We are in the middle of bloom. If insects have been effectively managed prior to bloom, we recommend no sprays at this time. A reminder: when bees are present your only choices of insecticides are the Insect Growth Regulators –IGR- (e.g. Confirm and Intrepid) or Bt products (e.g. DiPel). [Read more…]
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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June 13, 2014 Wes Kline and Meredith Melendez
Audit Ready:
On-Farm Food Safety Lessons Learned Series
If you have written your food safety plan and are preparing for a third party audit, the Rutgers On-Farm Food Safety Team offers farm “walk-throughs” to help evaluate your written plan and compliance activities. Over many years of performing walk-throughs, we’ve found some common situations that can foil the goal of making it through the audit process on the first go-round. Take a moment to make sure you’ve handled these areas that have tripped-up fellow NJ growers.
Know the Contents of Your Food Safety Manual
If a grower hires someone to write his or her food safety manual, the grower must know what is in the manual and adhere to the contents! There have been instances when the auditors came to do the audit, that it was obvious the grower did not know what was in their own farm food safety manual.
Know Your Manual
- Sit down with the person developing the manual to make sure there is agreement about what to put in the manual.
- Once the manual has been developed, review each section to clarify and make necessary changes for the final version.
Remember, auditors use the grower’s food safety manual as the basis for the audit. If the grower does not know and understand the contents of their manual, they won’t be able to answer the auditors’ questions.
Have an On-Farm Food Safety question concerning your commercial NJ farm? Email us.
June 13, 2014 Dean Polk, Dave Schmitt, and Atanas Atanassov
Fruit IPM Report June 11, 2014
This week in Fruit IPMOriental Beetle Adult
- Peach
- Apple
- Pear
- Wine Grapes
- Scouting Calendar
- Tree Fruit Trap Counts
- Blueberry
- Blueberry Trap Counts
Click to View | Download PDF
June 11, 2014 Dave Schmitt
Bacterial Spot of Stone Fruit
Over the past 7-10 days it has become clear that a bacterial spot epidemic is underway. It is eerily reminiscent of the epidemic of 1997, although so far it does not appear as widespread or affecting all cultivars as that year. Many blocks are dropping leaves this week, and fruit lesions are beginning to appear. Remember that it takes about a week for leaf infections to appear, and about 2 weeks for those infected leaves to start dropping. It takes about 3 weeks for those same infections to show up on the fruit. Looking back at weather records over at CoCoRaHs (choose your dates and local observations) it appears that the severe winds of May 23, and the rains over the weeks that followed set up a conducive environment for the bacteria in southern counties. We are seeing leaf drop in many locations regardless of treatment. The coming week will tell the story of how much fruit infection there is. [Read more…]
June 3, 2014 Dean Polk, Dave Schmitt, and Atanas Atanassov
Fruit IPM Report June 3, 2014
San Jose Scale
This week in Fruit IPM
- Peach
- Apple
- Pear
- Wine Grapes
- Scouting Calendar
- Blueberry
- Tree Fruit Trap Counts
- Blueberry Trap Counts
Click to View | Download PDF
May 28, 2014 Dean Polk, Dave Schmitt, and Atanas Atanassov
Fruit IPM Report May 27, 2014
Click to View | Download PDF
Primary Mummy Berry Strike
May 19-23This week in Fruit IPM
- Peach
- Apple
- Pear
- Scouting Calendar
- Blueberry
- Tree Fruit Trap Counts
- Blueberry Trap Counts
