I have seen some pretty impressive infestations of overwintering San Jose scale this spring. These infestations re-emphasize the importance of putting on a dormant oil spray each spring, as scales are one of the pests controlled by that application. SJS overwinters as an immature and is now at the point of maturing. Shortly after, they[Read More…]
Grapes
Grapes are at the 4 to 8 inch stage in Lafayette. Blackberries are just starting to bloom. Raspberries have a few flower buds starting to show. Strawberry bloom continues. Blueberries are at petal fall. Fruit set for apples and peaches has generally been adequate and thinning will be necessary. Cloudy weather during early fruit development[Read More…]
Grapes in the southern half of the state will soon be reaching the critical pre-bloom stage, which is a key time to control important diseases such as black rot, downy mildew, and powdery mildew. The next three or four sprays will be critical in controlling fruit infections. Growers should pay extra attention to getting thorough[Read More…]
Crop management through shoot and cluster thinning is a critical management practice for most varieties. Many varieties grown in Indiana tend to produce a large number of “non-count” shoots from adventitious buds and basal buds at count nodes. This lead to excess crop and shading in the canopy. Shoot thinning reduces excess shoot number to[Read More…]
Grape growth is a bit ahead of normal this year. Grapes are at the critical 1 to 3 inch shoot length when Phomopsis cane and leaf spot infections occur. This is a critical time to take control measures for this disease. If left unchecked, the early shoot infections will spread to cluster stems and developing[Read More…]
The 2016 Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide (ID-465) is available for purchase from the Purdue Education Store. This publication replaces two previous annual publications: The Midwest Tree Fruit Spray Guide (ID-168) and The Midwest Small Fruit and Grape Spray Guide (ID-169). This guide provides pest management recommendations for commercial tree fruit, small fruit, and grape[Read More…]
There has been some talk about the use of promalin to help overcome the damaging effects of freezing temperatures. Only a small amount of research has been conducted on this. Dr Steve McArtney showed that promalin applied after damaging freeze events could increase parthenocarpic (seedless) fruit development. Keep in mind this was only shown to[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…]
There are some potential pest and disease problems that require early season sprays. Phomopsis is a major problem on many grape varieties in the Midwest. Mancozeb should be applied starting at 1-3 inch shoots and repeated each 7-10 days, especially prior to a predicted rain event. Colleagues in Michigan and Ohio have been conducting evaluations[Read More…]