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10 CapitalPress.com January 29, 2016 Washington New tree fruit specialist meets growers By DAN WHEAT Capital Press WENATCHEE, Wash. — Hundreds of tree fruit growers in Northcentral Washington received their first intro- duction to the region’s new Washington State University Extension tree fruit specialist at annual meetings held Jan. 18 through 21. Tianna DuPont emceed Stone Fruit Day, Pear Day and Apple Day at the Wenatchee Convention Center and a sim- ilar meeting in Chelan. She later said she enjoyed meeting many growers and hearing about what they’re doing. “I’m excited to continue providing spaces for learning and understanding and how to best apply research,” she said. “That was my emphasis in Pennsylvania and is key to Dan Wheat/Capital Press Tianna DuPont, WSU Extension tree fruit specialist for Northcen- tral Washington. the position here.” Her research in Pennsyl- vania was in soil quality, or- ganics and ways to use cover crops and other biorenovation strategies, which are import- ant in tree fruit. DuPont asked growers to complete a questionnaire on their needs to help her prior- itize her work. She said she enjoys holding field days, farm trials and small, partici- patory study circles. She said she likes working with young growers to keep the next gen- eration coming along. DuPont succeeded Tim Smith, Nov. 1, who held the position for 32 years and retired Aug. 1, 2014. DuPont grew up near Is- saquah, graduated from Whit- man College in Walla Walla in 2001 with a bachelor of science degree in environ- mental studies. She received her master’s in integrated pest management from University of California-Davis in 2008. She was a sustainable ag- riculture and vegetable and small fruit educator for Penn State University in Nazareth, Pa., from 2008 into the fall of 2015. She worked with organ- ics, soil health, cover crops, reduced tillage, grazing and new farmers. Previously, she was an agricultural extension specialist for the Peace Corps, teaching fruit and vegetable production and pest manage- ment in Bolivia. Her WSU job is applied research and extension. She will do field research with im- mediate application to the tree fruit industry and will trans- late and disseminate her own research and research of oth- ers to the industry and public. The position is entirely sup- ported by WSU. Her annual salary is $65,000, according to the state Office of Financial Management. Her office is at the WSU Tree Fruit Research and Ex- tension Center, 1100 N. West- ern Ave. Smith’s office was at the Chelan County Court- house. State agencies unload on truck weight bill Wheat and wine growers advocate for measure By DON JENKINS Capital Press OLYMPIA — A bill to in- crease the weight limit for trucks carrying agricultural products has run into road- blocks from the Washington Department of Transporta- tion and the State Patrol. Agency representatives warned the Senate Transpor- tation Committee on Mon- day that heavier trucks are less safe and tear up roads faster. “We would encourage you to not take lightly the increase in weight,” WSP legislative analyst Melissa Van Gorkom said. Senate Bill 6265 would raise the per-axle weight limit to 22,000 from 20,000 pounds for farm products traveling on state roads. The new limit would not apply to trucks on federal interstate highways. “We think this is a good way to get our crops harvest- ed and hauled in from fields safely and efficiently, espe- cially when we have a short time during harvest to get this accomplished,” Wash- ington Association of Wheat Growers lobbyist Diana Car- len said. The Washington Associa- tion of Wine Grape Growers also testified in support of the bill. In an admittedly rough estimate, DOT projected that Don Jenkins/Capital Press A truck carrying hay travels west in Washington state. A bill proposed by a Yakima senator would raise weight limits for truck carrying agricultural goods on state roads. The higher limit would not apply to federal interstate highways. raising the weight limit by 2,000 pounds per axle for farm trucks would increase the cost of maintaining roads by $15 million to $25 mil- lion a year. Maintaining bridges would cost $32 million a year, according to DOT’s estimate. DOT assumed the heavier loads would short- en the lives of some 1,800 bridges to 65 years from 75 years, forcing the state to re- place them sooner. DOT’s director of con- struction, Chris Christopher, said raising the weight limit by 10 percent would trans- late into a 50 percent in- crease in wear and tear. “Our current bridges and pavements were not de- signed for this additional loading,” he said. The bill, as introduced, would apply year-round to all agricultural products, in- cluding timber. The bill’s prime sponsor, Transportation Commit- tee Chairman Curtis King, R-Yakima, said he planned to continue working on the bill and taking a closer look at how much road construc- tion costs would increase. “Our intent is to help the farmers,” he said. A bill introduced last year to increase load limits on tires to 600 from 500 pounds per inch of tread encoun- tered similar concerns about wear and tear on pavement. The bill failed to pass. Congress froze weight limits on interstate high- ways in 1991. A proviso in a congressional spending bill passed late last year au- thorized Idaho to raise truck weight limits to 129,000 from 105,000 pounds. Dan Wheat/Capital Press Netting covers apple trees at Zirkle Fruit Co.’s CRO Orchard south of