Grape growth is a bit ahead of normal this year. Grapes are at the critical early shoot growth stage when Phomopsis cane and leaf spot infections occur. This is a critical time to take preventative control measures for this disease. If left unchecked, the early shoot infections will spread to cluster stems and developing berries….Read more about Early season sprays for grapes[Read More]
Grapes
Indiana Horticultural Society Field Day June 28, 2017 Tuttle Orchard Greenfield, IN More details to come but mark the date on your calendar and plan to attend Indiana Horticultural Congress February 13-15, 2018 Indianapolis Marriott East Indianapolis, IN For further information contact Lori Jolly-Brown @ljollybr@purdue.edu or visit www.inhortcongress.org for more details.
The 2017 growing season has officially started as vines are budding out. As we go through the next couple of weeks, it is important to realize that some potential pest and disease problems require early season sprays. The first is Phomopsis, a major problem on many grape varieties in the Midwest. Mancozeb should be applied…Read more about Early Season Sprays for Grapes[Read More]
As the spray season approaches, it is good to remember the profound impact water quality has on the performance of pesticides used by fruit growers. Purdue Pesticides Program recently published a guide, The Impact of Water Quality on Pesticide Performance PPP-86, available at the Education Store, 1-888-EXT-INFO or www.extension.purdue.edu/store/. I highly recommend this guide to…Read more about Effects of Water Quality of Pesticides[Read More]
The results of a historical primate behavior analysis suggest that species with fruit-filled diets evolved larger brains. A popular theory among evolutionary biologists is that we have our sociability to thank for our big brains. This “social brain hypothesis” suggests that the mental effort involved in interacting with others eventually increased our cognitive capacity. However,…Read more about New study: Diet contributes to brain size[Read More]
Spring freeze damage can be a significant economic problem for Midwest grape growers. Widespread damage occurred in 2007 and 2012 when warm temperatures in March were followed by freezing temperatures in April. Obviously this year we have had a very warm February, but more normal March. So far it looks like bud swell is on…Read more about Avoiding spring freeze injury in grapes[Read More]
Following a very early warm-up, temperatures cooled off the middle of March slowing crop development and bringing us back closer to normal. In southern areas, peaches are in full bloom, but only just showing a little pink in more northern areas. Apples are still in tight cluster and probably at least 10 days from full…Read more about Crop Conditions[Read More]
Grape harvest continues across the state. Overall fruit quality has been excellent, but maintaining that quality with all the rain recently is challenging. Thin skinned varieties have fruit cracking and rot problems. Primocane fruiting blackberry harvest continues into its fourth week on Black magic, with APF-45 just getting started. Heritage and Caroline primocane fruiting raspberries…Read more about Crop Conditions[Read More]