Rutgers Cooperative Extension
Seasonal updates on diseases, insects, weeds impacting tree fruit and small fruit (blueberry, cranberry, and wine grape). Fruit Pest Alerts are also available via this category feed.
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Peach:
Plum Curculio (PC): As the weather gets warmers, we should see a lot more of PC adult activity. They have been active, at various levels for the past 5 weeks, and can be problematic especially around petal fall and shortly thereafter. Therefore make sure to include a PC effective insecticide in your petal fall spray (northern counties) if not already done so. Effective materials include: Imidan, Avaunt, Apta (has a bee caution label), and several neonicotinoids: Actara, Belay.
The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Chief Administrator Sue Fulton, on Monday, May 18th, announced additional extensions to driver license, registration, and inspection expiration dates in the continuing efforts to mitigate COVID-19 and safeguard public health.
Effective immediately, the following documents, if expiring between March 13 and May 31, have been extended to July 31. Documents expiring June 30 are extended two months to August 31, and those expiring July 31 are extended to September 30.
• All Standard driver licenses (including permits) and standard non-driver IDs
• Privately owned and commercial vehicle registrations (including Farmer and Farm Use registrations)
• Vehicle inspections
• Purple Heart/Disabled Veteran placards
• Temporary tags
“Get it done online now, if you’re able,” Fulton suggests. “We do anticipate that volumes will spike once we reopen and when we reach the end of these extensions. Our job is to serve customers in the most efficient way possible and one way we can do that is by steering people to our expanded list of online services.”
On March 13, the NJMVC initially announced two-month extensions for licenses, registrations, and inspection stickers expiring in March, April, and May, timelines that have now been pushed back.
The NJMVC encourages customers to utilize online services, which have been expanded during the COVID-19 crisis. In most cases, customers can renew a license, replace a lost license, change an address, renew a registration, and complete other transactions through the NJMVC’s Online Services portal.
Customers also should check NJMVC.gov for the latest information and updates.
Last year, the insecticide Exirel® (FMC Corporation) was registered for use in cranberries. The Exirel label includes the target pests: cherry fruitworm, cranberry fruitworm, blackheaded fireworm, and Sparganothis fruitworm. The active ingredient (a.i.) is cyantraniliprole. This insecticide belongs to a class of insecticides known as anthranilic diamides (similar to Altacor). This class of insecticides is particularly effective against lepidopteran pests but Exirel has broader insecticidal activity that includes flies, aphids, weevils, etc. After ingestion, anthranilic diamides work by impairing muscle contraction, resulting in feeding cessation, lethargy, and partial paralysis, eventually leading to the death of the insect.
Exirel is considered a reduced-risk insecticide and compatible with biological control and pollination. It should thus be considered as a new alternative when rotating insecticides with different modes of action for preventing the development of resistant populations.
Exirel has a 14-day pre-harvest interval (PHI) and a 12-hour re-entry interval (REI). A maximum of 0.4 lb a.i. can be applied per acre, which equates to three applications at the highest label rate (20.5 fl oz per acre).
Our previous work in laboratory and semi-field experiments has demonstrated that Exirel can provide similar, or sometimes even better, larval control as compared with other registered materials such as Intreprid, Delegate, and Altacor. I encourage growers to consider using Exirel as a pre- or post-bloom application for the control of lepidopteran pests. Because it is a new insecticide, we have limited (large-scale) field data, so I recommend growers to start by using Exirel in a few acreages and share their experiences with me.
Having a sufficient number of portable toilet facilities and properly cleaning and disinfecting them is even more important with COVID-19. Your labor force may have increased, and your customer volume may be up. You may need to rent additional toilets or have them serviced more frequently if the farm traffic warrants. A good portable toilet company will be prompt and thorough with their servicing and will leave documentation that each unit has been serviced.
Between visits from the servicing company, someone on your staff should be trained to clean and disinfect the units at least twice a day. Clean the hard surfaces using a detergent or soap and water followed by rinsing with potable water prior to disinfecting. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains a list of disinfectants to use against COVID-19. It is imperative, once you have selected a product, to pay close attention to the contact time on the label which can vary from 1 to 10 minutes. This is the time that the surface MUST remain wet with the product for it to be effective. These disinfectants are for hard surfaces only- do not apply to produce or skin. Wear gloves since these products can irritate the skin.
A household bleach solution can be used to disinfect surfaces. Prepare the solution by mixing 5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) bleach per gallon of water or 4 teaspoons bleach per quart of water. Bleach and disinfectants should be stored in non-clear containers and used within 30 days after opening. Proper ventilation and gloves are necessary when mixing this disinfection solution. For more details on using bleach as a disinfectant please read our earlier Plant and Pest Advisory post. An alcohol solution with at least 70% alcohol can also be used to disinfect.
Peach:
Plum Curculio (PC): PC adults are active and will damage fruit if not controlled. PC is a key pest to control during the first few weeks after petal fall. Imidan, Avaunt, Actara and Belay are very effective. However, try to delay the use of Actara and Belay for when brown marmorated stink bugs (BMSB) are more of an issue.