Rock Island, Wash., on June 8, 2015. Netting has many bene- fits, new research shows. Research reveals benefits of netting apple trees By DAN WHEAT Capital Press WENATCHEE, Wash. — Netting over apple trees has been used for hail, wind and bird protection but new re- search by Washington State University shows many other benefits. Netting reduces heat, sun- burn, light intensity and soil temperatures but increases photosynthesis, says Lee Kalc- sits, tree fruit physiologist at the WSU Tree Fruit Re- search and Extension Center. He spoke at the Northcentral Washington Apple Day at the Wenatchee Convention Center on Jan. 21. The educational day was sponsored by WSU Extension and the Northcentral Washing- ton Fieldmen’s Association. “Our long summer days and high light intensity creates stress on trees,” Kalcsits said. Research on a McDougall & Sons orchard near Quin- cy and trees at the center in Wenatchee measured the ef- fect of red, blue and pearl colored netting above trees, in tree canopies and soil. Sen- sors measuring temperatures, wind speed, soil moisture, leaf photosynthesis and other aspects created a lot of online data that’s still being pro- cessed, Kalcsits said. Different colors of netting modify the spectrum of light reaching trees and may result in different physiological re- sponses that are still to be de- termined, he said. There was little difference in mean temperature and rela- tive humidity above trees with netting versus those without, but there was a 40 percent re- duction in wind speed “which is pretty significant,” Kalcsits said. Humidity was higher in- side tree canopies, indicating trees were more active, he said. Sunburn was less under netting, he said. Thermal imaging camer- as on an 85-degree day mea- sured fruit surface tempera- ture at 105 degrees outside the netting and 90 degrees under the netting, he said. Those differences become greater as temperatures get higher, he said. The soil temperature of trees under netting was 2 to 4 degrees lower and soil mois- ture was 2 percent higher, which again is “pretty signif- icant” and good for roots, he said. Photosynthesis rates in leaves outside netting are low in the morning, then in- crease in late morning before dropping off in the afternoon, Kalcsits said. Under netting it doesn’t drop off until later afternoon, so trees are less stressed, he said. “Washington normally has more light than leaves can use and if light intensity is too high for too long it can cause damage,” he said. Netting reduces light in- tensity 20 percent without harming photosynthesis, and in some cases may help it, he said. The research project was funded by the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commis- sion in Wenatchee, but will continue through 2018 with federal funding, he said. More study on the effect of different colored netting and measurement of water savings is yet to be done, he said. It’s a big savings if netting replaces or reduces overhead sprinkler cooling, he said. Netting can last seven to 10 years, with blue holding up better than red, he said. Costs depend on the density of poles and whether netting is retrofit- ted to an existing orchard or installed with a new planting, he said. More poles make a stronger structure but add cost. Systems can run $9,000 to $12,000 per acre or $3,000 to $5,000 if simpler, he said. Cultivating conference in Spokane covers value, future of co-ops By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press SPOKANE — The Cul- tivating Cooperative Roots Conference will be Feb. 5-7 at the Spokane Convention Center. The event is a forum for cooperative members from all sectors to share their best practices, said Diane Ga- 5-7/#5 saway, executive director of Northwest Cooperative De- velopment Center in Olym- pia, the organization putting on the conference. “There are lessons that all cooperatives can learn from one another,” she said. She pointed to similar practices for governance, communica- tion, marketing and access to financing in the agriculture, health care, financing and building sectors. 5-1/#4x Online http://roots.nwcdc.coop/ The conference is aimed at members of existing co-ops and people looking to start a co-op or who have recently started one. “Co-ops are a response to market failure,” Gasaway said. “They’re not easy busi- nesses to maintain. It really needs to be a critical com- ponent of your livelihood — access to services that aren’t otherwise available, access to markets, creation of jobs. If that’s not there, they might survive for a while, but they won’t be very active.” David Thompson, presi- dent of the Twin Pines Coop- erative Foundation in Davis, Calif., will deliver the key- note speech about the future of co-ops. Gasaway said Thompson is an iconic figure of sorts in the cooperative community, a historian and a member of the Cooperative Hall of Fame. “He can tell that story in a way that others don’t nec- essarily have the expertise and background in, where we were and where we’re going,” she said. The conference is also targeting the youth and Lati- no communities. The devel- opment center is interacting with more Latino owners of agricultural lands who are raising produce and selling it to farmers’ markets and in larger markets, Gasaway said. “Together we’re stronger,” Gasaway said. “It should be inclusive rather than exclu- sive.” All program materials will be translated into Spanish, and simultaneous interpreta- tion will be offered during the conference. Gasway expects 250 peo- ple to attend.