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| Fruit Crop Advisory Team Alert newsletter | |||||||
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| Vol. 23, No. 17, September 2, 2008 |
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In this issue |
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| Appearance of late summer mites in tree fruits With the relatively cool Michigan spring/early summer and repeated episodes of early heavy rain, European red mite and two-spotted spider mite populations remained low in most apple and stone fruit orchards. Economic thresholds for justifying control measures are well established, but they mostly target scouting data obtained in June - August:
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| If a miticide spray is necessary, using a fast-acting contact material with a short pre-harvest interval (PHI) is most likely to provide control under these late-season conditions. Kanemite is labeled for mite control in apples with a 14-day PHI, while Acramite is labeled in apples with a seven-day PHI and for peaches and plums with a three-day PHI. However, the more probable concern is how these late season mite populations will impact the 2009 production season. European red mite adults will be laying eggs on spur shoots and limb crotches over the next several weeks, which will serve as the starting point for next year’s spring mite population. We recommend that orchards that currently have high European red mite populations be marked for pre-bloom scouting next spring in order to get a jump on optimal control tactics for the season. Late season populations of two-spotted spider mites provide a slightly different situation. In cherries, post-harvest management of two-spotted spider mites is common, and maintaining healthy foliage into the fall is important for sustainable fruit production. Two-spotted spider mites change color as they move to overwintering sites; they lose their spots and take on an orangish-color. These overwintering adults and immatures move to rough areas of tree bark or in leaf litter on the ground in early to mid-September. Often we observe these populations at the bases of trees in a web of orange mites. Once this overwintering migration begins, control actions are no longer warranted. We recommend that orchards with high two-spotted spider mite populations in August be marked for scouting next May or June, earlier than would be warranted under typical conditions. We also recommend that scouts and growers document the levels of predacious mites in these orchards right now. If healthy populations of mite predators exist, they will continue to feed on European red mite eggs well into October, potentially reducing the egg populations well below the levels that would justify control next spring. To report on predacious mites, scouts and growers should collect a 100-leaf sample and count the numbers of each of the predator mite species. The three most important predaceous mites are Amblyseius fallacis (Phytoseiidae), Agistemus fleschneri (Stigmaeidae), and Zetzellia mali (Stigmaeidae) (see “A Pocket Guide for IPM Scouting in Michigan Apples” – E-2720 for pictures). Predaceous mites are smaller than adult European red mites, but they can be seen with a hand lens and typically move very quickly across leaf surfaces. The presence of predaceous mites, greater than one per leaf, can be enough to make a significant impact on the overwintering European red mite egg population.
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Irrigation a critical tool for fruit quality and cropping
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| Irrigation workshop December 11 – 12 The MSU Extension fruit team has identified irrigation for fruit plantings as a critical educational topic for the last few years. A two day workshop is being organized by Dr. Ron Perry and Amy Irish-Brown to help educate and address this need at the upcoming EXPO in Grand Rapids. The workshop will be conducted at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in association with the Fruit and Vegetable EXPO on Thursday and Friday, Dec 11 and 12. We have invited one of California’s foremost authorities on the subject Dr. Stuart Styles to deliver over 85 percent of the instruction on irrigation design, equipment, scheduling, maintenance, fertigation, injection and filtration systems. Dr. Styles is director of the Irrigation Training and Research Center, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo http://www.itrc.org/faculty/styles.htm. He has developed an outstanding reputation for putting on excellent workshops on the topic in California and in other states. In addition, Dr. Perry and Dr. Jim Flore of the Department of Horticulture will assist Dr. Styles to cover fruit crop water needs of our Michigan fruit plants. The focus of the workshop will be on micro irrigation systems (drip and micro sprinklers) for fruit plantings. Details on registration will be available in EXPO registration forms and at county extension offices. |
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| TNRC Field Day We will be having a research field day at the Trevor Nichols Research Complex on Wednesday, September 24 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. The field day will focus on insect and disease research and efficacy trials that were carried out this season by Larry Gut, Rufus Isaacs, Annemiek Schilder, George Sundin, Mark Whalon and John Wise. The TNRC is located at 6237 124th Ave. in Fennville, Michigan. See our Web page for directions: http://www.maes.msu.edu/tnrc/index.html |
