The symptoms of flyspeck and sooty blotch have begun to make their appearance. I know this because 1). I’m starting to see spots, and 2). We have accumulated MORE THAN enough hours of post- petal fall leaf wetness needed for infection to occur. First, what is enough hours of post- petal fall leaf wetness needed…Read more about Symptoms of flyspeck and sooty blotch[Read More]
Apples
Harvest of early season apples has begun in many places around the state. Many of these early apples can suffer from extreme pre-harvest drop. Pristine is certainly in this category, so be careful not to allow fruit to become too ripe on the tree. This risks a large proportion of the crop falling on the…Read more about Early season apples[Read More]
This pest has been extremely common in many locations this year. They can cause defoliation of a number of fruit crops and can be especially devastating to young trees, so they need to be controlled to prevent losses. They also like to feed on most of the small fruits, early maturing varieties of apples, and…Read more about Japanese Beetles[Read More]
Mites continue to be a concern for both fruit and vegetable growers. We are just now at the historical peak population time for European red mites. Fruit growers should be scouting their more susceptible blocks regularly for the next few weeks. The thresholds for treatment increase as we get later in the season. See https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/E-258/E-258.html…Read more about European Red Mites[Read More]
I continue to catch low numbers of codling moths in my pheromone traps. As I explained in a previous FFF article, in the lower Midwest, we don’t have distinct generations. Out moth catches seldom go down to zero, so there is always a threat for codling moth. Apple growers should be sure that they are…Read more about Codling Moth[Read More]
At midseason, scout fruit (20-30 apples or pear) in the interior canopy of sample trees. Signs of this disease are more obvious on light colored fruit, like Golden Delicious, Pristine, or Yellow Transparent. The disease is worse in poorly pruned trees in the wetter, foggy, slow-drying areas of the orchard. This year, in some parts…Read more about Sooty Blotch and Flyspeck[Read More]
Warm, wet, summer weather, coupled with any lapses in orchard sanitation, can result in summer disease outbreaks. At Meigs, we are seeing the foliar stage of Botryosphaeria, aka frog eye leaf spot (Fig. 1). On the plus side, we won’t be surprised when we see black rot on the apples at harvest (Fig. 2). Fortunately,…Read more about Summer Diseases[Read More]
Although PristineTM was selected in 1982, its history goes back to the early days of the PRI breeding program. From an original cross of Rome Beauty with Malus floribunda 821, selections and hybridizations were made incorporating Golden Delicious, McIntosh, Starking Delicious and Cazumat along the way. The cross that resulted in PristineTM was Coop 10…Read more about PristineTM apple[Read More]