Photoselective Anti-Hail Netting Trial for ‘Honeycrisp’ Apple

Speaker: Dr. Desmond R. Layne (Professor of Pomology, Department of Horticulture, Washington State University) Video Summary: A 3-year project is underway to examine the use of photoselective anti-hail netting to reduce sunburn and improve productivity of ‘Honeycrisp’ apple in an on-site commercial field trial in Quincy, WA. A high density orchard planted to a V-trellis system with ‘Honeycrisp’ on Bud 9 rootstock is being evaluated. Overhead netting of pearl, blue and red colors is compared with an uncovered control treatment. Netting is deployed after pollination and retracted before snowfall. Nets reduced light intensity under them by 20% and resulted in reduced soil temperature and increased soil moisture. Preliminary observations demonstrated improved tree vegetative growth, reduced fruit sunburn incidence, lower wind speed and improved fruit size under nets. Project Participants: Dr. Lee Kalcsits, Dr. Stefano Musacchi, Dr. Desmond Layne, Dr. Sara Serra, Mr. Tory Schmidt, Dr. Giverson Mupambi, Dr. Sindhuja Sankaran, Dr. Lav Khot, and industry partner McDougall and Sons, Inc., Wenatchee, WA. Project Sponsors: Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission and USDA-WSDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program