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| Michigan growers invited to submit proposals The North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (NCR-SARE) is announcing its 2008 Farmer Rancher Grant Call for Proposals. All needed documents are available online at http://www.sare.org/NCRSARE/prod.htm. The web site also offers state-by-state data for past recipients of the grants. Farmers and ranchers in the North Central Region can submit proposals for grants to support sustainable agriculture project ideas initiated by growers. Projects should emphasize research or education and demonstration. Grants can range from $6,000 for individual farmers and up to $18,000 for groups of three or more farmers. NCR-SARE expects to fund about 50 projects in the twelve-state North Central Region. Producers can submit proposals via email. NCR-SARE is now asking applicants to complete a brief budget narrative in their project proposal. Also, beginning farmers and/or youth may apply. The deadline for proposals is Monday, December 1, 2008 at 4:30 PM. Potential applicants with questions can contact Michigan’s NCR-SARE coordinator Dale Mutch at 1-800-521-2619, mutch@msu.edu. Or send questions to the regional coordinator, Joan Benjamin, NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher Grant Program Coordinator, at jbenjamin2@unl.edu or 402-472-0809. The NCR has funded more than 650 farmer rancher grants worth more than $4,300,000 since the inception of this program. |
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| Regional reports 1 -- Southwest Mark Longstroth Bill Shane Apple maturity reports from Southwest Michigan and other Michigan regions begin this week. They are available by email or by going to www.maes.msu.edu/swmrec. Look under publications for fruit reports. If you are interested in receiving the southwest regional reports by email contact Bill Shane. WeatherTemperatures were moderate during the past week similar to the week before. Highs have been in the mid- to upper 70s and lows near 50 with a light rain last Friday, August 29 at the southern end of Berrien County. Soils remain dry with southern areas as much as five inches below normal for the year. Plants in sandy sites are showing poor color and nutrient deficiency symptoms.
Tree fruit Young trees should be irrigated to reduce drought stress. San Jose scale male moth catch has declined, but crawlers are still emerging and can cause fruit damage. Growers should note where fruit are showing scale damage so that control strategies for next year can be planned. Codling moth and Oriental fruit moth are still flying in significant numbers in many area orchards. Trevor Nichols Research Station in Fennville is still catching significant numbers of Japanese beetle adults, although activity in the lower southwest region has dropped off considerably. Peach harvest includes ‘PF23’, ‘Cresthaven’, ‘Redskin’ and ‘Glowingstar.’ Fruit color and quality continues to be very good although fruit size is suffering in some sandy sites due to lack of rain. Bacterial spot symptoms on fruit are widespread but generally not severe except on a few very susceptible varieties. Brown rot is only a minor problem in the area. Oriental fruit moth entries into fruit can be found occasionally. The third generation of Oriental fruit moth is flying. In cherries, leaf yellowing and drop from cherry leaf spot continues, but drought stress will also cause leaf drop. Post harvest pruning should be completed soon. Plum varieties being harvested include ‘Simka’, ‘Castleton’, and ‘NY6’ with ‘Stanleys’ starting in a few weeks. Brown rot incidence is generally low. Growers should scout for apple maggot, white apple and potato leafhoppers. Harvest of ‘Gala’ and ‘Golden Supreme’ apples are underway. Harvest of ‘Empires’ for taffy apples is continuing. ‘Jonagold’ apples in orchards with light crops, although not fully mature, are being picked now before they become too large for the processing equipment. Many varieties such as ‘Empire’, ‘Golden Supreme’, and ‘Honeycrisp’ are showing sunscald symptoms. Trap catch for codling moth has been essentially continuous since mid-June for several orchards with relatively high population levels. Unlike codling moth, Oriental fruitmoth larvae tend to enter fruit at the stem or calyx ends. Few apple maggots have been caught for several weeks in southwest Michigan. Apple maggot emerges following rain, about one-quarter of an inch is considered the trigger amount. This means that growers can expect an increased emergence following rain. Obliquebanded leafroller larvae range from one-quarter to three-quarters of an inch and are targeting fruit now. Green apple aphids are leaving apple orchards as new terminal growth ceases. White apple leafhopper leaf stippling and bronzing due to European red mites are generally scarce. Growers should inspect calyx ends of apples for mite eggs. San Jose scale male trap catch has been declining since early August however crawlers are still emerging out causing red spots on apple fruit is showing up. Young trees should be irrigated and examined for potato leafhopper. In pears, ‘Bartlett’ harvest is underway. Quality is good, although size is down slightly. Both codling moth and oriental fruit moth can damage pear fruit at this time. Small fruit Blueberry harvest is winding down with ‘Elliot’ being harvested now. Anthracnose ripe rot, small fruit and soft fruit have been a problem. Leaf spots are a problem is some areas. Drought stress is revealing other mineral nutrition problems such as iron and potash. Japanese beetles and blueberry maggot flies are out. Grapes are in veraison. A wide range of fruit maturities are present in both juice and fresh type vineyards that were damaged by frost. Vineyards that have historically had high grape berry moth pressure should be treated. Phomopsis berry rots are showing up. With frequent heavy dews, we expect downy mildew to increase. Fungicides at this time should target downy mildew. Botrytis fruit rot has been found in wine grapes. Strawberries should be protected against potato leafhoppers to prevent stunted growth. Irrigation is very important for good growth during this dry season. Fall raspberry harvest is underway. We are now receiving heavy dews every morning, so growers should protect against botrytis or gray mold in ripening fall fruit. Dry conditions have made irrigation important for getting good fruit size. |
