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…]
Pome Fruits
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…]
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…]
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…]
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…]
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…]
ReTain (AVG) is a plant growth regulator that blocks the production of ethylene. When ReTain is applied to apple, several ripening processes are slowed, including preharvest drop, fruit flesh softening, starch disappearance, and red color formation. In order for ReTain to be effective it must be applied well in advance of the climacteric rise in[Read More…]
Preharvest drop refers to the process where fruit fall from the tree prior to harvest. Not all apple varieties are affected, but with some, such as McIntosh and Pristine, pre-harvest drop can be extreme. Several growth regulator materials are available to growers to help reduce pre-harvest drop. These materials are often referred to as “stop-drop”[Read More…]
Making the decision on when to harvest can be a very tricky and complicated issue. The longer you intend to store the fruit, the more precise your timing needs to be. For summer apples, most growers only intend to store fruit until their better quality fall apples come on stream, so storage times beyond a[Read More…]