The Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide is updated each year by the Midwest Fruit Workers group to provide the most complete information and recommendations for controlling weeds, diseases and insect pests of all major fruit crops grown in the Midwest. For the past three years, the guide has combined information on tree fruit, small fruit…Read more about Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide (ID-465) available[Read More]
Insect Management
From my own observations and reports from growers, it appears that Japanese beetle populations are higher than they have been for a number of years. I’ve seen severe damage to small fruits, as well as the Pristine apple tree in my backyard. In addition, after insecticides are applied to knock them down, populations reappear after…Read more about Japanese Beetles[Read More]
Rick Foster noted in the previous issue that Japanese beetles were out. Wow are they ever! I haven’t seen them this bad in years. Small fruit growers should monitor their crops and control the beetles if necessary. Japanese beetles will feed on ripening fruit of brambles and blueberries, and on foliage of all small fruit…Read more about Japanese Beetles on Grapes and Berries[Read More]
For those of you who follow me or Peter on Twitter, you know that last week I found SWD larvae in raspberries at the Meigs Farm near Lafayette. Small fruit growers should be into their rigorous spray schedules now. If fruit are ripe or ripening, growers should be spraying approximately every 5 days. The available…Read more about Spotted Wing Drosophila[Read More]
Last year some apple growers reported damage from brown marmorated stink bugs, particularly in the northern counties. BMSB will also attack peaches and other fruit, as well as a number of vegetables. Now is the time that growers should be watching for BMSB and its damage. There are a number of commercially available traps that…Read more about Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs[Read More]
Although I have not received any reports of problems with European red mites in apples, now is the time when growers should be scouting for infestations. Most growers know where mite problems show up first, either a particular variety (i.e, Red Delicious) or along a gravel road. Check those spots first and expand your scouting…Read more about European Red Mite[Read More]
We have not yet heard any reports of damage from spotted wing drosophila. Our short history with this pest is that damage will commence in early July. Growers should have their SWD traps in place now. Spraying should begin when the first SWD is caught in a trap or the first damage is observed. Because…Read more about Spotted Wing Drosophila[Read More]
Codling moths are flying in some parts of the state. Place your pheromone traps in the orchard during bloom. I have not yet caught any in my traps but expect to soon. We define biofix as the first sustained flight of moths. Therefore, we don’t determine biofix when that first moth shows up in the…Read more about Codling Moth[Read More]
Eastern flower thrips are an occasional pest of strawberries. They are attracted to and feed on flowers, with the result being leathery fruit or fruit that fail to ripen. This problem occurs every year at low levels but has not been serious in recent years, with the last serious problem in 1994. Eastern flower thrips…Read more about Eastern Flower Thrips in Strawberries[Read More]