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| 2 -- Southeast Bob Tritten Weather Over the last two weeks, we have had a couple short stretches of summer-like weather with temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s. One thing that has been a bit unusual is the fact that we’ve had many cool nights. These cool nights have helped to slow down the ripening of peaches and blueberries, and have also helped to color apples well. For the most part, fruit farms are on the dry side across the region, we could use some moisture. Generally speaking, most farms in the last two weeks have received between one-half and three-quarters of an inch of rain. Both tree and small fruit on sandy soils continue to show signs of drought stress. Our season is still running about normal in terms of degree day totals and may be running a bit ahead of normal when I look at the ripening of ‘Gala’ and few other apple varieties. Southeast Michigan growing degree day totals for March 1 to September 1
Tree fruit Apples have continued to size quite well where soil moisture has been adequate, however where soil moisture has been dry fruit size has suffered. For the most part, apples are in the range of three inches to three and a quarter inches with some of the largest ‘Honeycrisp’ being almost three and three-quarter inches. ‘Paula red’ harvest is pretty well complete across the region, and growers are now finishing up ‘Gingergold.’ There will be a bit of a gap in apple harvest for a time until ‘Gala’ begins to ripen. At this point in time it appears that some of the earlier strains of ‘Gala’ will be ahead of ‘McIntosh’ this year, and some of the later maturing ‘Gala’ strains appear to be maturing after ‘McIntosh.’ The Apple Maturity Project is now up and running, and as of yesterday (September 1), I have collected my second week’s worth of samples. More data will be available tomorrow on apple maturity across the region. For the most, part pest populations have been quiet over the last few days, and most growers applied their last insecticide to wrap up pest control for the year in the last two weeks. Codling moth trap catch in both mating disrupted blocks and nonmating disrupted blocks has dropped back dramatically in the last week, indicating that the second generation adult flight is now ended. With all these cool nights, codling moth flight has been a bit erratic. Apple maggot trap catch is generally down across the region as well. Woolly apple aphid populations are the last remaining pest that I encourage growers to keep an eye on across the region. I am seeing numbers in many blocks continuing to build. Last year this pest exploded at many apple blocks in early September. So, I encourage growers to do a good job of scouting for woolly apple aphid over the next three weeks. Oriental fruitmoth populations have pretty well dropped back across the region, although a few farms have trap catches that have remained high. Generally, mite populations are under control for European red mites and two-spotted spider mites. Many growers applied a miticide in the last two weeks as mite eggs were beginning to be laid in the calyx ends of apples. Black rot is the only major disease problem that I have seen on apples in the last two weeks. Black rot starts as a small black lesion that quickly expands to rot a larger portion of the apple. I see black rot primarily on earlier maturing apple varieties such as ‘Gala’, ‘Honeycrisp’ and a few ‘McIntosh.’ Later season applications of Captan have been required to keep this disease under check. I am not seeing any symptoms of sooty blotch or fly speck at this time. This morning I had a report of new fire blight strikes being seen in the Thumb. Pears have taken on a nice swell in the last two weeks, with many blocks of ‘Bartlett’s’ beginning to be harvested in the last day or so. Growers have some time to wrap up ‘Bartlett’ pear harvest. Peach harvest is just about finished across the region with some of the later varieties of ‘Canadian Harmony’ and ‘Loring.’ For the most part, peach size late in the season has been good where soil moisture has been adequate, however where soil moisture has been short, peach size has suffered. For the most part, growers had an excellent peach season this year across east Michigan where peaches were present. Remember that there were many farms that lost their entire crop of peaches due to spring frost and freeze issues. X-disease is still being seen in a few blocks of peaches. Plums are mostly at a one and a half inches in diameter and have colored very well in the last two weeks. Plum harvest is a bit off yet, and several growers have had issues with fruit finish due to spring frost and freeze problems. Brown rot continues to be seen in a few blocks of plums. Small fruit Strawberries look much better now than they did three weeks or so ago, since most of the farms have received somewhat adequate moisture supplies. However I would say that many strawberry fields are looking rather weedy as several post