Most US apple growers expecting good yield

ALBANY, N.Y. — Heavy rains in the northeast have apple farmers predicting an ample crop, but record highs in the Pacific northwest could hurt the harvest in Washington, the nation’s top apple-growing state.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture won’t release its forecast for the 2009 apple harvest until next week, but growers in most parts of the U.S. say they expect a good year, despite some bad weather. The U.S. is the world’s second-largest producer of apples, behind China.

The New York Apple Association expects this fall’s harvest to be at least as big as last year’s 29.8 million bushels. The 2007 crop was one of the state’s best ever, with a harvest of 31.1 million bushels. Growers in New York, the No. 2 apple producing state, are expected to start picking early varieties, such as Ginger Gold and Paula Red, in the next couple of weeks. The Macintosh harvest starts the first week in September, kicking the season into full swing.

“There won’t be any shortage or quality issues,” despite excessive rains and lower temperatures this year, said Eric Brown, of Orchard Dale Fruit Farm in Waterport, N.Y. “Everything looks to be on track.”

Moisture often produces bigger apples, but Brown, who grows more than a dozen varieties on 200 acres in central New York, said he’s not expecting that after a cool summer.

“Heat helps the size in some varieties as much as, or at least as much as, moisture,” he said.

Michael Boylan of Gardiner, N.Y., an apple grower in the Hudson Valley, said he’s delighted to see some more sunshine this week, which he says is needed to help the fruit obtain proper color and flavor.

In Michigan, the nation’s third-largest apple producer, growers are anticipating one of the largest harvests in years — about 23.5 million bushels. That’s a major boon after last year’s approximately 13.5 million bushels, one of the worst harvests in years.

Denise Donohue, executive director of the Michigan Apple Committee, said cooler summer weather actually seems to have helped this year’s apples, although the harvest may start a few days later.

New England and Pennsylvania, the nation’s No. 4 apple state, also had plenty of rain, and apple growers in those states say the fruit looks big and plentiful. Pennsylvania expects to produce 10 million to 11 million bushels, about the same as in the past five years, said Karin Rodriguez, executive director of the Pennsylvania Apple Marketing Program. Forecasts aren’t yet available for the New England states.

“The Macs, the Cortlands, the delicious, the Honeycrisps, the Empires, the Macouns, the Gala, they all look pretty full,” said Eber Currier, co-owner of Currier Orchards in Merrimack, N.H. “And I think probably it’s because of all the rain. I’m just hoping that we don’t get any hail.”

Meanwhile, Washington apple growers have been applying special clays and waxes to their trees to protect them from temperatures in the high 90s and low 100s and reduce sunburn, which can cause serious economic losses. Trees shut down when it gets that hot and stop putting their energy into growth, said Mike Bush, an educator with Washington State University in Yakima County. The shutdown could delay the harvest or result in some smaller fruit, he said.

Still, Bush expected Washington’s growers to have good fruit, with fewer problems with frost than last year and good weather for thinning the apples to let the best ones grow.

The crop should be about 110 million bushels, a little less than last year, but still big, said Charles Pomianek of the Wenatchee Valley Traffic Association. State growers associations will release their forecasts later this month.

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Kathy McCormack in Concord, N.H. contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects location of orchard in graf 4 to ‘Waterport, N.Y.’ sted ‘Waterloo, N.Y.’ Moving on general news and financial services.)