For those of you still fortunately enough to have apples, disease management continues to a greater degree than those of us without a crop. Around now (the beginning of cover sprays), the most serious apple pathogens are generally less active, terminal buds have set, leaves have hardened off (and are now less susceptible) and weather[Read More…]
Disease Management
The periodical cicada (Figure 1) emergence is expected to begin shortly. Female cicadas lay eggs in 200+ woody tree species (Figure 2), and they have a strong preference for grapevines, apples, cherries, peaches, & plums. Egg laying can weaken and damage branches, causing them to turn brown, die, and break off. The loss of branches[Read More…]
Grapevines are in various stages of early growth throughout Indiana, ranging from bud swell to 2-4 in shoot growth. A cold weather event came across the state from 4/20-4/22 bringing temperatures as low as 27 F. Damage is still being assessed, but if significant primary bud damage occurs we will expect to see emergence of[Read More…]
Freeze: There really isn’t much that can be added to the wonderful and unfortunately timely article about Frost. Critical Temperatures and Frost Protection by Rob Crassweller at https://extension.psu.edu/frost-critical-temperatures-and-frost-protection With a frost to freeze expected to cover most of the state on April 21 and 22, there will certainly be crop damage and loss (Fig. 1).[Read More…]
After what can only be described as a very early spring, we are entering the unusual situation of worrying about fire blight in April. Summer-like weather, rainfall, thunderstorms and hail mean that growers should be very concerned about fire blight. It is important to note that the fire blight pathogen, Erwinia amylovora, is always present[Read More…]
A natural wonder will occur in 15 states this year: the emergence of the Brood X, 17-year periodical cicadas! Also known as “17-year or 13-year locusts” the last mass emergence of these insects occurred in 2004. Now, 17 years later, the immature cicadas will emerge from the ground, molt one last time to gain wings,[Read More…]
A special project group of the North Central Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Center wants to learn about your concerns and experiences with herbicide drift. The group is surveying growers of fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops in the upper Midwest. To truly understand the frequency, severity, and economic impact of herbicide drift on specialty crops,[Read More…]
One of our earliest harvested fruit crops in Indiana are strawberries. This is good and bad news, depending upon the occurrence of a late spring freeze. Strawberries are very susceptible to these freezes for a number of reasons: Air temperature at ground level is often colder than the reported low temperature, low spots may be[Read More…]
Did you know that almost half of the food we consume every day comes from crops the USDA categorizes as “minor” or “specialty” crops? Compared to the acreage of corn and soybean in the Midwest, fruit and vegetable crops are only a small percentage of crops grown. Not surprisingly, agrochemical companies focus their effort on[Read More…]
Late season fruit rots: Sour rot complex, Botrytis and Ripe rot are major concerns in the Midwest. Though it’s been pretty dry across much of the state recently, some untimely rains can lead to disaster. Once berries split due to rain, yeasts and bacteria quickly invade damaged fruit, leading to rots that attract fruit flies.[Read More…]