YAKIMA, WA – The apple buds are blooming in eastern Washington, and as Dave Gleason recently told Domex Superfresh Growers, quality and progression of the season is looking great.
“Things are developing really well,” said Gleason, Chief Horticulturist of Kershaw Companies, in an exclusive video for Domex. “We are at the point where you can see lots of apples, lots of fruits on the trees.”
What can consumers attribute this bountiful blossoming to? Good Washington weather, said Gleason, with warm temperatures and no frost.
However, with the ample amount of flowers on the trees, Gleason disclosed that growers’ main focus right now is trimming down the buds to increase the end quality and size of the crop.
“A tree will bloom way more flowers than it can handle if they all become apples,” explained Gleason. “In fact, if we can get rid of 99 percent of the fruit potential on a tree it only takes one percent to give us a full crop of the total flowers that a tree will produce.”
To find out the reasoning and strategies utilized by Washington growers as they cut down on blossoms, and prepare to nurture the buds to full-grown juicy apples, watch the above video!
