Apogee on apples
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Apogee was labeled in 2000 on apples and has since been used by growers to control vegetative growth on most varieties. Apogee also has a side benefit of suppressing fireblight infections and canker growth. Apogee will reduce vegetative growth of shoots, laterals and water sprouts when the correct rate per acre is applied. Apogee is only locally effective within the tree. Coverage is very important to achieve desired results. Apogee benefits include control of vegetative shoot growth, suppression of fireblight infections and reduce pruning time. Table 1 lists suggested
use rates and timing for different size trees. These rates are a
guide for moderately vigorous trees and need to be adjusted up when
used on highly vigorous trees. Table 2 lists factors to consider
when selecting a rate to use. Apogee is compatible with all typical
materials used during the time Apogee is applied except for calcium,
boron and some thinners. Don't mix Apogee with calcium and boron
in the same tank. Table 3 lists suggested Apogee use on various
varieties. Apogee will sometimes increase fruitset but it is not
consistent. More aggressive thinning is suggested when using Apogee.
Apply thinners separately from Apogee. Separate thinner treatments
by two to three days before or after an Apogee treatment. Apogee must be mixed
with AMS or a substitute in equal amounts and with a surfactant.
Empire and Winesap fruit can be checked by Apogee applications.
The exact reason for the Empire checking and cracking is not known.
Do not apply to Empire or Winesap. Table 1. Apogee rates and timing oz/acre
Table 2. Orchard factors to adjust program
Table 3. Variety consideration
*Empire cracking is a risk, Apogee is not recommended on Empire. |
IDFTA 'Honeycrisp' Summer Tour in Wisconsin and Minnesota |
The International Dwarf Fruit Tree Association (IDFTA) announces their summer tour for 2004 will be headquartered in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The annual summer tour will be held June 21-22 with a preparatory discussion on Sunday evening, June 20. The emphasis for the 2004 tour is 'Honeycrisp,' an explosively crisp apple that has attracted a huge customer following in an extremely short period of time. The price of the tour includes motor coach transportation, lunches and breaks on Monday and Tuesday, and a group dinner on Monday evening at Drugan's Castle Mound Restaurant in Holmen. The cost is US $250 for IDFTA members. Program details and registration materials are available on the internet at http://www.idfta.org, or by contacting Charles Ax, 14 S. Main St., Middleburg, PA 17842, Phone: 570-837-1551, Fax: 570-837-0090, email: idfta@ptd.net. |
Monitor for mummy berry in blueberries |
What to look for Blueberry growers should be monitoring for mummies with trumpet-shaped cups or stalks (see picture). Mummy berry occurs primarily in wet fields and poorly drained areas, therefore scouting should target those sites. Dry, sandy sites may not have any mummies at all. However, some ascospores may drift in from nearby woods with wild or escaped blueberries or wet sites in the area. The mummy berry fungus shoots ascospores out of the cup as soon as the cup opening is about 1/8 inch wide. Ascospore release continues until the cup collapses. Depending on the temperature, most cups last one to two weeks (they may last longer at lower temperatures). A severe freeze may damage the cups, but evidence shows that they can partially recover their ability to shoot ascospores after exposure to temperatures of 22ºF and above. The ascospores are windborne and can travel fairly long distances within fields and even between fields. Stages of infection Control It is recommended to limit the number of sprays
of Indar to two or three per season (five are allowed per the label)
and alternate with fungicides in other chemical classes. Options
are Bravo (fair to moderate efficacy), Captevate (moderate efficacy)
Topsin M + Captan or Ziram (moderate efficacy) and Serenade (good
efficacy). Use Bravo or Serenade (both protectants) for pre-bloom
applications, since systemic fungicides, such as Indar and Topsin
will likely provide better coverage of the flower parts (the stigma
specifically). While Pristine has shown promising results against
mummy berry in other states, more evaluation is needed in Michigan
to determine its efficacy. Cabrio and Abound have shown poor to
fair efficacy in past trials in Michigan. |
Protecting blueberries from frost |
As we enter the blueberry bloom period, it's time to prepare for frost control by reviewing some important points. Know how much protection your
sprinkler system can provide Irrigation rate (inches/hour) to protect buds under different wind and temperature conditions (from U. of Florida Exten. Circ. 287)
