The way Washington fruit growers apply supplemental pollen to cherries, apples, and pears is changing fast.
Eight years ago in 2016, Zirkle Fruit made the first commercial application with our liquid Precision Pollen system on cherries. It used electrostatic sprayers it had purchased for blueberries. Few fruit growers in Washington had spray equipment for liquid pollen at the time. Just eight years later in 2024, ⅔ of the pollen we sold was Precision Pollen for electrostatic spray application.
The ongoing transformation has taken a lot of hard work and investment from partners and customers. It’s happening faster than we even imagined.
Key reasons we think more growers are adopting Precision Pollen liquid application:
WSU trials and field success
Cornell University research proved supplemental pollen’s value in the 1920s. Then innovation crawled incrementally for about 100 years. We knew the tank mix solution (to extend pollen lifespan in water) and purified sprayable pollen we developed with Dr. Matt Whiting at WSU in 2014 had to be tested and proven. The Tree Fruit Research Commission funded the work, and positive results ignited interest in electrostatic spray-on pollen.
Key research highlights:
- Fruit set increased vs natural pollination in 13 of 16 cherry trials from 2014 to 2021 – most in the range of 20-40%
- 3X more pollen grains were deposited on blossoms’ stigmatic surface by charged-particle electrostatic sprayers vs natural pollination
Additionally, growers are seeing electrostatic pollen pay off in their operations with more consistent production and quality. Some of the most common uses are lighter producing cherry varieties, and high-value hard to set cherries like Early Robin, Orondo Ruby and Regina. In apples, Cosmic Crisp growers have found it helps fight excessive drop and sets more doubles when desired. In young blocks, growers are spraying pollen as they establish pollinizers and learn about their compatibility and effectiveness.
Equipment innovation and investment
Electrostatic sprayers’ small particle size, wraparound coverage, and efficiency are kind of magical for pollen application. They weren’t widely used in Washington in 2013 when we started development of sprayable pollen.
As manufacturers identified opportunities in orchards, they adapted equipment used in vineyards, berries and other crops. Fruit growers recognized benefits for all kinds of spray applications (chemical savings, labor savings from fewer fills, improved coverage) and have been deploying more of the sprayers every year.
Mark Ryckman, co-owner and sales manager of the California company that builds Lectro Blast sprayers, said he’s seen adoption rates snowball over the past decade. In the last five years he’s sold almost 200 sprayers to Washington fruit growers, compared to about 50 in the five years before that.
“We’ve done a lot of coverage demonstrations in orchards with a blacklight test, and it’s very convincing,” Ryckman said. “When pollen came on a few years ago it was another great use for our sprayers. It was part of really getting things rolling.”
Precision control and measurement
For every input, growers are seeking more measurement and control. When counting buds and managing cropload, tighter control of pollen application becomes more critical. We hear from and advise growers each year as they dial in their pollen program by block, variety, rate, number of applications, bloom stage, temperature and even humidity.
Electrostatic spraying puts more pollen directly on the blossom’s stigmatic surface, giving growers the most control of any currently available application method. Until we can train a bee, or tell a robot exactly which blossoms to target and when…
For more information about Precision Pollen and electrostatic application, go to:
WSU research trials results – https://firmanpollen.com/grower-resources/
Electrostatic application instruction video – https://firmanpollen.com/precision-pollination-system/#single/0
Progressive Ag LectroBlast sprayers information – https://proaginc.com/