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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South Jersey Commercial Tree Fruit Growers Meeting

2018 South Jersey Commercial Tree Fruit Growers Meeting Program

Date: February 15, 2018 (8:00 am – 2:00 pm)

Location: Rutgers Agricultural Research & Extension Center, 121 Northville Road, Bridgeton, NJ

Pre-Registration: Required, by February 11th, contact: Susan Bradbury (bradbury@njaes.rutgers.edu)

(856) 455-3100 x4101 or Karen Holton (holton@njaes.rutgers.edu) (856) 455-3100 x4104

Cost / person: $15.00 (checks preferred, made out to Rutgers University), lunch Included

Pesticide Credits Category: Core (2); 10 (6); 1A (07); 3A (07); 3B (01); & PP2 (07). [Read more…]

2018 Grapevine Pruning Workshop

When:          February 22 (Thu), 1:00 – 3:00 PM

Where:         Rutgers Agriculture Research and Extension Center

121 Northville Road, Bridgeton, NJ 08312

 Topics:     –  Assessing Cold Injuries in the Grapevine Buds.

Balanced Pruning and Ravaz Index.

How to Prune First and Second Year Grapevines on High Cordon and Low Cordon Training Systems.

Speakers:   Hemant Gohil, Agriculture Agent, REC Gloucester County

Daniel Ward, Extension Fruit Specialist, Rutgers NJAES

Gary Pavlis, Agriculture Agent, REC Atlantic County

No registration fees, however Pre-registration is required. Register by call Joan Medany 856-307-6450 Ext.1 or email jmedany@co.gloucester.nj.us

Organizer: Hemant Gohil, Gloucester County Agriculture Agent and New Jersey Center for Wine Research and Education

South Jersey Commercial Tree Fruit Growers Meeting

2018 South Jersey Commercial Tree Fruit Growers Meeting Program

Date: February 15, 2018 (8:00 am – 2:00 pm)

Location: Rutgers Agricultural Research & Extension Center, 121 Northville Road, Bridgeton, NJ

Pre-Registration: Required, by February 11th, contact: Susan Bradbury (bradbury@njaes.rutgers.edu)

(856) 455-3100 x4101 or Karen Holton (holton@njaes.rutgers.edu) (856) 455-3100 x4104

Cost / person: $15.00 (checks preferred, made out to Rutgers University), lunch Included

Pesticide Credits Category: Core (2); 10 (6); 1A (07); 3A (07); 3B (01); & PP2 (07). [Read more…]

Be Counted – 2017 Ag Census Includes Questions On Value-Added Sales & Agritourism

Bruce Eklund, NJ State Statistician for the U.S.D.A’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, shared this reminder to please complete the Census of Agriculture by Feb 5, and

for winery operators, direct marketers and other value-added and agritourism operations, be sure to pay attention to a few special questions:

  • Include wine and other value-added product sales under (Section 24) Practices (Item 2);
  • Other Income From Farm-Related Sources (Section 32) includes Agri-tourism (Item 4); and
  • Production Expenses (Section 30) are important as it shows this contribution from agriculture to the general economy.

With the once every five year census started, your participation is important to accurately represent the New Jersey’s specialty crop industries. USDA/NASS mailed 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture questionnaires to known farmers in December.

If you have any questions regarding the survey, or if you may have been overlooked, please call 1-888-424-78288 or 717-787-3904, or visit https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/, where you you can complete the survey online. Growers who have already completed the survey online format found that it saved time!

Remember that individual responses to the Census of Agriculture are required to be kept confidential by law, and only aggregate data are used for publication. Census results are important in showing the economic impact and significance of agriculture for your County, your Congressional District, and New Jersey. Agricultural advocates will use your combined information to inform decision makers and the public about the importance of agriculture.

More information on the Ag Census is available at:

http://www.nj.gov/agriculture/news/press/2017/approved/press171206.html

and… https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Partners/index.php.

Please help by reminding your neighbors and thank you for taking the time to be counted.

2018 NJ State Ag Convention Educational Programs Now Online

The 2018 NJ State Ag Convention and Trade Show will be open February 6-8 at the Harrah’s Resort and Waterfront Convention Center in Atlantic City. The final version of the educational program developed by Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension faculty and staff in conjunction with the Vegetable Growers Association of NJ and the NJ Dept of Ag has now been posted at  njveggies.org/convention. In addition to the agenda of educational sessions and workshops, you will find links to membership/registration and meal reservation information. As in the past, Tuesday and Wednesday programs are chocked full of concurrent sessions mornings and afternoons, followed by a day of more intensive workshops on Thursday. Please pay special attention to that day’s Food Safety and Fumigation Certification workshops that require separate pre-registration. Instructions are detailed in each of those workshop agendas.

A special added feature of this year’s convention will be a produce buyers discussion panel moderated by NJDA Division of Markets Director Tom Beaver in the Trade Show area at 5pm on Tuesday afternoon.

If you will be attending as a delegate to the policy sessions of the State Board of Agriculture, a separate program and registration materials are available from the NJ Department of Agriculture’s website.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Upcoming Event – ACGA Winter Meeting

Event – American Cranberry Growers Association (ACGA) Winter Meeting

Date – Thursday, January 18, 2018

Location– Rutgers EcoComplex, Bordentown NJ

(For more information, please contact Cesar Rodriguez-Saona at crodriguez@aesop.rutgers.edu)

Agenda

8:30-8:45 Welcoming Remarks– Shawn Cutts, President, ACGA
Treasurer’s Report – Shawn Cutts

8:45-9:00 Cranberry Statistics
Bruce Eklund, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Trenton, NJ

9:00-9:25 Cranberry Institute – An Update
John Wilson, Cranberry Institute, Carver, MA

9:25-9:50 Potential New Varieties with Enhanced Fruit Rot Resistance
Jennifer Johnson-Cicalese and Nicholi Vorsa, P.E. Marucci Center for Blueberry & Cranberry Research & Extension, Rutgers University, Chatsworth, NJ

9:50-10:15 Understanding the Role of Flowers in Fungal Infections Leading to Cranberry Fruit Rot. William S. Haines Senior Research Endowment
Timothy Waller, Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

10:15-10:30 Break

10:30-10:55 Identifying and Implementing Methods for Improving Berry Quality Parameters
Peter Oudemans, Professor, P.E. Marucci Center for Blueberry & Cranberry Research & Extension, Rutgers University, Chatsworth, NJ

10:55-11:20 Assessing Soil Health using Next-generation Sequencing Technology
James Polashock, Research Plant Pathologist, USDA-ARS; P.E. Marucci Center, Chatsworth, NJ

11:20–11:50 Bio-insecticides and Mating Disruption in Cranberries
Shawn Steffan, Research Entomologist, USDA-ARS; University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI

12:00-1:00 Lunch

1:00-1:30 BOGS – a Tool for Record Keeping
Brian Wick, Executive Director, Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association

1:30–1:55 Carolina Redroot Control with Pre-emergence Herbicides and Effect on Fruit Yield and Quality
Thierry Besancon, ‎Weed Science Extension Specialist, Rutgers University, P.E. Marucci Center, Chatsworth, NJ

1:55-2:20 Management of Cranberry Insect Pests: Leafhoppers and Toadbugs
Cesar Rodriguez-Saona, Professor, Department of Entomology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ; Vera Kyryczenko-Roth, and Robert Holdcraft, P.E. Marucci Center, Chatsworth, NJ

2:20-2:50 Farm Safety with Pesticides
George Hamilton, Professor, Department of Entomology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ; Patricia Hastings, Program Associate, Pest Management, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

2:50 Adjournment- ACGA Board of Directors Meeting