Insect activity over the last week includes first trap catch of the cranberry fruitworm, variegated leafroller, eye spotted budmoth, tufted apple budmoth and lesser apple worm, and continued flight of codling moth, lesser peachtree borer, American plum borer, Oriental fruit moth and grape berry moth. We have attained 418 GDD45 since the May 3 Oriental fruit moth biofix. First egg hatch occurred around May 31 and flagging damage is now evident on apple and peach terminals. There appears to be two adult flight peaks for this first OFM generation. The egg hatch related to the later peak may actually enter fruit, whereas the eggs from the first peak will result only in terminal flagging. We have attained 213 GDD50 since the May 24 codling moth biofix, so we can expect first egg hatch later this week.

Plum curculio has been very active over the last week. With light fruit loads this will result in significant competition for egg laying sites, so effective fruit protection is recommended. Cranberry fruitworm began flying over the last week, so egg laying will begin to occur and egg hatch is expected within the next week. Grape berry moth continues to fly and early egg hatch has been seen in Southwest Michigan vineyards. Potato leafhopper adults have been present in moderate numbers and newly hatching nymphs should appear soon. Several rose chafer adults were also seen on the research station this week. Growing degree days for the Fennville TNRC are 800 GDD42, 648 GDD45 and 442 GDD50 since March 1.

The spring of 2002 is one for the record books. Early high temperatures moved growth and development along at alarming rates. Then, several freeze events and colder than normal temperatures led to a reduced fruit set for the 2002 apple crop. Crop guesstimates are still to be determined, but in general, it looks like the apple crop may be at 50 percent of an average potential. There is much variation in fruit set due to location and site considerations, differences in varieties, and quality of pollination and fertilization of flowers.

For those growers with crop insurance, the guidelines of your policy commonly state that you have to maintain the trees in a normal fashion in order to qualify for claim payments. With reduced or no crop on the tree, several insects and diseases may be ruled out of your spray programs. It is difficult to justify costly applications to trees with little or no crop, but there are some pests you need to be aware of to prevent problems for the 2003 season.

Much of the state is getting past the blossom period where blossom blight is of greatest concern. However, trauma blight situations that may occur with high winds and hail can still devastate orchards. Trauma blight situations should still be managed with applications of streptomycin, Mycoshield, Serenade or copper. Streptomycin is the best material to use and will give the best management of fire blight in a post-trauma blight situation where resistance is not an issue. Mycoshield, Serenade and copper applications should be made ahead of a trauma blight situation, and this is not always an economical choice because you're trying to stay one step ahead of the weather forecast, which we all know is virtually impossible.

Hopefully you stayed ahead of primary scab this year. If you have scab in blocks with little crop, it would be best to get the lesions under control before you reduce or eliminate fungicide applications from the block. If blocks have sheet scab in them right now, then these blocks could defoliate early and have reduced winter hardiness and a high potential inoculum level for 2003. At this time, many orchards have had a full primary apple scab program and scab should not be a problem for the 2002 season, even if you are seeing a few lesions. Once primary scab season is over, you can reduce further control measures if you had primary scab under control.

Just as with apple scab, powdery mildew left uncontrolled can lead to reduced vigor and winter hardiness. Again, as with apple scab, most commercial blocks have had some mildewcides in their programs already this year, so mildew might not be of concern in most blocks with no crop. If you have running mildew right now, it could reduce winter hardiness of buds and lead to a higher inoculum potential for the 2003 season.

Under light fruit load conditions, plum curculio will compete heavily for the present fruit. Unprotected this can result in a much higher percent damage level than normal, and often multiple ovipositionings per fruit. Most of this fruit will drop, but the larvae that emerge could be the source of next year's "resident" population. You will then need to account for the difference in managing a resident population versus the predominant situation of controlling immigrants moving in from outside wild hosts.

