Growers contend with fruit fly, other issues at extension

By ANNA WILLARD

Capital Press

HOOD RIVER, Ore. -- Fruit growers everywhere have run into a big problem in the form of the spotted wing drosophila.

The tiny fruit fly has prompted a multi-state, multi-agency and multi-discipline research project, according to Peter Shearer, the Mid Columbia Agricultural Research and Extension Center superintendent.

A recent open house at the Mid Columbia experiment station gave growers an idea of the measures researchers are taking to find a solution to the fly. A tour of the facilities and a poster session with researchers helped inform growers in attendance of the other projects at the station as well.

"This is sort of a sprinkling of what we do here," said Todd Einhorn, Oregon State University assistant professor in horticulture and post harvest physiology at the experiment station.

Researchers are conducting studies on the use of reflective fabric to increase pear yields, testing different pear rootstocks, assessing the use of vertical fruiting walls, and testing the production of a new pear cultivar. Projects at the station also focus on irrigation and fertigation in cherries, the alignment of skin color with cherry quality, crop load and cold hardiness, Einhorn said.

The projects at the experiment station are partially funded by the Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers. The organization helps fund projects at the experiment station since the research is beneficial to fruit growers. Some of the money goes directly to projects and some goes to OSU, Jeff Heater, chairman of the Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers, said.

The spotted wing drosophila project received funding from the state of Oregon for this year and is also getting a federal multi-million dollar grant to last four and a half years, Shearer said.

The Mid Columbia, North Willamette, Southern Oregon Research and Extension Centers with faculty on Oregon State University's campus will form the OSU research team. Washington State University, University of California, USDA and private industries will also participate in the research, he said.

"We will be dealing mostly with finding management solutions for stone fruits like cherries, peaches and plums," Shearer said.

The research team will also look at other at-risk crops, like grapes and berries, as well as biological control solutions. The goal is figuring out how to fit these solutions in with current management schemes, Shearer said.