Washington apple growers pulled through a historic drought this spring to likely produce another record fruit crop.

That is, if they have enough workers to pick them.

Washington is the top apple-producing state in the U.S., with the majority of commercial operations in Eastern Washington.

This year’s crop is expected to be 142 million 40-pound boxes, up from 124 million last year, said the Washington State Tree Fruit Association forecast on Thursday.

That’s due in part to the meteoric rise in popularity of the Cosmic Crisp variety since its launch six years ago.

For the first time, it’s one of Washington’s top five apples. The glossy, deep red variety, with a sweet-tart taste and crisp bite, makes up 9.6% of all apple production in the stae.

Also called WA-38, it was developed by Was

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