Devloping Commercial Uses for Fruit Industry Waste Products
Sustainable Agriculture
Taun Beddes
Horticulture Agent
UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
Orem
Abstract
A lesser-known aspect of the fruit industry is the waste produced from seeds and pits during fruit processing. For instance, in some situations, these seeds and pits can be processed into grit used in soap scrubs. In Michigan, cherry pits are utilized in modified pellet stoves to heat homes and are burned to smoke meat in commercial barbecue pits. Unfortunately, in many cases, pits and seeds go unused and often end up in landfills or accumulate in large piles that can reach thousands of cubic yards. While these materials have potential uses, the developing uses and the cost of transporting them to processing facilities can be prohibitively high. This issue is particularly significant in Utah, the second-largest producer of tart cherries in the United States. Due to these issues, the Utah Fruit Growers' Association has asked Extension to explore profitable uses for these pits. Since 2017, various research projects performed by Extension have yielded promising results. One of the most successful approaches involves breaking the pits down to a ¼-inch size and utilizing them as a soil amendment to improve properties like drainage and cation exchange capacity (CEC). When incorporated into clay soil, adding pits has increased the yields of several crops by 10 to 25 percent compared to untreated controls. The ground pits have also been applied 1 to 2 inches deep as mulch to suppress weed growth in between rows. In areas cleared of weeds, this method proved nearly 100% effective in halting the emergence or regrowth of all weeds, except for field bindweed. Even in this scenario, it sufficiently limited bindweed growth so that it did not significantly affect garden crops. Additionally, cherry pits can be processed cheaply into charcoal briquettes that perform comparably to commercially produced briquettes on a weight-for-weight basis. Extension continues collaborating with growers to develop additional uses and create products that enhance the fruit industry's profitability. The next step includes developing relationships with local wood processors and the green industry to make these products available to the public. Upcoming research includes processing pits into pellets for pellet stoves and biomass logs.
Authors: Taun Beddes, Michael Caron, Jacob Hadfield
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Taun Beddes Horticulture Agent, USU Extension, Utah, 84097
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Michael Caron Holticulture Agent, USU Extension, Utah, 84097
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Jacob Hadfield Agriculture Agent, USU Extension, Utah, 84097