The potato leafhopper is normally controlled when broad-spectrum insecticide programs are used to control primary pests like plum curculio, codling moth and Oriental fruit moth. If you are reducing or eliminating insecticides for these key pests because of little or no crop, the potato leafhopper should not be ignored. This leafhopper first arrives in late May with southerly-based weather fronts. Those adults lay eggs, which hatch and begin feeding (phloem feeders) on foliage of actively growing terminals in mid-June, often reaching high populations by early July. The resulting damage appears as necrotic cupped-leaf margins and can stunt growth significantly. Control will be particularly important in young blocks that still have space to fill.

The obliquebanded leafroller is largely a foliage feeder, but can do significant damage to fruit. Fruit damage from the summer generation is often related to when terminal growth slows or buds set, forcing larvae from the preferable young foliage to fruit. Fruit damage is also common under conditions of heavy fruit set where full clusters and adjacent foliage prevent adequate penetration of targeted insecticides. Light fruit-load conditions like this year should reduce the risk of obliquebanded leafroller damage compared to normal years.

If you have a few fruits on the trees - perhaps as few as 10 or 20 fruits on a dwarf tree - codling moth will easily infest these fruits in their first generation if you eliminate cover sprays for codling moth. This can lead to very high codling moth numbers and increases the potential damage for the 2003 season. One other item to be aware of is that codling moth will move from an orchard with little fruit to a neighboring orchard with fruit. This can happen with the first generation, but can be more of a concern for the second generation. If you have orchards with a crop on them, you should be very aware of any nearby orchards that may be on a reduced insecticide program because of no crop. If a neighboring block has no crop, the codling moth that are residents there will most likely move to nearby blocks with fruit and lay their eggs there. If a neighboring block has a few fruits on it and the first generation of codling moth is not controlled, then the second generation codling moth will most likely move to neighboring blocks to look for more favorable egg-laying sites. Older orchards generally have higher resident populations than younger blocks.

Oriental fruit moth seems to becoming more of a problem in apples in some areas. Larvae can bore into new growing terminals and cause the terminals to look ragged and flagged over. This is most prominent in the first generation, but can also appear with second generation after the fruit has sized, becoming more desirable. A light fruit set will likely increase the incidence of terminal flagging during the second-generation egg hatch period (July). Also, if insecticide cover sprays are eliminated from apple blocks, Oriental fruit moth and other insects will build in number, likely increasing pest pressure the following year.

Left uncontrolled, European red mites can reduce photosynthesis and overwintering carbohydrate reserves. These reserves provide the tree with its winter hardiness, as well as help set the next year's crop. European red mites can cause severe bronzing, but if this occurs in a year without a crop, the damage will not be as severe, due to the lack of competition for the carbohydrates from fruits. In fact, if certain broad-spectrum insecticides are left out of an orchard system (for codling moth, for example), then mite predators will have a chance to build their populations to help curb the European red mites.

One possible benefit of reducing broad-spectrum insecticide sprays would be a potential increase in biological control organisms such as beneficial insects, could be helpful for your orchard system for the future.

Next year will most likely have a tremendous return bloom. The crop potential could be huge for Michigan and the entire USA. With little crop, the vegetative growth should be at a maximum for 2002 - leading to extra pruning for the dormant season. A strong dormant pruning program will help regulate the 2003 crop. Apogee applications will help reduce terminal growth and could reduce pruning costs by as much as 30 percent. Apogee applications are not inexpensive, and a grower should weigh the costs of the applications against the costs of dormant pruning. Also, Apogee is best timed when the king bloom is starting to drop petals, so you may be out of the window for good growth control with Apogee for this current season.

If you have less than 30 percent of a crop, you might want to consider eliminating fruit completely from the trees. You can limit the infestation from the apple insects, codling moth and apple maggot by eliminating the fruits on the trees. Chemical fruit removal can be done with the highest labeled rates of spray thinners, such as NAA or Sevin XLR. Chemical thinners should be applied as soon as the flower petals are 80 percent fallen (not too soon in bloom or you can harm pollinators). A second application, 10 to 14 days later, may be needed to remove more fruit. Even with two applications of chemical thinners, there may be some fruit remaining that may need to be removed by hand. Suggested fruit removal program: 20 PPM NAA (8 oz. NAA in 100 gallons of water) PLUS 1 quart Sevin XLR.

