04/20/05 Northern districts in bloom

While several parts of the fruit growing region reported some sort of potential damage due to last week's freeze, one area that seems to have made it out of that scare alright is the Northern districts from Lake Chelan to the Canadian border. SCHELL: Our bloom up in the Northern district is a little farther behind than some of the earlier parts of the state, so that helped out a lot. Most areas were able to hold the temperatures fairly well with both fans and additional protection. So now according to Harold Schell of Chelan Fruit Company, field men are concentrating on the critical applications for pest control. With cherries at petal fall or pre-schuck stage, applications are taking place for that fruit. Pears are also getting a significant amount of attention when it comes to application. SCHELL: We just completed our popcorn sprays last week and the pears are blooming now, so our next round will be petal fall applications on pears as well. Apples are currently in the pink stage. Schell says that means putting fruit finish and mildew sprays on varieties sensitive to those issues SCHELL: And then we'll be ready for bloom time and on apples it will be getting ready for planning out a chemical thinning program because our bloom is very heavy in the Northern districts this year.