Washington apples are an important agricultural crop in the U.S. state of Washington as well as a symbol of the state itself. Washington is the leading U.S. producer of apples and one of the leading exporters in the world, producing 60% of the U.S. crop in 2022. [1]
The first apple tree in Washington may have been planted at Fort Vancouver between 1827 and 1829, [2] [3] [4] and one of the five original trees was designated a heritage tree by the City of Vancouver, Washington and surrounded by a park created in 1984, Old Apple Tree Park. The main trunk of the tree died in 2020 but one of its root suckers was designated as a replacement heritage tree. [5] [6] The Piper Orchard, planted around 1890 by an early Seattle pioneer, stands in Seattle and the original trees still produce fruit in the 21st century. [7] Another orchard from around the same time stands near Steptoe Butte in Eastern Washington. [8]
Before large scale irrigation in Eastern Washington, San Juan County was the state's most important apple production region. [9]
Significant early pests were the codling moth and San Jose scale. [10]
The state has led the U.S. in apple production since the 1920s. [11] Two Eastern Washington areas account for the vast majority of the state's apple crop: the Wenatchee–Okanogan region (comprising Chelan, Okanogan, Douglas, and Grant counties), and the Yakima region (Yakima, Benton and Kittitas counties). [12] The industry was developed by the railroads with the Northern Pacific Railway controlling the Yakima valley and the Great Northern Railway controlling the Wenatchee valley. Commercial apple farming was made possible by district irrigation projects. [10]
Apple boxes were used to preserve fruit quality during transportation, and Wenatchee emerged as a production center. Colorful box labels were used for marketing by the second decade of the 20th century. [4]
The apple industry in the Pacific Northwest distinguished itself from traditional apple growing regions in the east of the country by focusing on the quality of apples delivered to the market rather than the quantity. As a result of this growers in Washington delivered their apples to market packing in boxes as opposed to the barrels used by most established growers. [10]
The Great Depression hurt the industry greatly as widespread economic disruption caused consumers in market cities to decrease consumption. World War II saw most of the Washington apple industry's apples diverted to the war effort with only apples of secondary quality and culls left for the domestic market. This significantly hurt the reputation Washington's apple industry as apples of secondary quality and culls had not been sold on the domestic fresh fruit market before. Improvements and innovation in packaging technology during the war allowed apples to last longer in transit. The rise in commercial trucking after the war radically altered the industry as growers and packers were no longer dependent on the railroads to reach distant markets. Since World War II there has been a trend of consolidation in the industry. [10]
"The Washington apple is certainly one of the most recognized symbols of the state worldwide", according to the Washington State Legislature. [13]
Botrytis cinerea is a major apple disease in Washington. [14] SDHIs are commonly used, especially boscalid, which has produced a resistance problem. [14] Yin et al., 2011 provides a molecular diagnostic for a particularly common succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) mutation. [14] Using their own test they also noticed that SDH alone did not entirely determine SDHI resistance, indicating that other factors than the exact nucleotide sequence of this one enzyme are involved in the resistance problem. [14]
Apple maggots are such a problem that the state has erected the Apple Maggot Quarantine Area between the west and the east.
The 2022 crop was worth over 2 billion dollars. [1]
The Washington Apple Commission regulates the industry.
New varieties were developed in the 21st century in Washington state, including Cosmic Crisp and WA 64. Other new varieties developed elsewhere but grown in large acreage in Washington include Arctic Apples and SweeTango.
Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) or succinate-coenzyme Q reductase (SQR) or respiratory complex II is an enzyme complex, found in many bacterial cells and in the inner mitochondrial membrane of eukaryotes. It is the only enzyme that participates in both the citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. Histochemical analysis showing high succinate dehydrogenase in muscle demonstrates high mitochondrial content and high oxidative potential.
Red Delicious is a type of apple with a red exterior and sweet taste that was first recognized in Madison County, Iowa, in 1872. Today, the name Red Delicious comprises more than 50 cultivars. It was the most produced cultivar in the United States from 1968 to 2018, when it was surpassed by Gala.
Apple scab is a common disease of plants in the rose family (Rosaceae) that is caused by the ascomycete fungus Venturia inaequalis. While this disease affects several plant genera, including Sorbus, Cotoneaster, and Pyrus, it is most commonly associated with the infection of Malus trees, including species of flowering crabapple, as well as cultivated apple. The first symptoms of this disease are found in the foliage, blossoms, and developing fruits of affected trees, which develop dark, irregularly-shaped lesions upon infection. Although apple scab rarely kills its host, infection typically leads to fruit deformation and premature leaf and fruit drop, which enhance the susceptibility of the host plant to abiotic stress and secondary infection. The reduction of fruit quality and yield may result in crop losses of up to 70%, posing a significant threat to the profitability of apple producers. To reduce scab-related yield losses, growers often combine preventive practices, including sanitation and resistance breeding, with reactive measures, such as targeted fungicide or biocontrol treatments, to prevent the incidence and spread of apple scab in their crops.
Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) is a pathogenic plant virus in the genus Potyvirus and the virus family Potyviridae which primarily infects the papaya tree.
The American Phytopathological Society (APS) is an international scientific organization devoted to the study of plant diseases (phytopathology). APS promotes the advancement of modern concepts in the science of plant pathology and in plant health management in agricultural, urban and forest settings.
Aplets & Cotlets is a confection similar to Turkish delight, associated with the U.S. state of Washington. The candy was first developed in 1918 by apple farmers as a way to dispose of surplus crops. A 2009 effort to legally designate Aplets & Cotlets as Washington's official candy failed due to provincial competition between legislators from the state's two geo-cultural regions.
This article summarizes different crops, what common fungal problems they have, and how fungicide should be used in order to mitigate damage and crop loss. This page also covers how specific fungal infections affect crops present in the United States.
Stemilt Growers, owned by the Mathison family, is a family-owned tree fruit growing, packing and shipping company based in Wenatchee, Washington. Stemilt is the largest fresh market sweet cherry shipper in the world, and one of the nation's largest grower-packer-shippers of apples, pears, cherries, and stone fruit. Its signature apple varieties include Piñata, Honeycrisp, Gala, and Pink Lady. The company is also a leader in organic fruit production, producing 26% of Washington's organic apples and 32% of the Pacific Northwest's organic pears. In 2008, the company shipped over 20 million boxes of fruit and employed 1,500 people full-time.
Dryden is a small unincorporated community in Chelan County, Washington, United States. It is situated along the Wenatchee River in the fertile Wenatchee Valley between the towns of Cashmere and Leavenworth. The community serves as a supply and shipping point for local farms and orchards.
The northwestern U.S. state of Washington's economy grew 3.7% in 2016, nearly two and a half times the national rate. Average income per head in 2009 was $41,751, 12th among states of the U.S.
Cherry leaf spot is a fungal disease which infects cherries and plums. Sweet, sour, and ornamental cherries are susceptible to the disease, being most prevalent in sour cherries. The variety of sour cherries that is the most susceptible are the English morello cherries. This is considered a serious disease in the Midwest, New England states, and Canada. It has also been estimated to infect 80 percent of orchards in the Eastern states. It must be controlled yearly to avoid a significant loss of the crop. If not controlled properly, the disease can dramatically reduce yields by nearly 100 percent. The disease is also known as yellow leaf or shothole disease to cherry growers due to the characteristic yellowing leaves and shot holes present in the leaves upon severe infection.
Fluxapyroxad is a broad-spectrum pyrazole-carboxamide fungicide used on a large variety of commercial crops. It stunts fungus growth by inhibiting the succinate dehydrogenase (SQR) enzyme. Application of fluxapyroxad helps prevent many wilts and other fungal infections from taking hold. As with other systemic pesticides that have a long chemical half-life, there are concerns about keeping fluxapyroxad out of the groundwater, especially when combined with pyraclostrobin. There is also concern that some fungi may develop resistance to fluxapyroxad.
Cosmic Crisp is an American apple with the variety designation 'WA 38'. Breeding began in 1997 at the Washington State University (WSU) Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee, Washington, and was initially overseen by Bruce Barritt. Kate Evans completed the research after Barritt's retirement from WSU.
The US state of Maryland has large areas of fertile agricultural land in its coastal and Piedmont zones, though this land use is being encroached upon by urbanization. Agriculture is oriented to dairy farming for nearby large city milksheads, plus specialty perishable horticulture crops, such as cucumbers, watermelons, sweet corn, tomatoes, melons, squash, and peas.
EverCrisp is an American apple cultivar developed by the Midwest Apple Improvement Association (MAIA). Trademarked as EverCrisp, the MAIA-1 variety is a cross between two existing apple cultivars: the Honeycrisp and Fuji. Originally produced in Ohio, EverCrisp has since expanded to apple-growing regions across the Midwest in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana, in the Northeast in Pennsylvania and New York, and in the Northwest in Washington. The apple entered the public marketplace in 2017.
Robert Harry Stover was a Canadian-Honduran phytopathologist specializing in Musa crops and their fungal diseases.
Bitter rot of apple is a fungal disease of apple fruit that is caused by several species in the Colletotrichum acutatum and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides species complexes. It is identified by sunken circular lesions with conical intrusions into the apple flesh that appear V-shaped when the apple is cut in half through the center of the lesion. It is one of the most devastating diseases of apple fruit in regions with warm wet weather.
Boscalid is a broad spectrum fungicide used in agriculture to protect crops from fungal diseases. It was first marketed by BASF in 2002 using their brand name Endura. The compound is an biphenyl amide derived inhibitor of succinate dehydrogenase.
WA 64 is a hybrid apple variety developed at Washington State University (WSU). It is a Honeycrisp crossed with Pink Lady apple. The first WA 64 apples were planted at the Stemilt Growers orchard in Quincy, Washington in 2015. Availability at retail to the public may begin in 2029, six years after its introduction in 2023.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link)