Fruit size will most likely be large on trees with a light to moderate crop set. Large fruits have some potential inherent problems such as bitter pit, water core, and cracking, which can cause storage and marketing problems. Calcium sprays can help and might be justified in certain higher value varieties that commonly have problems such as bitter pit.

There is a lot of surface damage on apples this year due to the cold weather during bloom. Growers should evaluate crop quality - if it is poor, eliminating the fruit and using a reduced spray schedule should be considered.

Be sure of your crop situation before you decide to eliminate cover sprays entirely from an apple block. Apple fruit set can fool the eye sometimes, especially now that the foliage is growing so rapidly. One week may look like a total loss and the next week, the fruit will start to show up more readily. Also, if you have crop insurance, be sure to check with your insurance representative for the details that they may require of your pest management program so you are not disqualified in any way.

In the last several years we have been receiving an increasing number of field reports of scale insect problems on fruit crops. Most reports have been of San Jose scale on apples and lecanium scale on sweet cherry, plum and peaches. Historically, scale insects have been viewed as secondary pests and were controlled relatively well with conventional insecticides like Methyl parathion, endosulfan, chlorpyrifos, as well as oil. Since that time, pesticide regulations resulting from the Food Quality Protection Act as well as processor standards have resulted eliminated or restricted use of most of these older scale materials (excluding oil compounds).

The San Jose scale overwinters as a juvenile under a waxy scale covering and becomes fully mature by late May (in Southwest Michigan). At this time, males come out from under the scale covering and fly to females (which remain under the scale) to mate. After mating, the females produce live young, called crawlers, for about a six-week period through the end of June and early July. These crawlers move across limbs, fruit and foliage until they find an attractive place to settle and produce a new waxy scale covering. They will then insert their slender, thread-like mouthparts into the plant and suck the sap. In large numbers they can significantly reduce plant health resulting in economic damage. A second generation of San Jose scale begins again in August. Damage from this generation to fruit can render the crop unmarketable.

The lecanium scale is similar to San Jose scale, but different in several respects. They overwinter as fertilized females that mature in June. Eggs hatch in July. The young crawlers move to the underside of leaves, where they settle and feed along the main veins. Infested leaves can be stunted and fruit remain undersized. They move back to twigs in late summer, where they will overwinter. Winged males appear in late August to mate and there is only a single generation each year.

Apple growers should not reduce fungicide coverage just because we are approaching the end of the ascospore discharge season. During the period between petal fall and the third cover spray, apple leaves and fruit remain highly susceptible to scab infections, and even "clean" orchards remain at risk for secondary scab infections. The remainder of this article explains methods for predicting the end of ascospore discharge, along with reasons for ignoring this seasonal milestone when planning fungicide strategies.

The degree-day model uses the green tip stage of bud development as a starting point. In some years, environmental conditions prior to green tip cause scab pseudothecial development to be slightly advanced or slightly retarded as compared with the "average" development assumed by the degree-day model. In years when ascospore maturity at green tip is more advanced than normal, fungicide protection at green tip is essential for protecting the crop. In years when ascospore maturity at green tip is delayed, apple growers can omit one or two early sprays. The old method of assessing spore maturity via squash mounts can provide better information than the degree-day model for the first 7 to 10 days of the growing season. After that, the degree-day model provides acceptable estimates of spore maturity.

Pseudothecial squash mounts are actually much less reliable than the degree-day model for predicting the end of the primary scab season most years. Many researchers (Gadoury, MacHardy, Rosenberger) have noted that the number of ascospores usually drops to zero at or shortly after petal fall, despite the fact that squash mount counts may still show significant number of ascospores in leaf litter. Rotorod trapping data from Al Jones in Michigan also show that ascospore captures usually end near petal fall. Not surprisingly, the degree-day model usually shows that ascospore discharge terminates at or soon after petal fall.

