Key retailers and their quality-conscious apple customers now have a chance to get their hands on this spring’s ultimate Honeycrisp apple. Available the last week of April from Honeybear Marketing, a division of Wescott Agri Products, the Chilean Honeycrisp is the result of almost 10 years of meticulous planning and fastidious growing efforts in the carefully selected Southern Hemisphere microclimate.

Mission Produce Inc., based in Oxnard, CA, will hold its third annual charity golf tournament April 24 at Moorpark Country Club.

There are 188 participants in this year's event, and the day includes golf, lunch, dinner, a silent auction and raffle. Proceeds will benefit local county charitable organizations. Last year's tournament raised over $20,000 for Ventura County Food Share.

The National Mango Board — in conjunction with the department of plant science at the University of California-Davis — will be hosting a free mango-ripening webinar on Thursday, April 24 at 4 p.m. Eastern time. The webinar will discuss why mango ripening is important to the U.S. consumer and how to utilize the NMB’s new Mango Handling & Ripening Protocol.

Domex Superfresh Growers continues to innovate with use of GPS-equipped tractors as technology moves from the drawing board to the orchard. Use of GPS allows the tractor to create a planting line within an inch of accuracy. A specialized plant platform pulled behind the tractor opens the ground so trees can be planted within the trench created. Holes are then closed up using small blades and rolling drums.

Market Fresh Produce, based in Nixa, MO, announced the addition of Brett Lamar to its corporate staff on March 25.

In his new position as VMI/transportation specialist, Lamar will be in charge of timely and accurate fulfillment of daily replenishment from customers. He will also handle logistics for the company.

With the total volume of the Hass avocado crop expected to come in around 300 million pounds this year, down from around 500 million pounds in 2013, “one of the things you have to really be concerned about is the expectation that the California market is going to be short of fruit,” said Robert (Bob) Lucy, president of Del Rey Avocado Co. Inc. in Fallbrook, CA, in an interview with The Produce News March 19.