As September marks the start of apple season across northern Michigan, some orchards are trying a new way to make sure the apples are ready. Some orchards even have a new way to guarantee the fruits of their labor ripen evenly.
"We're trying to get as much reflected light as possible. We've got big white fabric out in the rows to bounce that sunlight back up in the tree, really color the underside and the bottom of the apple so that they'll be redder sooner," said apple grower Jack King.
It's one large white plastic blanket that lays across the orchard ground, so the lower fruit ripens at the same rate as the higher fruit.
"It's a plastic. It's reusable, so that we can use this for the next several years. We'll roll it out, roll it up. And I'm actually using it in peaches and a few other crops too, which makes it really exciting," King added.
Source: upnorthlive.com