News

Fruit crop quality concerns developing in Southwest Michigan

An extension educator says fruit production in Michigan’s southwest is expected to be about average with larger than normal fruit this year.

“We expect the fruit that we get, whether they be apples, blueberries or cherries, to be larger than normal because there will be less fruit on the tree and there will be plenty of water for that early growth.  We don’t expect a really big crop, but we expect high quality fruit.”

Mark Longstroth with Michigan State University Extension tells Brownfield very hot weather during tree fruit pollination led to an average fruit set this spring. On top of that, he says parts of southwest Michigan have received about 15 inches of rain, or twice the normal amount, which has caused quality issues in sweet cherries.  “They were getting ready to pick and then it rained five inches.  They lost about a third of their crop simply because the fruit that was ready to pick swelled up and cracked.”

He says current hot weather is also a concern now for apple growers because it can essentially “cook” the apples on tree.  “Apples are entering a stage where they can get what we call sunburn where they just get really hot exposed to the sun and it burns the tissue of the apple.”

In mid-June, the USDA forecasted Michigan tart cherry production up 60 percent from last year and sweet cherry production up 27 percent. Longstroth says those estimates are probably overstated after recent weather.

AUDIO: Interview with Mark Longstroth

Add Comment

Your email address will not be published.


 

Stay Up to Date

Subscribe for our newsletter today and receive relevant news straight to your inbox!