harvest or renovation herbicide applications seemed like they have not worked as well this year. Many growers have applied a second application of herbicide close to Labor Day time to hopefully provide some better weed control throughout the fall. Newly planted fields of strawberries have filled out the row nicely, and are continuing to do well. Potato leafhopper populations are high in many new plantings of strawberries. I continue to see plant collapse from white grub feeding activity. Raspberry harvest continues across the region for fall bearing raspberries. Potato leafhopper populations continue to be a problem in many newly planted fall red raspberries. Also two-spotted spider mites are being seen in good numbers at a few farms. Blueberry harvest is pretty well wrapping up across the region with just the remainder of the ‘Jersey’ and later varieties that are on their third or fourth picking. Berry size has been an issue at many farms across the region, particularly on drier sites. |
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| 3 -- Grand Rapids Area Phil Schwallier Amy Irish-Brown Carol Garcia-Salazar Tree fruit ‘Paula Red’ harvest is nearly over with only some second pickings to go. Growers should be looking closely at ‘Gala’ as they are being reported to be maturing earlier than expected in areas to the south of us. Retain applications need to be made 30 days ahead of anticipated harvest dates to be the most effective. That means that Retain should go on ‘Goldens’ and ‘Reds’ right away although there probably aren’t enough ‘Red Delicious’ out there to warrant Retain use this year. You shouldn’t have any problems keeping ahead of Reds at harvest time. Retain should go on ‘Ida Reds’ sometime next week around September 9. Our degree day accumulations since the regional codling moth biofix on May 24 are 1710 DD50 through Monday, September 1. This indicates that second generation egg hatch is most likely past peak and should be coming to an end around the middle to end of next week. Your own trap counts are your best indication of what’s going on in your blocks, but on a regional level, second generation codling moth egg hatch is nearly over. Cover sprays are only important to maintain where you have trap numbers over the threshold of five moths per trap accumulated over time for this generation in non-disrupted blocks and two moths per trap accumulated for disrupted blocks. We’ve accumulated 2343 DD45 at the Sparta station from my May 8 regional Oriental fruitmoth biofix. This indicates that egg hatch for the third generation of Oriental fruitmoth should be well under way. We rarely see apple stings from Oriental fruitmoth in this area. It’s a good idea to have a few Oriental fruitmoth traps in your disrupted apple blocks just to know what’s going on with this insect, but the trap numbers I’ve seen don’t indicate a problem in apple this year. Obliquebanded leafroller should be hatching again soon, but adult flight was very low for this generation and they should be low in activity overall, but it’s still important to be scouting for them. San Jose scale is being reported in some apple blocks. While it’s too late to do anything for the damage this year, it is a good idea to make a note of which blocks you are seeing scale on fruits so that you can watch more closely for their presence early next year. Small fruit Blueberry harvest in the central region is in its final phase. So far, early and mid-season varieties have been harvested and activities are concentrated on the harvest of ‘Elliott.’ Despite the abundance of this year’s crop, there have been problems related to quality. Early in the season some of the first fruits harvested were soft due to the intense rains that occurred during that period. This situation forced some growers to machine harvest those fields that otherwise could have been destined for the fresh market. Later on during August, we had a drought situation (rain accumulation during this month was 1.19 inches) that affected blueberries that did not receive enough supplemental irrigation. This situation affected the quality of harvested blueberries. And again, these fields had to be machine harvested because the quality was not good for the fresh market. Another problem has been market prices for fresh and processing blueberries. Due to an overloaded market with frozen blueberries from the previous year, and the abundant crop from New Jersey, prices for Michigan’s fresh early season blueberries were too low. Average prices paid for those berries varied between $0.80 to $1.00 per pound for fresh, and $0.50-$0.80 per pound for machine harvested blueberries. As of September 1, prices for fresh blueberries are improving. The latest report from the USDA Agricultural Market showed that on prices for fresh blueberries in the main terminal markets are between $20 and $28 per flat of 12 one-pint cups with lids. |
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| 4 -- West Central Mira Danilovich Weather and crop development Weather has been seasonably warm and extremely dry. For the month of August deviation from normal precipitation is as follows: Oceana County (minus 1.49inches), Mason County (minus 3.2 inches) and Manistee County (-2.25”). Most of the rain came in the first week of August and since than for the most part it has been very dry. Last week Oceana County received 0.73-inch of much needed rain. Northern parts of the district did not have that fortune. The weather station in Mason County registered 0.04-inch and zero inches in Manistee County. This prolonged lack of moisture is taking its toll on the trees. Signs of stress are evident and in many cases, particularly on the shallow-rooted rootstock, we are seeing complete defoliation. Besides that, there are symptoms of other disorders accentuated by the drought stress, micronutrient deficiencies (Boron, Magnesium, Zinc, Manganese, etc.), flaring up of spider mites, compromised fruit size, etc. West Central Michigan GDD totals from March 1, as of September 1
