An issue with more sweet than sour Up Front


By Bryden Winsby A


s B.C Fruit Grower Magazine completes its 11th year of publication, the word 'sweet' is


everywhere. Sweetness, of course, is what fruit and wine are all about, but its various aspects are especially prominent in this issue.


We lead off with a recap of the new regulations to govern the authenticity of Canadian icewine by former Penticton Herald staffer Scott Trudeau, whom we welcome to our roster of contributors, allowing always-busy Associate Editor Judie Steeves to focus on other tasks. Next, as Susan McIver explains in her piece on longtime Oliver-area grower David Evans, sweetness is a defining feature of the Okana apple he discovered by chance more than two decades ago and which has now received certification from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Growing grapes for sweet wines and the making of those wines are discussed at length by our resident consultant, Gary Strachan. Bees and sweetness have a big connection, and the business of beekeeping is the focus for Ms. Steeves as she describes how it continues to be of prime importance to the fruit industry even as acreage declines and as demand for honey rises.


There's more on bees as Peter Waterman explains how growers can get the best from their pollination programs and help protect pollinator populations.


From an organizational standpoint, the past 12 months have seen considerable stabilization on the tree fruit side after a rather troubled 2012.


Streamlining is at the core of several bylaw changes adopted by the B.C. Fruit Growers' Association and of the B.C. Tree Fruit Co-operative's program to shed some of its real estate assets, close some facilities and upgrade others. The coming year will see BCFGA members complete a vote on establishment of the Apple Research and Promotional Agency, a proposal that has been in the works for several years.


The latest chapter in the history Sun-Rype Products Ltd., established


4 British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Winter 2013-14


by the BCFGA in 1946, is about to be written. Its privatization was completed this fall as the company became part of the well- known Pattison Group. Although CEO Dave McAnerney was understandably light


on detail describing what’s in store for operation near-term, he did give a tantalizing hint of a major capital investment.


Back on the wine side, there is sweet and sour with any enterprise. Ms. McIver asked the operators of four smaller wineries to share their experiences, particularly from a lessons-learned perspective. We’ve got a profile of the new plant pathologist at the Pacific Agri-food Research Centre in Summerland. José Ramón Úrbez-Torres began a


Do you have your Environmental


Farm Plan completed? 


This , ,     


Not knowing the legislation does not exempt you from it. 


  


  


 


 


1-866-522-3447  


two-year appointment last June and is a top authority on grapevine trunk diseases. He hails from Zaragoza, the main fruit tree and grape growing area of Spain.


And finally, we continue to provide updates on the impact of Spotted Wing Drosophila. Monitoring of the pest began three years ago and the numbers are increasing, in terms of both the fruit fly’s population in orchards and the amount of damage being reported.


What this means is that growers must be keenly aware of the problem and do what they can to prevent infestation and properly dispose of material that has become infested. That said, have a wonderful holiday and a prosperous new year!


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