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.
The campaign is now well underway and the production areas are trying to take advantage of the last moments of sales. Puglia is almost at the end of the season, Vignola is almost at the end, while the mountain and Piedmont area cherries are on the launching pad.
FRUIT LUXURY COMPANY S.L., a family business located in Albalate de Cinca (Huesca), has six hectares of cherry trees cultivated in greenhouses with the aim of anticipating production and protecting them from bad weather such as rain, hail or wind.
A three-year study in Bulgaria shows that San Jose scale severely damages apples, cherries and plums grown both in protected and open fields. Infected propagation material significantly worsens plant quality and growth in nurseries.
Cherry growers face a crisis: overproduction, small sizes and poor quality threaten exports to China. Discipline, planning and targeted investments are now essential to produce premium fruit and recover competitiveness in global markets.