This week in Fruit IPMPeach scab lesions on fruit with old lesions on wood.
- Peach
- Apple
- Pear
- Blueberry
- Scouting Calendar
- Trap Counts (Southern Counties)
Fruit Crops Edition - Blueberry Section
Seasonal updates on diseases, insects, weeds impacting small fruit (blueberry, cranberry, and wine grape). Fruit Pest Alerts are also available via this category feed.
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Fruit IPM Report Apr 22, 2014
Stinger Controls Difficult Composite and Legume Weeds in Blueberries
Stinger has been labeled for weed control orchards for years, and now has a label for use in blueberries. The weeds controlled fall into two botanical plant families, composites and legumes.
[Read more…]
Cranberry Weevil Research
In field evaluations, we demonstrated that yellow sticky traps baited with the blend of four aggregation pheromone components trapped significantly more cranberry weevil adults than un-baited controls.
Development of pheromone-based monitoring lures is an important step toward spatially-precise management techniques that may lead to significant reduction in the use of pesticides targeted against cranberry weevil in blueberries.
The cranberry weevil is a key pest of highbush blueberries in New Jersey and of cranberries in Massachusetts. [Read more…]
Pesticide Storage Inventory Due May 1
All NJ licensed pesticide applicators, as well as dealers, who store pesticides are required by law to send a copy of their storage inventories with an explanatory cover letter to the local fire company by May 1st each year. [Read more…]
Food Safety Workshops 2013-2014
Seven food safety workshops will be presented from December 2013 through February 2014.
TOPICS:
- Harmonized Food Safety Standards
- How to develop a food safety plan for your operation
- Produce sampling results from 2013
- Risk Assessment
- Writing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
Blueberry Pest in Detail: Sharp-nosed Leafhopper
The Fruit IPM Report for the week shows an upward trend with more Sharp-nosed Leafhopper (SNLH) adults maturing and moving around fields, making transmission of stunt disease to previously uninfected bushes more likely. This insect in the only regular target for post harvest sprays. Now is an appropriate time to treat.
Sharp-nosed Leafhopper Life Cycle
SNLH feeds and reproduce on blueberry, huckleberry, cranberry, and other related plants. SNLH feeding causes little direct damage but it transmits the phytoplasma that causes stunt disease in blueberries. They are small brown insects with a pointed head (Figure 1). SNLH picks up the disease while feeding on infested bushes and carries it to other plants in subsequent feedings. Usually only adults will carry the disease from plant to plant, since nymphs are wingless and can’t fly (Figure 2). This insect completes two generations in New Jersey. Adults are abundant in the woods, where many alternative hosts are present, and may move to commercial blueberry fields in the spring. Eggs overwinter inside fallen leaves and hatch in mid-May. Nymphs complete 5 instars. Nymphs from the first generation reach adult stage in mid-June, while nymphs from the second generation reach adulthood in early August. Adults move back to the woods in the fall. Monitoring these generations is critical for timing of control strategies.