What an unusual spring it’s been. We started out extremely early, then it was cool for a month or so with hardly any Growing Degree Day accumulation, then warm again (see Figure 1). Just when apple crops started to get in the window for chemical thinning (around 12 mm), it became cool again. The good[Read More…]
Crop Management
Grapes are at the 8-10 inch shoot stage in southern Indiana and 6 inches or less in northern Indiana. Brambles are blooming in the south and approaching first bloom in central and northern areas. Blueberries are at petal fall to full bloom across the state. There are a few reports of damage to grapes and[Read More…]
One of the most critical management practices for grapes is crop load management through shoot and cluster thinning. 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 can lead to excess crop and shading in the canopy. In addition, some[Read More…]
The recent spate of cool, wet weather has left one organism happy, Venturia inaequalis, the fungus that causes apple scab. Most of the state just underwent an extreme scab period, and unfortunately, few of us could do anything about it because of the combination of rain and wind. The revised Mill’s table (from http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/tfabp/revmills.htm )identifies[Read More…]
Grapes have grown quickly this past week and most varieties are now past bud burst. The earliest have 4 to 6 inch shoots at this time. Blackberries and raspberries are also growing rapidly, with new primocanes emerging from the ground and laterals on floricanes out to 4 inches or longer. Flower buds are visible on[Read More…]
Upticks in powdery mildew last year, plus a mild winter (which allows the fungus to overwinter in buds) set the stage for powdery mildew (Fig.3). Early season rains kept things at bay, but the recent change to drier weather while leaves continue to grow sets the stage for this disease. Powdery mildew is active during[Read More…]
The last few weeks has been a dark time for our industry. We have lost some of the stalwarts of the fruit and vegetable industries. We remember: George A. Adrian, 95, Indianapolis Thomas E. Roney, 70, Greenfield Gene M. Wild, 90, Zionsville John Hilger, Ft. Wayne Abner J. Horrall, 85, Bicknell While these folks came[Read More…]
We’re getting close to the time when growers need to make chemical thinning decisions – for many the most perplexing and risky decision they will make all year. This is usually a tricky call to make, even more so when we have had spring frosts. Luckily in most places the spring frosts have not been[Read More…]
Although we started off the spring extremely early, an extended cool period has delayed crop development, reduce risk of frost, and made many growers feel a lot more comfortable. As can be seen from Figure 1, we are still tracking early in terms of growing degree days, but not as early as 2012. We are[Read More…]