September 2022 - 16

POME FRUITS
HIGHALTITUDE
PEARS
IFTA
tour spotlights
Washington pears
Bartletts and d'Anjou are leading pear varieties grown Washington's Wenatchee Valley. Photos: Doug Ohlemeier
By Doug Ohlemeier
Assistant Editor
It's a significant investment, but
pear grower Rudy Prey is seeing
benefits of a production system with
smaller trees that are closer together.
He hopes it translates into longterm
savings.
Prey led participants of the
International Fruit Tree Association's
(IFTA) summer tour through Prey
Orchards, Leavenworth, Washington,
to showcase the high-density orchards
that don't employ V-shaped trellises.
The mid-July IFTA tour included
Prey Orchard's groves, high in the
Wenatchee Valley, along with apple
and cherry orchards in the region.
Most older groves in the region
propagate fruit on 20-feet by 10-feet
or 20-by-12 spacings. Originally, Prey
grew his pears in 10-feet by 20-feet
rows. Today, a newer design orchard
in the works (a two-decades process)
combines the efficiencies of older
traditional orchards with 2-feet by 10feet
spacing.
In rows shaped like Vs, Prey's trees
are angled to 30 degrees into the rows.
" The efficiency of having the
smaller trees and tighter spacings
makes it easier to farm as far as labor
and sprays, " he said. " Hopefully,
there's a costs savings. "
Initially, such a system is more
costly to establish, but that investment
is recouped by improved efficiencies
and higher fruit production,
Prey said.
Solid rows of single versus multiple
varieties helps reduce labor thinning
costs. Because not all pears require
thinning, it is difficult for growers
16 | FruitGrowersNews.com
New plantings of the new Happi Pear variety at Prey Orchards in Leavenworth, Washington. Happi Pear is marketed by Stemilt.
to chemically thin with two to three
varieties grown in older orchards.
Happi varieties
Prey favors vigorous rootstocks
from Old Home x Farmingdale
(OHxF) 97 and has done trials with
OHxF 87s, 33s and 69s. He's been
happy, so to speak, growing the Happi
Pear, a Stemilt Growers variety.
" It's very grower-friendly, " Prey
said. " They come nicely feathered
(small branch production). You don't
See PEAR TOUR, page 18
Green d'Anjou pears at Kenoyer
Orchards in Cashmere, Washington.
Leavenworth, Washington, pear grower Rudy Prey discusses pear production in the
high elevations of Washington's Wenatchee Valley to participants in the International
Fruit Tree Association Summer Tour.

http://www.FruitGrowersNews.com

September 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2022

September 2022 - 1
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