Extension Bulletins
WSU Bulletins
A wide range of useful publications in the Fruit Horticulture area are available to the public from WSU Cooperative Extension, some oriented to commercial agriculture and others to home orchard needs.
For bulletins giving information on pests and diseases, see Pest Problems
Online Catalog of Extension Bulletins
General topics are listed on the left side of the page, or use the search box to enter a specific request.
Fruit – mostly subjects related to commercial orchard fruit production, as a general topic
Small Fruit – covers small fruit, grapes, berries with mostly commercial orientation
Berries – cultural topics, commercial and home area
- Growing Small Fruits in the Home Garden (EB 1640)
- Raspberry & Strawberry Root Rots in Home Gardens (EB 1082)
Grapes – mostly commercial orientation
Tree Fruit – mostly commercial orientation
- Fruit Handbook for Western Washington: Varieties and Culture (EB 0937)Basic guide for home orchards in western Washington, provides a list of tree and vine fruit varieties as well as commonly used rootstocks for successful planting. Cultural factors such as site selection, soils, pollination, pest identification and harvest are included, with reference to publications that cover topics in more detail. Also provides bloom charts for apples, pears, plums, and cherries, and a month by month calendar of what to look for in the orchard.
Apples – general, commercial, some home orchard topics
Cider Apples
- Hard Cider Production and Orchard Management in the Pacific Northwest (PNW 621) (11/2010)New basic manual for hard cider making, based on variety evaluations and cider trials at WSU Mount Vernon NWREC. Order online.
- 2013 Cost Estimation of Establishing a Cider Apple Orchard in Western WashingtonExtension Fact Sheet FS141E (09/2014). The study results presented in this WSU fact sheet can serve as a general guide for evaluating the feasibility of establishing and producing cider apples in western Washington as of 2013. In addition to the publication there is an Excel worksheet available: Download (zip file – 56kb)
- Commonly Grown Cider Apple Cultivars In the U.S.Twenty of the most common cider apple cultivars planted in cider orchards in different regions of the U.S. are listed. Information was collected from growers and researchers at 12 locations throughout the U.S.
Nuts – general, some home orchard information
Pears – general, some home orchard information
- Pruning Mature Pear Trees in Commercial Orchards (PNW 0405)
- Training Pear Trees in Commercial Orchards (PNW 0403)
Stone Fruit – mostly commercial orientation, for eastern-central Washington climate
Landscaping
Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, Flowers
- Chemical Weed Control for Home Grounds
- Grafting & Budding Plants to Propagate, Topwork, Repair (PNW 0496)
- PNW Landscape IPM Manual
- Propagating Deciduous & Evergreen Shrubs, Trees, Vines With Stem Cuttings (PNW 0152)
- Winter Injury of Landscape Plants in the Pacific Northwest (EB 1645)
Other Bulletins
- A Growers’Guide to Organic Apples(Cornell University Extension, 2010) – extensive information on all aspects of organic apple production
- Bridge Grafting and Inarching Damaged Fruit TreesUSDA. June 1962. Leaflet No. 508 – a fine old publication now available online
- Choosing Pear Rootstocks for the Pacific Northwest(Oregon State University) – a comprehensive discussion of the best rootstocks for pears and Asian pears in our area
- Disease Resistant Apple Cultivars(University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada) – characteristics and descriptions of scab-immune apple introductions
- Geneva leads the nation in developing new varieties of European plums(Grebinger, P. and J. Freer, 2007) – recent introductions from the NYSAES plum breeding program.
- Grafting & Budding Fruit Trees(University of Minnesota) – comprehensive and well diagramed description of different budding and grafting methods
- Microirrigation for Orchard & Row Crops(Colorado State University) – discussion of various microirrigation systems with links to further information
- Picking and Storing Apples & Pears(Oregon State University) – tips for timing of apple and pear harvest, how to store fruit
- Sweet Cherry Cultivars for the Fresh MarketPNW Bulletin 604 (Long, L.E., M. Whiting, and R. Nuñez-Elisea, 2007) – recent introductions to the Pacific Northwest cherry market.
Handouts
Information on cultural practices for the home orchardist and backyard gardener, presented over the years, at training sessions, field days, and orchard tours, is available as handouts.
- Basic Tree Fruit Pruning
- Home Orchard Fertilizer Applications
- Jonagold Fertigation
- Old Apple Varieties common in Pacific Northwest orchards
- Organic Vineyard Establishment: Trellis and Planting Stock Considerations
- Pruning Grape Vines for the home garden
- Training and Pruning Your Home Orchard
- Tree Fruit Harvest, Maturity and Storage