Modern clonal rootstocks are the foundation-and literal roots– to modern apple growing. These rootstocks ensure growers have orchards of relatively small trees that can be densely planted and result in earlier and greater bearing than what was historically possible. This is an obvious improvement over waiting multiple decades for an orchard to become profitable. However,[Read More…]
Disease Management
Michigan State University is seeking help to conduct a survey for QoI/FRAC 11 resistant powdery mildew populations around the Great Lakes region. MSU and FRAME are seeking your help to conduct this survey. Please contact Nancy Sharma, a plant pathology graduate student, at sharm115@msu.edu if you are interested in helping us. You will receive a[Read More…]
Due to the COVID crisis, most Purdue Extension meetings will be held virtually. Most Purdue Extension staff are working from home and are available to answer your questions by email, phone or through social media. Our contact information is at the end of the newsletter. July 30, 2020 Small Farm Education Field Day and Webinar[Read More…]
Warm, wet weather has led to an uptick in bacterial shot hole disease, caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni (XAP). We started to see a significant uptick in shot hole on peaches, nectarine and plum before conditions turned dry. Leaves and fruit susceptibility to XAP infection decreases after pit hardening (if you were[Read More…]
Dicamba has been in the headlines the last two weeks. In case you’ve missed it, here are the highlights: On June 3 the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency and its 2018 registration of over-the-top dicamba products Xtend, Engenia, and FeXapan and vacated their registrations. The[Read More…]
Frost injury this spring has created a situation where grapes have a few primary shoots, some secondary shoots, and many non-count basal and latent shoots. This puts shoots at various stages of development and creates problems for growers. Regardless, some varieties are are at or nearing bloom on surviving primary shoots, which is a key[Read More…]
The newest version of the SelectMax® herbicide label includes a change relevant to the state’s fruit growers. Previously limited to applications in non-bearing pome fruit crops, the newest label allows applications to be made to bearing pome fruits. The active ingredient in SelectMax® is clethodim, one of the commonly used grass-selective herbicides. Pome crops covered[Read More…]
Got mold? Gray mold, caused by the fungus Botrytis cinerea and many other cryptic Botrytis spp., is one of the most important disease of strawberry, along with many other plants. To say this fungus is ubiquitous might be understating it! Although its damage (and name) is recognized when fruit become infected, either pre- or postharvest, the fungus[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…]
Due to the COVID crisis, all Purdue Extension meetings have been cancelled until further notice. Some may be offered by distance education, but no in-person meetings will be allowed. Most Purdue Extension staff are working from home. We are available to answer your questions by email, phone or through social media. Our contact information is[Read More…]