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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Sparganothis fruitworm and spotted fireworm are important pests of cranberries; therefore, plant resistance against these insects is a major topic of study.
Field cages in experimental bog
Both insects feed on cranberry uprights and developing fruit during the summer. Dr. Elvira de Lange, a postdoc at the Blueberry and Cranberry Research Center, is especially interested in the resistance factors against these insects that are naturally present in cranberry fruits.
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The NJ Dept. of Ag, Helena Chemical, and the Cumberland County Solid Waste Complex are offering a series dates for free plastic pesticide container recycling disposal. These are offered to agricultural, professional and commercial applicators holding a NJDEP Pesticide Applicators License. State, county and municipal government agencies may also participate. Spread the word and recruit participants for this free service – we are hoping to exceed last year’s collections.
The NJ Dept. of Ag will be on-site to inspect the containers and issue one Core Credit to license holders who follow the processing guidelines. To receive Credit, participants must bring their Pesticide License and prepare the containers. Core credits will not be issued to participants who do not prepare containers. Dates and locations are listed below.
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Last year we observed damage in cranberry bogs by the cranberry toad bug, Phylloscelis atra, in New Jersey. Although we had seen toad bugs in cranberry bogs in the past we had never seen them causing damage to the vines and fruit. Toad bugs are hemipteran insects, similar to blunt-nosed leafhoppers, but belong to the Family Fulgoridae (planthoppers) as opposed to leafhoppers, which belong to the family Cicadellidae.
Toad bugs feed only on cranberries. This insect has a single generation per year. It overwinters as eggs. The nymphs appear by the end of June through August, and the adults from August through October. Eggs are laid from September through October.
Toad Bug Life Cycle
If your beds have damage caused by root-feeding insects, you should consider treatment with Imidacloprid (e.g. Admire Pro, Alias 4F, Alias 2F) immediately after bees are removed. Occurrence of root-feeding insects will manifest by the presence of dead patches. Pull dead vines and search through the root zone and soil for grubs and worms. Admire Pro (imidacloprid) is labeled for the control of cranberry rootworm, white grubs (Phyllophaga spp.), and other scarabs in cranberries. [Read more…]
Blunt-nosed leafhopper is an important concern for cranberry, not because the insect causes that much feeding damage, but because it can transmit cranberry false blossom disease. False blossom is characterized by a malformation of the flowers. The flower pedicels become erect and there is no production of fruit, with devastating effects for cranberry yield. Blunt-nosed leafhopper nymphs start to occur in the bogs by the end of May, and adults reach their peak numbers in July. Relatively little is known about the way the insects transmit false blossom disease, and at the Cranberry & Blueberry Research Center, we soon hope to change that. [Read more…]
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Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc can produce excellent wine grapes and wine in New Jersey, but the effect of cluster thinning on optimal yields has not been established. This study suggests that high quality grapes and wines can be made from these varieties under various climatic conditions and without the necessity of economically unsustainably low yields that can result from cluster thinning.
Grant support: USDA NESARE and from Coia Vineyards, the Outer Coastal Plain Vineyard Association, and Rutgers NJAES.
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