Squash mount data nearly always shows ascospores remaining in leaf litter when the degree-day model indicates that no more discharge should be expected. Why do the two systems provide different data about the end of the scab season? First, some of the "late" ascospores are never discharged under field conditions, or they fail to become airborne. Second, squash mount data does not compensate for the disappearance of leaf litter during spring. Squash mount assessments after petal fall may indicate that the remaining leaf litter still contains 16 percent of the total ascospore load. However, if 75 percent of the leaf litter has disintegrated, the real proportion of the full-season spore load remaining would be only 4 percent. We do not have a reliable method for evaluating "average" leaf litter disappearance in commercial orchards, and leaf litter disappearance has never been incorporated into squash mount counts. As a result, squash mounts have always over-estimated ascospore dose after petal fall.

The degree-day model may underestimate the proportion of remaining ascospores after petal fall in years when extended periods of dry weather occur between green tip and petal fall arrest pseudocethecial development in leaves. (This was the case in 2001, but does not appear to be the case in 2002.) Pseudothecial development slows or stops when leaves become dry (brittle), but the degree-day model does not take leaf drying into account. In exceptionally dry years, the old squash mount method can be used along with tower discharge tests to determine if spores are still being discharged. In normal or wet years, the degree-day model will be more accurate than the late-season squash mounts.

The fact that the traditional squash mount assessments erroneously predicted an extended period of ascospore discharge might have benefited apple growers. Growers have been trained to believe that a tight spray program (7 to 10-day spray intervals) is needed until all scab ascospores have been discharged and that there is little risk of scab infection after all ascospores are discharged. In reality, a tight spray schedule is usually needed for two to three weeks after petal fall, not because ascospores are discharged after petal fall, but rather because of the high risk posed by conidia during the period between petal fall and third cover.

Just a few primary lesions that "escape" early sprays are sufficient to cause considerable damage if trees are left unprotected after petal fall. It is impossible for a grower or an IPM scout to detect scab if the incidence is very low. As a result, orchards that are apparently "clean" at petal fall can still develop a lot of scab if they are not protected with fungicides. When this occurs, folks tend to blame the infections on "late primary scab," whereas in most cases these infections are actually secondary infections coming from undetected primary lesions somewhere in the tree.

When squash mount data was routinely available, growers protected trees beyond petal fall on the premise that they were still controlling primary scab. That fungicide timing strategy was sound, even if the "science" behind the strategy was faulty. Today, we know that the primary scab season usually terminates near petal fall, but that fungicide protection after petal fall is still essential for controlling scab.

The bottom line is that knowing the end of the ascospore discharge period is of little practical importance, except in very dry years when the end of ascospore discharge can sometimes be delayed well past petal fall. In normal and wet years, the ascospore supply will be depleted long before anyone can be certain of their success in controlling earlier primary infections. Therefore, fungicide coverage is nearly always needed through second cover to protect the highly susceptible fruitlets and new, rapidly expanding leaf tissue from potential secondary scab infections. The only exceptions might be blocks where frost damage has destroyed the crop and a low level of leaf scab will not pose any risk to fruit.

Grape bloom will begin this week in Southwest Michigan. The prebloom and post blooms sprays will be critical for controlling insects and diseases. That is probably especially true this year. Growers need to assess their crop and determine if the size of the crop warrants protection.

Many vineyards have yield potentials of less than one ton per acre and will not be economic to harvest. For grape growers with a crop too small to harvest, maintaining the health of the vines by controlling diseases that can defoliate the vine such as downy mildew. I would wait until I saw downy mildew symptoms and then treat with Ridomil. Insects that can severely damage the leaves, such as grape leafhopper and Japanese beetle may require spot spraying or perhaps one general insecticide cover with something cheap and effective. I would not worry about grape berry moth; let them eat all the berries they can find. This is probably all that is needed in vineyards that will not be harvested.

Growers who are unsure or those who know they will harvest need to maintain their usual spray schedule. Prebloom sprays are usually EBDC protectant fungicides that will redistribute with rain to protect the flowers as they open. An insecticide is usually mixed in to control rose chafers and grape berry moth larvae feeding in and on the grape flower clusters. In a normal year we could live with some damage to the clusters but every flower cluster and every flower is important this year. Be sure to include an insecticide in both the prebloom and post bloom sprays. The numerous phomopsis lesions already visible in grape vineyards are a measure of the amount of phomopsis inoculum available this year. The exposed flower clusters need to be protected from phomopsis. We think a lot of the phomopsis fruit infections take place at or just following bloom. Abound and Sovran are probably the best materials we have for phomopsis. I would use one of these as the post bloom fungicide. These materials have a broad spectrum of action against all grape diseases.