Most systems cannot easily be changed to deliver more water and protect to lower temperatures. Increasing the operating pressure is not advisable because the volume is not increased substantially (increase from 60 psi to 80 psi may provide only 15 percent more water). Higher pressure may break lines and generate mist; reducing the uniformity of application. Larger nozzles can be installed in some systems but only if the capacity of the mainlines, well and pump can handle the added volume. For example, 9/64-inch nozzles that deliver 0.12 inches water per hour require 60 gallons per min per acre of blueberries. Switching to 5/32-inch nozzles would deliver 0.15 inches per hour but require 68 gallons per minute per acre. Even if systems can provide adequate volume to protect from temperatures in the low 20's, breakage from ice accumulation can be considerable. When to frost protect Dr. Mike Mainland from North Carolina State University suggests not even attempting frost control until at least a few flowers are open. He reasons that most flowers are tight enough to tolerate 22 to 24°F until the first flowers open, so protecting before the first bloom is not useful. The second consideration is wind. Don't attempt to frost protect if the combination of wind and temperature will exceed to capacity of your system to protect (see table). Dr. Mainland suggested studying the weather forecast closely, and hanging colored flagging in the field to indicate wind strength. How early in the evening
should I start irrigating? When can I stop irrigating? Soil surface considerations Another consideration is that moist soils have a higher heat capacity than dry soils, and packed soils are able to absorb more heat than recently cultivated soils. It is not worthwhile to cultivate immediately before a frost. Cultivate at the beginning of the growing season - let rain and vehicle traffic pack the soil so it can retain more heat. Some growers attempt to irrigate during the day prior to predicted frosts in order to increase the capacity of the soil to absorb heat. This may be of some value if water is applied early in the day, and there is ample sun to warm the wet soil. Irrigating late in the day or on cloudy days will not increase soil temperatures and provide more heat at night. The bottom line is that clean, moist and packed soil surfaces absorb the most radiant energy during the day, and protect from frost by releasing this heat during the night. |
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Regional reports |
1 - Southwest |
Weather Last week was cooler with highs in the 60's and lows in the 40's. This slowed plant growth and development. Cool temperatures also slowed insect activity. Rain over the weekend delivered about a quarter up to one inch of rain. Soils are still dry. We have normal development for late April. Soil temperatures are in the mid-50's. Most fruit trees are blooming. There is chance of freezing temperatures Tuesday morning (April 27) but little chance for the upcoming week. Much warmer weather is forecast for the next several days with highs approaching 80°F. Strong Thunderstorms are forecast for Thursday night and Friday, then cooler weather into next week.
Tree fruit Apricot trees still have open bloom and are susceptible to blossom brown rot infection. Peach bloom is ending. Some growers will need to continue brown rot infection later this week. Oriental fruit moth adults began flying last week, but the flight was not sustained during the cool weather. Sweet cherry varieties are past bloom and the petals are browning. Tart cherries are almost at full bloom now. Tart cherries are not as susceptible to brown rot blossom infection as sweet cherries. Tart cherry leaves are about half sized and are now susceptible to cherry leaf spot infection. Tart cherry growers should choose a material that is effective against both diseases. European plums are at full bloom and need brown rot protection. Japanese plum buds are in the shuck and do not. Growers should be applying black knot sprays. Infection can result from 6 hours of wetness at 60°F. Black knot infects actively growing new shoots. Protection needs to be maintained until the end of shoot growth. Apples
are at pink. Early varieties are beginning bloom. Growers should
be maintaining scab protection because the developing fruit are
now exposed. The majority of scab spores are released during the
bloom period. There were several scab infections (April 20 and April
25) in some areas depending on the wetting periods and the dry interval
in between. Scab symptoms should appear in about two weeks (May
4 and May 10). Check the apple scab infection table on page 43 in
the 2004 Michigan Fruit
Management Guide. Growers can use the MSU Scud ICM site http://scud.geo.msu.edu/ to monitor apple
scab and other diseases. At this time about 50 percent of the scab
primary spores in the orchard have matured. Warm weather and rain
forecast for later in the week could cause fireblight infections
