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WASHINGTON APPLE REPORT
STATE OF APPLES IS STRONG
TOP PHOTO COURTESY OF DOMEX TOP PHOTO COURTESY OF STARR RANCH PHOTO AT TOP COURTESY OF STARR RANCH; PHOTO AT BOTTOM COURTESY OF RAINIER BOTTOM PHOTO COURTESY OF STEMILT PHOTO AT BOTTOM COURTESY OF OKANAGAN/ARCTIC FRESH
The category is booming in the Evergreen State, led by cultivation of its own varieties as well as those bred elsewhere.
BY CAROL BAREUTHER
The state of Washington is an apple growing powerhouse. Speci cally, out of 32 U.S. states that grow apples commer- cially, Washington supplied more than 60 percent in 2018, according to data from the Falls Church, VA-headquar- tered U.S. Apple Association (USApple). What’s more, the
Evergreen State’s 2018 production was below its ve-year average. Not this year. Washington’s fresh market apple crop is expected to be 18 percent larger, at 137.3 million 40-pound boxes. at’s a lot of apples.
“Apples are one of the top-selling produce categories for our stores, especially in the fall when the percent of total department sales can be as high as 10 to 12 percent,” says Jason Kazmirski, director of produce and oral merchandising for the 70 independent grocers that are part of Tukwila, WA-based Northwest Grocers, which operates under banners such as riftway, Payless Foods, Red Apple Markets and IGA Markets. “Also, apple growing in the state is in the Eastern part, rather than all over the state, and seasonal. is means shoppers look to supermarkets to supply the majority of their needs.”
e eastern slope of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State is an ideal place to grow apples, according to Mike Preacher, director of marketing for Domex Superfresh Growers, in Yakima, WA. “We are fortunate to have fertile, volcanic loam soil, warm sunny days and cool nights. Cold winters provide an important latency period for
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trees. Robust irrigation systems capture Cascade Mountains snow- melt and allow us to apply water to trees where and when we need it, enabling the natural defense our arid climate provides against pests and diseases. Combine all of this with nearby world-class agricultural research programs, and Washington State is a natural location for variety development.”
Washington, with its orchards once dominated by Red Delicious, is today a hotbed of cultivation for varieties bred elsewhere and for in-state varietal development.
“Until we started the Washington State University (WSU) program in 1994, there were no varieties that were bred and selected in Washington, so apples from other programs and nurseries obvi- ously have done pretty well here,” says Kate Evans, pome fruit breeder and professor at WSU’s Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee, WA. “However, there are some that have challenges in our climate. For example, Honeycrisp appears to be more challenging to grow in Washington than in Minnesota, where it was bred, and Jazz struggles with fruit size in Washington. at said, it’s logical that apples bred and selected for our climate will be even more successful.”
What do consumers want and breeders look for in new varieties?
“It used to be just the crunch. at was No. 1,” says Andy Tudor, vice president of business development for the Rainier Fruit Company,