Large Apple Crop Forecast: Rebounding from bad...

Large Apple Crop Forecast: Rebounding from bad weather in 1987 and the Alar controversy last year, the nation’s apple growers are producing the second-largest crop in history, according to the Agriculture Department. USDA said the nation’s 20,000 growers will harvest 230.8 million 42-pound boxes of apples this fall, about 5% more than last year’s 218 million boxes. Prices and sales in 1988 were lower because of the Alar scare. The 1989 forecast is well below the 1987 record crop of 255.9 million boxes, which suffered extensive weather damage and brought prices below the cost of production.