in early blooming susceptible apple varieties. Pears are at full bloom. Growers should protect against pear scab. Pear psylla is out in good numbers. Small fruit Grapes buds have burst and leaves have emerged. There is a little damage to Niagara in low cold spots in some vineyards. At this time growers should be scouting for cutworm and flea beetle damage to the swelling buds. Grape berry moth adults have been trapped but this are no cause for concern, as there are no females out yet. Strawberry flower clusters are emerging from the ground. Some growers have been irrigating their plantings Raspberries have leafed out. Winter damage is light. Fall raspberries are emerging from the ground. Cranberries are still dormant. Miscellaneous |
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2 - Southeast |
Weather Over the
weekend of April 16, 17, and 18 our season leapt ahead of normal
by about eight days or so. Those record high temperatures forced
about ten days worth of normal development to occur in a three day
time period. During the week of April 19-23, fruit growth and development
has been more of a normal kind of a pace. The net result of this
wild ride is that our season is running about four to five days
ahead of normal (based on a 30-year average of temperatures at selected
weather stations around the southeast region). Soil moisture
levels have continued to drop over the last week or so. Even though
our soil moisture started out in a fairly good state this spring,
most people have not had a significant rain event over the last
three weeks. While this has been great for planting of tree and
small fruits, there are many growers who are now starting up their
irrigation systems for the first time this year on newly planted
nursery stock. A major rain event (one inch or more) is predicted
for this coming weekend. The low
temperature this morning for the southern part of the region is
in the high 30's and in the northern part of the region in the low
30's. Even colder temperatures are predicted for tonight. There
is a likelihood of some frost injury to stone fruits if temperatures
get in the range of 28 to 29 degrees. Warmer temperatures are predicted
over the next two days with cooling over the weekend.
Tree fruit Spotted
tentiform leafminer adults are flying, however in low amounts (in
the range of 25 to 50 per trap). Oriental fruit moth adults have
been flying on warm days. Some very small larvae of redbanded leafroller
are out and about, as well as adult flight continuing. Apple scab
spore discharge continues with each rain event. However, due to
cold temperatures or quick drying conditions, most growers have
not experienced their first wetting period of the season. We are
getting a fairly good amount of spore discharge, so I encourage
growers to act fairly quickly and aggressively on apple scab control
this spring when they get a wetting event. Pears are white bud to early bloom. Pear psylla adults have been flying for
about a month. Some egg laying has occurred on the buds. Peaches are mostly at pink bud to early bloom. Sweet Cherries are at popcorn to early bloom with tart cherries
about five days behind. Small fruit Raspberry growth continues with about 1 to 2 inches of green tissue showing on
summer varieties. Fall red raspberries have emerged from the ground
and are about 1 to 3 inches in length. Blueberries are mostly at early pink bud. Mummyberry controls are being applied at
this time. Miscellaneous Remember that the Southeast Michigan Fruit Pest Management Code-A-Phone is now operational. That number is 810-732-1005 and is generally updated on Tuesday's around noon. |
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3 - Grand Rapids Area |
Tree fruit Earliest
to mid-season apple varieties started to show the first signs
of king bloom as of April 27. Most apple varieties are in the open
cluster to early pink stage at this time. Sweet
cherries are in bloom. Peaches are nearing full bloom across the Ridge. Because of the potentially large crop, apple growers are encouraged to consider petalfall thinning if the weather is favorable. When you thin at petalfall, you may still have to do thinning at the 10 mm stage, but it might be good to start thinning early this season - watching the weather and taking into freeze/frost events of course. The Sparta,
Belding and Fremont weather stations have recorded two rain events
that have resulted in apple scab infections. Spore numbers have
been moderate with about 25 to 30 percent of the ascospores mature
at this time. Green
fruitworm and redbanded leafroller adults are flying. A few consultants
are reporting seeing rosy apple aphids. Spotted tentiform leafminer
should start to fly at any time if not already. Oriental
fruit moth traps should be up in both peaches and apples - they
should start to fly at any time - pheromone for OFM mating disrupted
blocks should be going on now. Pink sprays should start to be planned for this timing is especially good for rosy apple aphids and spotted tentiform leafminer. With bloom getting close, apple growers will need to think about adding a mildewcide in the tank for powdery mildew in the next week or so for those varieties that are susceptible to it. |
4 - West Central |
Weather and crop development Growing degree day totals since March 1, as of Sunday, April 24
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