Currently, peaches, nectarines, plums and early apple harvest are being harvested. Brown rot on all stone fruit has been a problem. Leaf loss in cherries due to previous cherry leaf spot infections and accentuated by the prolonged drought is becoming more evident and common throughout the area. Bacterial canker (plums, apples, and peaches), bacterial leaf spot (peaches, plums) and x-disease symptoms (peaches) are present in many orchards throughout the district. In the last two weeks, codling moth trap catches have dropped from 3.8 moths per trap to 2.3 moths. Oriental fruitmoth numbers have gone up significantly from 1.5 to eight per trap indicating that the third generation is well on its way. American plum borer trap catches have dropped from 23 to 16 moths per trap. Lesser peach tree borer trap catches have been going up and down, in reference to a week before, last week’s trap catches (120 per trap) were 12 times higher, while this past week’s trap catches indicate a 60 percent drop in their numbers. Greater peach tree borer trap catches are showing similar trend, they have gone from 10 per trap to 47 and, this past week, down to 23. Apple maggot trap catches are quite variable. In most of the blocks, they are still relatively low while in some are in two-digit numbers. In the abandoned block, the apple maggot trap catch numbers have gone from one to four. Obliquebanded leafroller numbers are up. Redbanded leafroller numbers for the two-week period are up from 1.5 per trap to four. Mite population has gone up significantly. Many blocks are showing leaf bronzing and defoliation. |
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| 5 -- Northwest Nikki Rothwell Duke Elsner Erin Lizotte Rob Sirrine Growing degree day accumulations at NWMHRS GDD42 2985 GDD50 1953 Weather On the first of September, we had the hottest day of summer. Temperatures reached into the 90s, and we expect more of the same today. Conditions are extremely dry, and we have accumulated only 0.86 inches of rain in the last month. Crop report All cherry harvest is complete, and many growers have finished with their post-harvest sprays. Very early apples, such as ‘Lodi’, are available in the region. Due to lack of rain, non-irrigated apples are particularly small in size. We will begin testing other early varieties for maturity later this week. In cherries, obliquebanded leafroller numbers are still high at the NWMHRS, particularly in our cherry blocks. We captured over 75 moths in one block, and overall catches are in the mid-40s. Most borer catch at this time is greater peachtree borer, and we are still catching cherry fruit flies in the entomology block. Many orchards with cherry leaf spot have had a post-harvest spray. The insect pest to note in apples this week is our apple maggot catch. This week was the first time where we caught apple maggot, so growers need to be aware these adults are flying. We are also still catching a small number of codling moth, approximately five to six per trap. In grapes, things in the vineyard look good at this time, except for some growers that missed a few crucial powdery mildew sprays. As with many other tree fruit crops, two-spotted spider mites have been problematic in some regional vineyards, particularly those without irrigation. |
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| Weather news Jeff Andresen A significant change in weather is in store for the Upper Midwest with the formation of a troughing feature across central North America and the remnants of Hurricane Gustav edging towards Michigan during the next few days. In general, this change is expected to lead to a cooler and wetter weather pattern across Michigan for much of the next one to two weeks. In the short term, a cool front will pass west to east across the state Wednesday, September 3, bringing the chance for a few showers. Best chances for rainfall will be across northern sections of the state. Following the passage of the cool front, high pressure will temporarily move into the region with cooler and drier weather expected overnight Wednesday into Thursday. It is looking more likely now that the remnants of Hurricane Gustav will drift north- and eastward into the region by late Thursday, with the likelihood of a steady rainfall by Friday continuing into the early weekend. Some one inch rainfall totals will be possible with this weather system across southern and central sections of the state, which should ease the symptoms of prolonged dryness that have developed during the past few weeks. Temperatures will fall back to normal or slightly below normal levels during the next few days, with highs Wednesday from 70°F north to near 80°F south and lows generally in the 50s through the early weekend. In the medium range time frame, the forecast is based primarily on the upper air changes mentioned above. The National Weather Service 6 ‑ 10 day, covering September 7-11, and 8 ‑ 14 day, covering September 9-15, outlooks both call for below normal mean temperatures across Michigan and the Great Lakes region. Precipitation totals are forecast to increase to above normal levels statewide during the 6 - 10 day time frame and range from below normal in southern sections of the state to near normal in northern and central sections during the 8 - 14 day period. |
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