Last week was cooler and dry with temperatures slowly climbing from through the 70's into the weekend when temperatures were in the high 80's by Monday. Scattered thunderstorms Monday (June 10) dropped up to a half an inch in some areas. Warm temperatures and no rainfall helped dry the soil last week. Soil moisture is adequate and soil temperatures are in the mid-70's. Hot, wet conditions are forecast for early this week. There is a chance of showers through Thursday (June 13). The weekend is forecast to be cool and dry.

Only a few growers report a good plum crop. Growers need to scout for terminal bud set then they may relax their black knot programs.

We are having a heavy June drop in most apple varieties. Thinning sprays were generally effective. Some hand thinning will be needed.

Wilting shoots associated with oozing fire blight cankers can be found. Blossom blight symptoms should appear on Wednesday (June 12). Thunderstorms with strong winds and heavy showers on Monday afternoon may have caused trauma blight. Apple scab is defoliating abandoned orchards. Apple scab symptoms on leaves and fruit in sprayed orchards mean that growers will need to maintain fungicide protection for several more weeks. No apple scab spores were caught from Monday's (June 3) rain signaling the end of primary scab.

The pear crop is light. Pears do not normally need protection from the first generation of codling moth, but they may require plum curculio sprays this year.

A common problem in blueberries is older canes with lots of short shoots from last year. These shoots have lots of small fruit and only a few leaves. The leaf buds are not developing shoots. This means that there are many more fruit than leaves on these shoots. There is more fruit than the leaves can support and these fruit will stay small. This condition is probably the result of good conditions last year that allowed good fruit bud development coupled with frosts and cold this spring that damaged leaf buds more than flower buds. Prune out weak shoots with lots of small berries and no leaves. There is no treatment or fertilizer that will cause new leaf buds to form. Where there is a heavy fruit load extra fertilizer after bloom will help size the crop of growing berries.

Strawberry harvest has begun in the southern growing areas. Growers need to maintain fungicide protection from fruit rots.

Raspberries and blackberries are showing more frost and freeze damage. Damage is easy to see in fall raspberry where affected primocanes are still small, and other canes in other portions of the field are two feet tall.

There will be a Blueberry IPM meeting at the Trevor Nichols Research Complex on Thursday, June 20 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

Warm temperatures over the weekend and early this week have resulted in a fair amount of new growth in both tree and small fruits. Plants look more like normal for mid-June. Our season caught up a few more days to where we are now about five days to a week behind normal. Generally, we have received around a half-inch of rainfall across the entire region. Above adequate soil moisture supplies are now present with soil temperatures reaching into the high 60's most days.

Codling moth trap catches have been high over the last week at many farms across the region. Most trap catches have ranged from 10 to 35 per trap, with some being in the 80 to 100 range. Most growers biofixed for codling moth May 28 through May 31. This will mean that most growers counting degree days will be applying a cover for codling moth control later this week. Recall that the biofix for codling moth is the start of sustained moth catch in traps. According to the latest degree day model we need to count 250 GDD50 beyond the biofix for application of an insecticide to control small larvae. This spray should coincide with the start of egg hatch. Timing for additional sprays for a first generation are based on a continued trap catch. Plum curculio stings are now visible on apples, peaches, sweet and tart cherries. Apple curculio is also being seen. It is not hard to find damage this year. The stinging damage should not be confused with frost or freeze injury, which there is a fair amount of on apples at many farms. Oriental fruit moth adults are still being caught, although numbers across the region have dropped off. Trap catch numbers range from 2 to 12. Redbanded leafroller larvae are being seen; numbers are fairly low. We are between flights for adult trap catch of redbanded. A few apple terminals are starting to flag as a result of Oriental damage. Other larvae being seen at this time include green fruitworm, Oriental fruit moth and obliquebanded leafroller. Numbers for all of these are fairly low at most farms. Rosy apple aphid populations are slowly building across the region. As of late last week I had only seen a couple of colonies. I am seeing mostly solitary rosy apple aphids. Spotted tentiform leafminer mines from the first generation are being seen in low numbers. White apple leafhopper adults are being seen in fairly low numbers. European red mite egg laying is continuing, however all are below threshold levels. Apple scab lesions on the foliage are fairly easy to find at many farms, although the levels are fairly light. No scab has been seen on fruit as of yet. As of rainfall late last week, we are still catching apple scab spores and therefore are not calling an end to primary apple scab season yet. Powdery mildew symptoms continue to show up across the region. Fireblight shoot strikes have not been seen. No oozing cankers or shoot strikes near last year's cankers have been seen. Several predators are making progress in apples and other tree fruits.

