Fruit trees

Featured Resources

2023 Pest Management Guide for Tree Fruits: Hood River, The Dalles, White Salmon, Rogue Valley, Umatilla County

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 W. Pscheidt, Nik Wiman, Christopher Adams, Andony Melathopoulos, Cody Copp | Jan 2023 | Extension Catalog publication 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

Get a leg up on fruit tree problems with dormant oils

Applying dormant sprays helps control nasty pests and diseases like codling moths and apple scab.

Kym Pokorny | Dec 14, 2023 | News story

OSU’s Olea Project responds to grower interest in producing olives

The project began in earnest in 2017 to determine if olives could be a viable alternate crop in Oregon.

Kym Pokorny | Dec 8, 2023 | News story

Training a fruit tree into an espalier takes a good dash of dedication

Turn a tree into a space-saving specimen with some tips from an OSU Extension expert

Kym Pokorny | Jul 10, 2023 | 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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Photo Credit: Suzi - Adobe Stock (Cropped from original)

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 ...

Lynn Long, Clive Kaiser, Ashley Thompson | Sep 2021 | Extension Catalog publication 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 ...

Ashley Thompson | Mar 2020 | Extension Catalog publication 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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Photo Credit: westermak15 - Adobe Stock (Cropped from original)

Apple and pear resources

2023 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 W. Pscheidt, Marcelo Moretti | Apr 2023 | Extension Catalog publication 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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Photo Credit: Dionisvera - Adobe Stock (Cropped from original)

Latest Resources

Pest management schedule for peach, nectarine, and apricot trees in Eastern Oregon

This document outlines a suggested management schedule for the most common insect pests and diseases of apple trees in Eastern Oregon.

Cody Copp | Mar 2024 | Educational document Peer reviewed (Gray level)

National Clonal Germplasm Repository: Corvallis

The National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR) at Corvallis, Oregon, is a gene bank that preserves invaluable plant genetic resources of temperate fruit, nut, and agronomic crops. This gene bank maintains collections representing global diversity of hazelnuts, strawberries, hops, pears, currants, mint, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, ligonberries, cranberries, quince, serviceberry, butternut, medlar, and mountain ash.

Jan 2024 | Online resource

2023 Wasco County Cherry Variety Trial

OSU extension has been collecting data about emerging cherry varieties at the Wasco County "Cemetery Block" variety trial since the mid-1990s. Each year, we provide an update on cherry bloom dates, harvest, and quality measures.

Ashley Thompson, Lynn Long, Eliott Gloeb, Pamela Manning | Jan 2024 | Publication

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Berries, table grapes and kiwifruit

Hazelnuts and nut crops

Organic agriculture

Farm food safety

Integrated pest management

Plant diseases

Upcoming Events

Apr 25

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

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm PDT Online

Apr 26

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

1:00 pm - 2:30 pm PDT Online

May 4

Benton County Master Gardener Association Annual Plant Sale and Clinic

9:00 am - 3:00 pm Corvallis, OR

May 17

May - Military Veteran Farmer Coffee + Chat (Fig & Fruit Tree Propagation)

10:00 am - 12:00 pm Dallas, OR

Meet Our Experts

Heather Andrews

Orchard Crops Faculty Research Assistant

Logan Bennett

Small Farms and Master Gardener 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

Contact me for questions related to commercial and home horticulture in Umatilla County and Eastern Oregon.

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White spots from watering with hard water?

Q: I’ve been suspecting for the last few years that a large problem for our garden and orchard is our hard water. Once I start introducing water from our irrigation, after the spring rains have dried up, the leaves curl, ...

A: View answer | View all featured questions

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