The Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center, is a research centre responsible for a cherry orchard of well over 130 hectares with a production of over 2000 tonnes of cherries per year. This number constitutes 83% of the cherry production of the entire state of Michigan.
In addition to the fresh product, the research centre also produces cherry tarts, supplying the entire US market and accounting for about half of the country's production of between 54,000 and 68,000 tonnes of pies each year.
Founded by the Northwest Michigan fruit industry, the centre is the leading research site for integrated pest management, horticultural production and management. Added to this is expertise in value-added processing, marketing and farm financial management practices for sweet and sour cherries, not to mention wine grapes, apples, plums and hops.
The work of the research centre also supports outreach, creating and expanding knowledge through research on cherries and other fruits and disseminating cutting-edge information to the Michigan fruit industry and the general public.
Last month, the TV station 9&10 News showed the live to the state of Michigan a tour of the research center to explain to the public what the research centre consists of and what kind of work this important centre does not only for Michigan but for the whole country.
In Chile, a nursery in Molina was sanctioned for illegally propagating the Tip-Top cv. cherry without an ANA ChileĀ® license. SAG ordered the seizure of the material, later destroyed by court order, as controls tighten across the cherry supply chain.
The primary aim of the present investigation was to construct predictive models for determining the lethal temperature thresholds (resulting in 10%, 50%, and 90% death rates) for two distinct cultivars of sweet cherry flower buds, during the autumn and winter period.
Phenoria uses a single smartphone image and AI to assess cherry tree canopies and fruit load. Comparing trees averaging 755 versus 137 fruits, the study shows how digital phenotyping reveals within-orchard variability and helps identify areas for further investigation.
Claudia Soler examines the future of Chilean cherries after two difficult seasons, focusing on premium quality, changing consumer demand in China, export diversification into the US and Europe, stronger logistics and strategies to build a more resilient industry by 2035.