Pears are sizing well with most at 18 mm. There also is a lot of variability in the size of the pear crop across the district. Bartlett appears to have a very light crop and D'Anjou and Bosc appear to have nearly a full crop. Again, many pears have been scarred due to frost rings.

Peaches continue to size well with most at 18 mm. There is a good crop of peaches in the Romeo area, however across the rest of the region the peach crop also has a tremendous amount of variability. Some farms have varieties that have little to nothing on them even though bloom was very good this spring. Lesser peach tree borers are now being caught in traps. Bacterial spot is starting to be seen as well. Some peach leaf curl is starting to show up. Growers need to access fairly quickly their crop level to determine thinning needs as well as a possible reduction of spraying where there is no crop.

Sweet cherries continue to size well. Cherry leaf spot symptoms are continuing to show up. The sweet cherry crop is also variable across the region. We've had a fair amount of drop these last three weeks resulting in mostly singles to a few doubles. There is also a fruit finish problem at many farms due to frost scarring.

Tart cherries are mostly at 12 mm in size. Most tart cherries have thinned to singles or doubles or with the crop remaining only in the tops of trees.

Summer red raspberries are at full bloom to early fruit set. There has been some additional winter injury show up in other varieties of raspberries that were not reported earlier this season. The growth on new or emerging shoots appears to be somewhat stunted this season.

Fall red raspberries continue to grow fairly consistently with most being at 12 inches in height. There have been a few scattered reports of severe frost and freeze injury to fall red raspberries that had some severe tip dieback.

Blueberries are mostly at early green fruit. Mummy berry shoot strikes are starting to show up at a few farms. Now is a good time to scout for them. Cherry fruitworm and cranberry fruitworm are also starting to be trapped at a few farms.

Degree day accumulations are running about five days behind normal for much of the Grand Rapids region.

The inch of rain we received last week did not produce any ascospores for apple scab, and we are well past the 100 percent ascospore maturity. I feel we are coming to an end of the primary apple scab season, and with the rains today and the rains predicted for the next day or two, we'll really know for sure. Now is a good time to scout blocks very carefully for primary scab lesions to make sure you are clean from scab this year. If you have scab showing up in blocks, you will have to maintain a fungicide program that protects fruit for several more weeks.

With fireblight, Maryblyt is calling for high risk for blossom blight for the rains predicted for the next several days. Some newly planted trees are in bloom and susceptible to blossom blight infections with even a 100^th of an inch of rain at these high temperatures. Also, be aware of the potential for trauma blight if we get any storms with high winds or hail.

Plum curculio is still active and there are continued reports of damage to apples.

Spotted tentiform leafminer are in the mine stage with a few sap feeders still seen also.

Aphids seem to be controlled by either cover sprays or beneficials - particularly lady beetles.

European red mites are building in some problem blocks and beneficials can now be found in mite populations.

Codling moths continue to fly. Since the regional biofix of May 27, we have accumulated 220 GDD50 since this biofix. Target cover sprays for codling moth for 225 to 250 GDD50 should go on as soon as possible.

Thinning applications for later blooming varieties are going on and trees seem to be responding very well.

