Cherry growers trying experimental varieties

Research to boost cherry crops on Flathead Lake were highlighted in a recent tour of local cherry orchards by the Montana State University Extension in Kalispell.

Cherry growers and Montana Department of Agriculture employees were shown orchards hosting plots of experimental sweet-cherry varieties. The difference between trees at orchards that volunteered to grow the experimental varieties was noticeable.

It’s all about the soil, the amount of deer damage, how the trees are watered, where the orchard is located and what’s going on with the roots, Washington State University cherry research specialist Matthew Whiting said. Whiting was brought in to help monitor the trial cherry trees and answer orchard owners’ questions.

Flathead Lake Cherry Growers board member Bruce Johnson said orchard owners typically put their energy into whatever will yield the biggest return. But with many trees getting older, cherry growers will soon have to look for replacements.

Skeena, Attika, Regina, Sam, Hudson, Santina, Pinedale Ruby and Glory are the cherry varieties included in the trial.

“These cherry trees are doing really well, all of them,” McGlynn said. “All of these varieties were chosen for size, for taste, except the Santina. Those were chosen for stand owners who wanted an earlier cherry.”

While size and flavor of cherries is important, harvest timing is even more important because of competition with the cherry harvest in Washington, co-op board member Dick Beighle explained.

“In the last 10 years, we’ve been hit multiple times with the calamity of West Coast cherries,” Beighle said. “Where it’s not even worth paying to have them picked.”

Washington state cherry growers with a banner crop flood the market with their cherries weeks before Flathead Lake orchards can even start picking theirs. That drives down cherry prices and makes it difficult for Montana cherry growers to make a profit.

Beighle has 13 varieties at his Finley Point orchard, including seven trial varieties. He replanted most of his orchard in 2006 and added the trial varieties in 2011. He thinks the trial varietiess should yield an answer for Flathead Lake orchard owners in the next four or five years.

Beighle’s trial trees fared the best of the four orchards on the tour. Whiting said Beighle’s rocky soil and ability to get full sun probably had a lot to do with the trees’ growth.

“You’ve obviously got it dialed in. I mean, look at these leaves,” Whiting said. “This looks really good.”

This is the third year of the MSU-run project spearheaded by agricultural extension agent Pat McGlynn. The project was funded with $9,900 from the MDA Growth Through Agriculture Program, $29,400 through a MDA Specialty Crop Block grant, and $14,600 through a self-imposed tax from Flathead cherry growers.

This is the last year the project will be officially funded, but with the new trees in the ground and settled in, MSU can now monitor the trees less.