WENATCHEE, Wash. (AP) — Damage from rain on north central Washington cherry orchards is not as bad as some feared.
Washington State University extension agent Tim Smith says a few orchards reported damage of 15 percent or more, but it’s only a glitch industry-wide.
Smith says the cherry harvest in the state is running eight to 14 days late due to this summer’s cool, wet weather. About 60 percent of cherries statewide have been harvested so far, with about a month of picking remaining.
The Wenatchee World reports a half-inch of rain or more fell Monday from Brewster to the Wenatchee Valley to Royal City. Some growers who worried the moisture would cause cherries to split used air-blast sprayers and helicopters to dry their trees.