In blueberries, the varieties Bluecrop and Blueray have entered the "early green fruit" stage and Jersey is in "100 percent petal fall." So far, few problems related to insect pests or diseases have been reported. Early in the season we detected large numbers of redbanded leafrollers in most blueberry field. We had an average of 60 adult leafrollers per trap per sampling period (seven day interval) during the first week of May. The numbers declined rapidly by mid-May and the emergence ended during the first week of June. Given the size of the adult populations captured in all sampled fields, we expected a large number of larvae during the late bloom period. However, these populations did not result in high larval infestations or feeding damage. Only in one site, Grand Haven, on June 10, did we reached the threshold of two larvae per sample and established a call for an insecticide application.

Cherry fruitworm and cranberry fruitworm adult emergence has been limited up until now. We detected the first cherry fruitworm moths in Grand Haven during mid-May, but the captures have been sporadic, and in most cases the number of moths captured on any given date do not exceed five moths per trap per week. The first cranberry fruitworm moths were observed during the first week of June. However, as of June 10, no substantial captures have been reported, yet.

On the other hand, the blueberry aphid started to appear in some blueberry fields in Grand Haven and around Holland at the end of May. During the last sampling conducted on June 10, we found the aphid at the bottom of the blueberry bushes. In five blueberry fields sampled across Ottawa and Allegan Counties, the number of aphids observed per shoot sampled varied between one and five and in one case 50 percent of bushes were infested. It is possible that blueberry aphids may become a problem in those fields.

Summer-like temperatures in the last three days have dramatically influenced the vegetation as well as the happenings in the insect world. Shoots and foliage are expending, fruit is sizing.and, it is obvious that we have suffered not just extensive frost damage but a disaster!

A heavy apple scab infection period was reported for Hart and Manistee areas from the rain that started on June 3 and ended on June 6 after more than 68 or 70 hours of wetting. Ludington area had light scab infection out of the same system with slightly less than 14 hours of wetting. I have collected spores after each rain from June 3-6. The last check on the morning of June 6 yielded nine spores per rod. According to MacHardy model, spores are 100 percent mature. The assumption is that this year, environmental conditions prior to green tip caused scab pseudothecial development to be slightly retarded and everything seems to be on a somewhat delayed schedule. As of this report, we are still in primary.

Concerning fire blight, high temperatures and high humidity have created optimal conditions for bacteria to thrive and spread. The maryblight model calls for high infection potential between Saturday (June 8) and Wednesday (June 12). This is of particular interest for the northern parts where there are still quite a few secondary blooms. Powdery mildew is present in many orchards.

Codling moth flight is still strong, though the count has gone down since last week. For most of the blocks the biofix date was May 28. Applications for first generation control of codling moth should be done when we get to 430 to 450 GDD50. Scouts are reporting finding very few leafrollers.mainly obliquebanded leafroller larvae in advanced stage of development and some tiny redbanded leafroller larvae (first brood). Oriental fruit moth model calls for control sprays at 200 GDD45 after the biofix. As of June 9, we have accumulated between 189 (Manistee/Bear Lake), 221 (Hart) and 223 GDD45 (Ludington) since the biofix dates indicating the eggs are hatching now and the control needs to be done at this time.

European spider mites are very scarce. A few small colonies of rosy apple aphids are being found.

We are getting into the "thinning window." It is important to consider pre- and post-bloom weather conditions when deciding on a thinning approach. Prolonged cool, cloudy and wet weather conditions with a week of frosty nights created the environment within the trees that will translate into very easy thinning. A conservative approach is recommended.

The pear crop load is getting lighter. The oddity is that we are seeing widespread diseases for the first time in many years due to the atypical weather complex. There are many reports about spur collapsing that resemble fireblight. Symptoms are consistent with blossom blast of pears caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae. Blossoms and young leaves are blighted and killed. It looks a lot like fireblight except that there is no bacterial ooze associated with it, a typical characteristic of fireblight. Normally, this is not an economic disease and occurs sporadically in these parts.

