Northwest Sweet Cherry Crop Exceeding Expectations; As Harvest Begins, Fruit Quality and Quantity Have Producers Hopeful.YAKIMA Yakima, city, United States Yakima (yăk`əmô, –mə), city (1990 pop. 54,827), seat of Yakima co., S central Wash., on the Yakima River just below its confluence with the Naches; inc. 1886. , Wash. -- Harvest of the Northwest cherry crop is about to start, and early indications show high quality fruit and good sizes. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. industry experts, growers Growers are the people, animals, plants, and various living creatures that assist in the growing of plants and other living creatures. More specifically, the term "growers" refers to individual people who put forth effort to grow plants for food and medicinal use, including the of early varieties - including Tieton and Chelan cherries - will begin harvesting later this weekend. Mainstream varieties, including Bing and Rainier cherries Rainier is a cultivar of cherry. The Rainier was created in 1952 at Washington State University by Harold Fogle, as a cross between the Bing and Van cultivars. Rainiers are sweet cherries with creamy-yellow flesh. , will start coming off trees and heading to supermarkets the week of June 12. Harvest is expected to peak around June 27, a week later than in 2005. Excellent spring weather in key growing areas in Washington State, Oregon Oregon, city, United States Oregon, city (1990 pop. 18,334), Lucas co., NW Ohio, a suburb adjacent to Toledo, on Lake Erie; inc. 1958. It is a port with railroad-owned and -operated docks. The city has industries producing oil, chemicals, and metal products. , Idaho and Utah has pushed estimates for this season to roughly 140,000 tons. Although cherry growers in the Pacific Northwest produced a record crop in 2005, the market was undersupplied by 20 to 25 percent according to B.J. Thurlby, President of the Washington State Fruit Commission. Given these market conditions, demand is expected to be strong both domestically and abroad. "Cherries are one of the few truly seasonal crops left," Thurlby said. "So if you don't buy them during the summer, they're gone for another year. But the good news for consumers is that it looks like we'll have a steady volume of high quality fruit from mid-June through mid-August. In fact, if the weather cooperates, more cherries may be sold from the Northwest in July this year than ever before!" Cherries are a highly sensitive Adj. 1. highly sensitive - readily affected by various agents; "a highly sensitive explosive is easily exploded by a shock"; "a sensitive colloid is readily coagulated" , labor-intensive fruit, and only a few places in the world have the right combination of weather and soil conditions to grow them. In the Pacific Northwest states, warm sunny days combine with cool nights and rich volcanic soil to produce some of the best cherries in the world. More than 2,500 growers from these four states work year-round to produce the region's famous fruit. Growers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Utah had been selling their prize cherries for more than 100 years before they officially created the Northwest Cherry Growers in 1947. Today, the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. is a world leader in sweet cherry production with more than 70 percent coming from Northwest Cherry Growers. For more information on Northwest Cherries, please visit www.nwcherries.com. For more information, contact Rita Brautigam at 206-517-3071 |
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