08/11/05 Pome fruit harvest underway

08/11/05 Pome fruit harvest underway

It may be the peak of summer, especially temperature wise, but to many, fall is fast approaching, now that pome fruit harvest is set to start. Actually, in some of the early locations of the fruit growing region, the harvest of pears and apples are already underway. Nate Squirres of Northwest Wholesale in Wenatchee says the sights of pome fruit being picked off the trees is moving like a wave further north. SQUIRRES: Probably going to see some early harvest areas that will be starting probably by this weekend and then probably some larger scale operations picking up Monday of next week and starting to go with the pears. We've got nice size with larger fruit that coming off the trees. So we're excited about the Bartlett harvest coming in. And that means Anjou's are not that far behind, say within three to four weeks. And according to Squirres, the first of the apple varieties are just starting to be harvested. SQUIRRES: We've got some Gala's that are probably starting to hit. The picking is getting started on them and they're going to be hitting the warehouses starting this week and into next week. That also means the first of the Golden Delicious apples will be harvested within the month. Squirres believes the overall quality of this year's apple and pear crops is very good. And he is confident that will bode well for growers trying to obtain a good price for their pome fruits this year.
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