Bruce Bordelon
Professor Emeritus
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
Grapes are at the 4 to 8 inch stage in Lafayette. Blackberries are just starting to bloom. Raspberries have a few flower buds starting to show. Strawberry bloom continues. Blueberries are at petal fall. Fruit set for apples and peaches has generally been adequate and thinning will be necessary. Cloudy weather during early fruit development[Read More…]
Grapes in the southern half of the state will soon be reaching the critical pre-bloom stage, which is a key time to control important diseases such as black rot, downy mildew, and powdery mildew. The next three or four sprays will be critical in controlling fruit infections. Growers should pay extra attention to getting thorough[Read More…]
Callisto (a.i. mesotrione) has been labeled for blueberries for the past five years, but the label was expanded to include brambles this year. We used it at the 3 fl. oz. per acre rate on our bramble plantings in Lafayette and significant damage occurred on several varieties. Both blackberries and raspberries were affected. The floricanes[Read More…]
Crop management through shoot and cluster thinning is a critical management practice for most varieties. 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 lead to excess crop and shading in the canopy. Shoot thinning reduces excess shoot number to[Read More…]
Grape growth is a bit ahead of normal this year. Grapes are at the critical 1 to 3 inch shoot length when Phomopsis cane and leaf spot infections occur. This is a critical time to take control measures for this disease. If left unchecked, the early shoot infections will spread to cluster stems and developing[Read More…]
In Lafayette grapes are at bud break to 2-inch shoots. Blackberries are at 3 to 4-inch shoots with flower clusters showing, and raspberries are at 2-3 inch shoots. Strawberries are just starting to bloom. Apples in the northern half of the state are approaching full bloom whereas petal fall is more common in more southern[Read More…]
The 2016 Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide (ID-465) is available for purchase from the Purdue Education Store. This publication replaces two previous annual publications: The Midwest Tree Fruit Spray Guide (ID-168) and The Midwest Small Fruit and Grape Spray Guide (ID-169). This guide provides pest management recommendations for commercial tree fruit, small fruit, and grape[Read More…]