Bramble Fruit
Tissue analysis is the most reliable means of determining plant nutritional status. Combined with soil testing, tissue analysis can help pinpoint the source of problems and determine what measures may be needed to ensure proper nutrition of the crop. Tissue analysis samples should be collected at the appropriate time to give the most meaningful results.[Read More…]
There are so many different kinds of insects, but we often focus on the ones that cause damage (for obvious reasons). However, there are many beneficial, predatory insects you can be on the lookout for in your fruit plantings! These insects can be seen throughout the season, attacking aphids, mealybugs, caterpillars, mites, and even scale[Read More…]
At the Meigs Horticultural facility, we have been busy completing cover sprays and with crop maintenance. The total rainfall at Meigs this June has totaled a half inch. We need rain to help with fruit development. As a result of very little rainfall, we’ve had very little disease pressure. The last harvest of our Strawberries[Read More…]
When Neil Young was singing about “Rust Never Sleeps,” I doubt he meant orange rust, caused by the fungus Gymnoconia nitens (formerly Arthuriomyces peckianus). But who knows? Maybe he did? And he’d be right: This rust is definitely not sleeping! Despite unusually dry conditions throughout much of the state, orange rust is still making its presence known[Read More…]
I hope the growing season is going well for all fruit producers! For this issue, I am sharing a quick update on what we’re seeing in pheromone-baited monitoring traps placed in orchards at the Purdue Agricultural Center in Lafayette, Indiana (Tippecanoe County), as well as orchards of collaborating Indiana growers (thank you!) in Tippecanoe and[Read More…]
This time of year, my email inbox and phone text messages are filled with ugly photos of fruit and vegetable crops affected by suspected herbicide exposure. Sometimes the symptomology points toward a clear cause and effect, but most of the time the answer is not so clear-cut. Here are a couple recent examples: Cupping and[Read More…]
At the Meigs Horticultural facility we are now seeing, more clearly, the damages from the April 24th freezing temperatures. All fruit crops are starting to grow out of that damage, which is good to see. I would still say that our loss on crops across the farm is 10-15% except for the Shiro Plums. The[Read More…]