Dr.Schrader has focused on understanding the causes of
several stress-induced
disorders in apples and cherries (reports
available in PDF format)
and then developing practical solutions for growers’ use to overcome
the disorders.
Sunburn Research
Dr. Larry Schrader has focused on understanding the causes
of several stress-induced disorders in apples and cherries.
During the past eight years, he has identified the causes of three
types
of sunburn in apples .
Losses of fruit due to sunburn cost Washington State apple
growers about
$100 million per year. Schrader invented a new sunburn
protectant
called RAYNOX
(patent pending) that reduces sunburn losses by 50%, on average.
Three
types of sunburn:
Necrosis - Browning - Type 3
The prevention of sunburn due to Dr. Schrader’s research
has the potential to save $50 million annually for Washington State.
RAYNOX was successfully commercialized during 2003 in Washington State,
and its commercialization will be expanded to other states and countries
during 2004.
Sunburn and RAYNOX were also the topics of
a recent
interview with Dr. Schrader
by All About Apples.
Evaporative Cooling Research
Dr. Schrader is also conducting research on evaporative cooling
(EC) as another method for sunburn protection. However, water
usage is excessive with conventional EC systems. His research
team invented
a fruit surface temperature sensor (patent pending)
that can be used to control EC systems. The sensor is being
Beta-tested during 2004 in commercial orchards and may be available
commercially during 2005.
The
sensor developed by Dr. Schrader’s research has the
potential to reduce water consumption used for EC by 70%, as
well as reduce energy requirements to deliver the water. The
combined use of
EC and RAYNOX improves fruit quality at harvest while
reducing losses resulting from heat stress. Schrader’s research
has also revealed that several other apple disorders (e.g., ‘Fuji’ stain
and lenticel marking) appear after sunburn has occurred. These
heat-induced disorders can be suppressed if sunburn is suppressed.
RAYNOX has been
shown to be compatible with EC, and the two tactics used together
provide the best potential to reduce fruit losses to sunburn or other
heat-induced disorders.
Sweet Cherry Cracking
Another aspect of Dr. Schrader’s program is to provide growers
with a means to protect sweet cherries from cracking or splitting
during or after rain. Rain events cause cracking or splitting
of the cherry
skin and reduce yields. For most growers, labor costs are too
excessive to justify picking a crop when more than 25% of the
cherries crack.
Schrader’s
research has revealed the causes of this cracking phenomenon.
RainGard, a protectant, (patent pending) has been invented
in his laboratory and is being tested widely this year. RainGard
shows promise as a tool for cherry growers’ use to reduce the
devastating losses associated with rain events.
Because of the high value of cherries, growers are
excited about the prospect of this new product for their cherry
orchards. The Washington sweet cherry crop is valued at about
$150 million. An
acre of sweet cherries has a value of ≈$7,000. If RainGard can
reduce cracking in rain-induced events it would potentially save growers
millions of dollars each year and in some years make the difference
between harvesting a crop or losing it entirely.
Laboratory staff
The outputs from Dr. Schrader's lab would not be possible without his
colleagues: Dr. Jianshe Sun, Research Associate; Dr.
Jianguang Zhang, Research Associate; Dr. Jeong-Hak Seo, Visiting
Scientist; Leo Jedlow, Associate in Research; and David Felicetti,
Ag Project Assistant
and Ph.D. candidate.
Online references from Dr. Schrader's lab (PDF format)
Fruit Finish Physiology