Fruit Crops Edition

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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January 15, 2019

2019 NJ State Agricultural Convention & Trade Show – Feb 5, 6, 7

Harrah’s Resort & Waterfront Conference Center – Atlantic City

  • Rutgers Cooperative Extension agents and specialists have finished the educational sessions with topics covering a wide range of topics.
  • The Vegetable Growers Association says the trade show is just about sold out with industry vendors from near and far.
  • The NJ Dept of Agriculture has shared the preliminary schedule for the State Board of Agriculture’s policy sessions.

The only thing left is for you to register and join us in Atlantic City. Registration/membership details and hotel reservations can be found on the VGANJ convention website.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops
January 10, 2019

American Cranberry Growers Association (ACGA) Winter Meeting

ACGA Winter Meeting Program

Date: Thursday, January 17, 2019

Location: Rutgers EcoComplex, Bordentown, NJ

Agenda:
8:00-8:30 Registration and Coffee

8:30-8:50 Welcoming Remarks– Shawn Cutts, President, ACGA
Treasurer’s Report – Shawn Cutts

8:50-9:10 Cranberry Statistics
Bruce Eklund, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Trenton, NJ

9:10-9:35 What did We Learn from Two Years of Research on Controlling Carolina Redroot?”
Thierry Besancon, ‎Weed Science Extension Specialist, Rutgers University, P.E. Marucci Center, Chatsworth, NJ

9:35-10:00 Cranberry Breeding Update: Pyramiding Genes for Fruit Rot Resistance, Genomics Work, and Fruit Chemistry Evaluations
Jennifer Johnson-Cicalese, P.E. Marucci Center, Chatsworth, NJ and Nicholi Vorsa, Professor, Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, Rutgers University

10:00-10:25 Disease Management Progress 2018
Peter Oudemans, Professor, P.E. Marucci Center for Blueberry & Cranberry Research & Extension, Rutgers University, Chatsworth, NJ

10:25-10:45 Break

10:45-10:55 The Benefits of using Remote Imagery in Cranberry Production
John Potter, Director of Agronomy, Skycision

10:55-11:20 Management of Blunt-nosed Leafhoppers in Cranberries: Lessons Learned from Insecticide Trials
Cesar Rodriguez-Saona, Professor, Department of Entomology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ; Vera Kyryczenko-Roth, and Robert Holdcraft, P.E. Marucci Center, Chatsworth, NJ

11:20-11:40 Understanding the Effects of False Blossom Disease on Cranberry Chemistry, Blunt-nosed Leafhoppers, and other Insect Herbivores
Nakorn Pradit, Department of Entomology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

11:40-12:10 Cranberry Institute – An Update
John Wilson, Cranberry Institute, Carver, MA

12:10-1:00 Lunch

1:00 Adjournment- ACGA Board of Directors Meeting

Filed Under: Cranberry, Fruit
January 2, 2019

RU Ready to Farm – Beginner Farmer Workshop at NJ Ag Convention

Rutgers Cooperative Extension is hosting the RU Ready to Farm Beginner Farmer Workshop during the New Jersey Agricultural Convention & Trade Show at Harrah’s Resort & Waterfront Conference Center in Atlantic City on Thursday, February 7, 2019 from 8:30 am – 4 pm. Please share this with anyone interested in starting a farm, those new to farming, or established farmers looking for new opportunities. All are welcome to attend.

Topics covered in this workshop include:

  • Resources on land availability in the state
  • Tips on where to access capital
  • Shared experiences from successful farmers
  • Insight on what to look for when assessing potential farm properties
  • Methods of effective marketing and promotion of farm products
  • Current organic and conventional agricultural regulations

For the program agenda and to register for this workshop, click here.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Vegetable Crops
December 19, 2018

Update Your Peach Harvest Windows!

Rutgers Tree Fruit Breeding program, spearheaded by Dr. Joseph Gofredda, continues to release new varieties, giving growers more options to choose from. Five new and exciting Peach and Nectarine varieties were developed after extensive multi-year evaluations at several location in New Jersey, representing different agro-climates. Additionally, three-year post-harvest evaluations of fruit quality were performed at Pomology Lab at Rutgers Agriculture Research and Extension Center (RAREC) in Bridgeton. Fruit and tree characteristics of these new peach and nectarine varieties are described below. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blueberry, Cranberry, Fruit, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Wine Grape Tagged With: , , ,
October 31, 2018

Time to Hill-Up your Grapevines is NOW!

Winter injury is a crucial limiting factor to wine grape production in the New Jersey. Following the harsh winter of 2013-14, almost 85% of vineyards reported various degrees of cold damage. Often, the cold injury results in the development of Crown gall disease, which causes gall formation around the trunk and graft unions, which can lead to vine decline or death. One particularly useful way to reduce winter injury is to protect the graft union from the cold by covering, or Hilling-up, the base of the vines with soil to protect the graft union. Right time to hill-up is after the harvest and before the ground is hard frozen – that is now!

Factsheet 1264 https://njaes.rutgers.edu/fs1264/ details the following important aspects of hilling-up to protect the graft union from cold damage.

  • The principle of Hilling-up – How the soil works, both as a thermal mass that holds the heat and insulator that slows heat loss.
  • How to perform effective hilling-up using available and specialized implements.
  • Cost benefits of using the implements.
  • Challenges such as, timing, preventing damage to the drip lines and to trunks during hilling-up; and how to address those challenges.
  • The process of hilling down in the spring to prevent root formation above the graft union and proper weed management.
Filed Under: Blueberry, Cranberry, Fruit, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Wine Grape Tagged With: , , ,
October 8, 2018

Results From the Tree Fruit Priorities Survey

During the fall and winter months of 2016-17 the NJAES Tree Fruit Working Group put together a grower survey with the objective of NJ tree fruit growers ranking various tree fruit research and extension activities done by Rutgers/NJAES. The survey consisted of separate discipline or program areas with rankings for each area. A first draft survey was vetted using input from a small grower advisory group in southern counties, and again at the Hershey meetings by the NJ State Horticultural Society board of directors. Comments from the 2 advisory meetings were incorporated into the survey prior to it being given out at the South Jersey Fruit Meeting (February 16, 2017) and the North jersey Fruit Meeting (March 1, 2017). A total of 34 responses were collected, representing 12 counties, plus 1 out of state grower. NJ responses represented 2,480 acres of tree fruit production. The survey combined stone fruit and pome fruit activities under most discipline areas; so tabulated results are combined under both crop types. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Fruit, Tree Fruit