A warm fall and new planting technologies gave Washington apple growers a larger harvest than anticipated this season.
In August, the Washington State Tree Fruit Association estimated the state would produce 131 million 40-pound boxes of fresh apples. That number was based on what growers had planted pre-harvest. By Oct. 1, that estimate had grown to 140 million, after the state’s Golden Delicious, Gala and Honeycrisp crops were harvested.
Todd Fryhover, president of the Washington Apple Commission, believes the higher than anticipated yield is due to new planting technologies leading to greater per-acre yields.
“I think we as an industry don’t really have a way to anticipate the volume on these new blocks,” he said.
Fryhover believes that almost all Washington growers will wrap up harvest within two weeks.
The modern apple orchard has narrower rows to accommodate shorter, denser orchards. In the past, there might be 300 to 400 apple trees per acre. Now, with changes in technology and horticulture, farmers can get 1,500 to 2,000 trees per acre, Fryhover said.
As farmers plant these new, more efficient rows, there is an adjustment period. The first two years after the trees are planted, they won’t produce any fruit for harvest. By year three, they will produce some. But between years three and four, the trees’ production can jump significantly.
Fryhover believes that’s the “major component” in 2017’s larger-than-expected harvest.
