A number of growers have experienced increasing problems with woolly apple aphids over the last several seasons. Part of the reason for the increased populations may be related to the changing spectrum of insecticides you are using to control other pests. Our experience has been that many of the aphicides that are available that provide[Read More…]
Tree Fruit
One way insects communicate with individuals of the same species is with pheromones. Pheromones are volatile chemicals released by an insect that usually can be detected only by individuals of the same species. There are a number of different types of pheromones, but the most common type is the sex pheromone. Usually the females will[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…]
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…]
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…]
Spring is in the air, and soon, ascospores, basidiospores, and conidia will be as well–Now is the time for disease management! Not sure what to spray or when to spray it? There is always the Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide, available at: https://ag.purdue.edu/hla/Hort/Documents/ID-465.pdf For those of you who would like a different approach and layout,[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…]
We just completed a new publication that will assist fruit and vegetable growers in protecting pollinators while still managing their insect pests. The title is “Protecting Pollinators in Fruit and Vegetable Production.” It can be found at https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/POL-2/POL-2.html. There are two companion publications in this series, “Protecting Pollinators in Home Lawns and Landscapes” and “Protecting[Read More…]