of Nik Wiman, OSU Extension orchard crops specialist.

Kym Pokorny | Jan 12, 2021 | News story

Know when it’s time to harvest apples and pears

Apples and pears have different characteristics when it comes to harvest.

Kym Pokorny | Sep 18, 2020 | News story

2022 Pest Management Guide for Peaches

By Nik Wiman Jay W. Pscheidt and Marcelo Moretti

Get the latest recommendations for insect, mite and disease control in peach orchards of the Willamette Valley.

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Latest Resources

OSU Extension Milton-Freewater Horticulture

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Cherry rootstocks for the modern orchard

Growers today have the advantage of many fully- or semi-dwarfing rootstocks that offer precocity, allow for high-density plantings, and bring a faster return on investment.

Linda Brewer, Clive Kaiser, Lynn Long | Feb 2014 | Article

Identifying Serious Virus and Phytoplasma Symptoms in Your Cherry Orchard

Cherry viruses and virus-like problems such as phytoplasmas are common in orchards throughout Oregon.

Ashley Thompson, Christopher Adams, Jay Pscheidt | Oct 2022 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Orange level)

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Upcoming Events

Jan 25

QPR Suicide Prevention Training for the Agricultural Industry (in English)

1:00 pm - 2:30 pm PST Online
Jan 26

Entrenamiento sobre la prevención del suicidio de QPR para agricultores y ganaderos (en español)

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm PST Online
Mar 16

QPR Suicide Prevention Training for the Agricultural Industry (in English)

9:00 am - 10:30 am PDT Online
Mar 16

Entrenamiento sobre la prevención del suicidio de QPR para agricultores y ganaderos (en español)

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm PDT Online
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Meet Our Experts

Heather Andrews
Orchard Crops Faculty Research Assistant
Logan Bennett
Small Farms Program Coordinator

Contact for Farming and Gardening Questions in Douglas County

Erica Chernoh
Horticulture Assistant Professor of Practice, Commercial and Community Horticulture
Cody Copp
Assistant Professor of Practice
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Ask an Expert is a way for you to get answers from the Oregon State University Extension Service. We have experts in family and health, community development, food and agriculture, coastal issues, forestry, programs for young people, and gardening.

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Why is our coastal fruit dropping?

Q: I take care of several local orchards and have been finding huge amounts of fruit drop and poor setting near Astoria. Apples, cherry, plum, very weak production in the orchards. Do you know if this is common, or what causes it?

A: View answer | View all featured questions

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