Since I grew up in the Wenatchee, Washington, area, the Apple Capital of the World, I’ve always known the state was great for apple production.
Apples have been the reigning agricultural industry in Washington for three reasons: soil, irrigation, and climate.
First, apple trees prefer loamy soil, which the state has thanks to the volcanoes in the Cascade Mountains. Second, the Columbia, Okanogan, and Yakima rivers provide abundant water, with irrigation districts up and down the rivers to deliver the water in a controlled, timely manner. Third, eastern Washington’s semi-arid desert climate provides the cold winters, hot summers, and crisp fall nights that apples love.
The apple is Washington state’s official fruit.
In a ranking, Washington state far outranked the second state, N
ew York, in an analysis by LawnLove, a lawn care website.
Its ranking is as follows:
- Washington
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Michigan
- California
- Oregon
- Vermont
- North Carolina
- Maine
- Montana
LawnLove’s report says:
Washington (No. 1) takes a big bite out of the competition, topping the charts with the most apple-bearing acreage, the juiciest production, and the freshest market sales. With few pests to bug their orchards and cider galore to sip, Washington’s apples thrive thanks to its golden soil, crisp climate, and top-notch growing tricks.
Its statistics for Washington are:
Total acreage of apple-bearing trees: 171,373 | Rank: 1
Total apple production: 930,996,906 Pounds | Rank: 1
Apple sales to fresh markets: $589,439,761 | Rank: 1
Apple tree pests: 2 | Rank: 1
Hail risk score: 16.35 | Rank: 2
So, congratulations to our state’s apple growers for being the nation’s leading apple champions for more than a century. Hopefully, the trade wars bought on by President Trump’s tariffs won’t be too damaging to the apple industry and other farmers and producers in the state.