The peach crop seems to be getting smaller. There is about 25 to 30 percent of the potential. Oriental fruit moth control needs to be applied at this time. Plum curculio trap catches have gone down since last week. We are catching lesser peach tree borer and American plum borer. There is a lot of bacterial spot and leaf spot in general. Weather continues to be conducive to disease development.

In plums, the crop load is light. There is a lot of bacterial canker in all orchards.

Tart cherries are about 8 to 10 mm. There are very few cherries on the trees. Many blocks may have less than 20 percent of the normal crop and are not going to be worth harvesting. There are heavy infection periods of cherry leaf spot in Hart and Manistee/Bear Lake areas, none in Ludington. Leaf lesions are becoming evident. Powdery mildew is quite common. Bacterial canker on sweet cherries: there is very significant outbreak of the disease. Symptoms are easily spotted. We are seeing collapsing of the spurs and even shoot dieback. The major concern is the carry-over effect of this disease not only on next year's crop but also two to three years down the road. It is not difficult to imagine how the lack of spurs will equal lack of fruit. Plum curculio is still a threat not only to the cherries but also to all stone fruit. Trap catches have gone down since last week. No scaring has been reported as of yet.

GDD accumulations through June 10
GDD42 642
GDD45 508
GDD50 341

Cherry leaf spot infections are very easy to find in many orchards. The southern half of the district has some orchards with severe cases for this time of the year. Bravo sprays can be used through shuck split, but Nova or Elite should be tank mixed at a high rate if you are trying to burn out lesions. Growers with infections in their orchards should maintain a tight schedule for the next few weeks to protect new growth. Plum curculio is active in all stone fruits. Some plum and peach crops exist and are susceptible to plum curculio at this time. This year there is additional pressure on the light crops that remain, as the adults seek out egg laying sites. Lesser peach tree borer traps averaged 23 per trap, and American plum borers dropped off to five per trap at the NWMHRS.

Tank sprays remain important even without a crop. They can be applied starting next week to coincide with the egg hatch. If growers are using lesser peach tree borer disruption, ties should be applied as soon as possible. Green fruit worm are a half-inch large, but they are only an economic problem in blocks that have harvestable fruit. Pressure seems light this year for green fruitworm.

Pear psylla are extremely low in numbers this year. The pear crop looked good earlier, but it recently thinned out to the point of being very light at this time.

Warm and humid weather will give way to a cooler, unsettled weather pattern across Michigan later this week following the passage of a cool front across the region Wednesday (June 12). Showers and thunderstorms are likely statewide Tuesday and early Wednesday, some of which may produce training thunderstorms (storms which form and move repeatedly across the same areas) and heavy rainfall totals. By Thursday (June 13), look for cloudy, cooler conditions as an upper air troughing feature now across the northern Rockies moves into the region. This trough will result in relatively unsettled weather conditions Michigan through much of the upcoming weekend. Look for high temperatures ranging from the low 70's south to the mid-60's north and lows ranging from the 40's north to low 50's south. Given cool air aloft with the trough, there will be a lingering chance for scattered showers and a few thundershowers each day into the weekend, especially during the afternoon and evening hours. Medium-range forecast guidance is heavily influenced by the movement of the upper air trough into the region.

Both the NOAA Climate Prediction Center 6-10 day and 8-14 day outlooks (covering June 16-20 and 18-24, respectively) call for a return of below normal temperatures. While temperatures during these periods are expected to average below normal, no freezing or extreme cold readings are anticipated. Precipitation totals are forecast to be near normal during the 6-10 day period and fall back to below normal levels in the 8-14 day period. Normal maximum temperatures for the second week of June range from the upper 60's far north to the upper 70's in the southern Lower Peninsula, while normal low temperatures range from the mid-40's north to mid-50's south. In terms of GDD50 totals, normal daily accumulations range from 7 to 8 in far northern sections of the state to 11 to 15 in northern Lower Michigan to 18 to 19 in far southern sections of the state. Normal weekly precipitation totals range from less than 0.65 inches in the eastern Upper and northeastern Lower Peninsulas to almost 0.9 inches in the southern Lower and extreme western Upper Peninsulas.