Record apple crop projected

WENATCHEE, Wash. — This year’s apple crop in Washington is estimated at a record 113 million boxes. The Wenatchee World reports the Dec. 1 estimate is 3 percent higher than Nov. 1 estimate from the Wenatchee Valley Traffic Association and the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association. The previous record in 2004 was 105 million 40-pound boxes. The manager of the Yakima association, Keith Mathews, says the late harvest was greater than anticipated because growers kept fruit on trees longer to compensate for a cold spring. The paper says as of Dec. 7, about a quarter of the apple crop had been shipped.