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October 13. 2014 12:01AM Since You Asked: Old orchard trees being removed Bear Creek Corporation is removing fruit trees that are past their productive prime. We live in the Wagner Creek area, and over the past several years Bear Creek Corporation has removed several large pear orchards. The first one was at the corner of Rapp Road and Wagner Creek Road in Talent. Then they removed another one at Wagner Creek and Yank Gulch Road. Last week they removed yet another one on Wagner Creek Road just north of Beeson Lane. The first two orchards are now fields of grass or hay that don't appear to be harvested. We were wondering why Bear Creek Corporation would do this. — Scott and Judy, Talent Bear Creek Corporation removes fruit trees from orchards when they are past their prime production years, said Rhonda Klug, public relations manager for the company. The orchard at Wagner Creek Road and Rapp Road, for example, contained peach trees that were 24 years old. That type of peach tree is past its productive prime when it gets over 16 to 20 years old, Klug said. "They were well over that time frame," she said. She said Bear Creek Corporation allows land to rest after orchards are pulled out, which is why fields look like they are filled with unharvested hay or grass. Plans for replanting bare orchard lands are in the works, Klug said. Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected]. We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.   http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20141013/NEWS/141019942 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->