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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August 6, 2015

Audit Ready: Handling Unwritten Policies

Writing Your PlanIn both the GAPs and Harmonized audits there are standards that focus on policies, yet the checklist does not indicate that a written policy is required.

You can choose to not write these policies in your plan but you and your employees need to be prepared to answer questions from the auditor about these policies.  Your answer to the auditor needs to be the same as your employees; they will verify this!

If the auditor does not find the policy or the employee answer satisfactory, you will receive a “CAN” (corrective action needed).

Filed Under: Food Safety, Fruit, Vegetable Crops
August 2, 2015

American Cranberry Growers Association 2015 Summer Field Day

The American Cranberry Growers Association 2015 Summer Field Day will be held on Thursday August 20, 2015 at the P.E. Marucci Center for Blueberry & Cranberry Research & Extension, Chatsworth, NJ

AGENDA

CRANBERRY BOGS
8:30–8:45 Opening Remarks
Shawn Cutts, President, American Cranberry Growers Association

8:45-9:05 Virus Observations in the Field-Symptoms and Detection (Bog 8)
James Polashock, Research Plant Pathologist, USDA-ARS

9:05–10:25 Update on Disease Management (Bog 10)
Peter Oudemans, Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, Rutgers University

9:25–9:45 Next Generation Cranberry Hybrids: the 3rd Breeding and Selection Cycle (Bog 10)
Nicholi Vorsa, P.E. Marucci Center for Blueberry & Cranberry Research & Extension, Rutgers University, Chatsworth, NJ

9:45-10:05 Evaluation of Our “Top Ten” Fruit Rot Resistant Selections (Bog 11)
Jennifer Johnson-Cicalese, P.E. Marucci Center for Blueberry & Cranberry Research & Extension, Rutgers University, Chatsworth, NJ

10:05–10:25 Update on Insect Management (Bog 19)
Cesar Rodriguez-Saona, Department of Entomology, Rutgers University; Vera Kyryczenko-Roth, P.E. Marucci Center; and Robert Holdcraft, P.E. Marucci Center

10:25-10:45 Assessing Insect Resistance in Cranberries (Bog 20)
Elvira de Lange, Department of Entomology, Rutgers University

CONFERENCE ROOM
11:00–11:15 Cranberry Statistics
Bruce A Eklund, State Statistician, U.S. Department of Agriculture | National Agricultural Statistics Service

11:15–11:30 Cranberry Museum
Ted Gordon, Pine Barrens Botanist, Historian

11:30–12:00 Show and Tell
Cranberry growers

12:00–1:00 LUNCH (Pole Barn)

1:00–1:30 Farm Safety
Ray Samulis, Cooperative Extension Agent, Burlington County Extension, Rutgers University

Filed Under: Cranberry, Fruit
July 29, 2015

Fruit IPM Report 7-28-2015

This week in Fruit IPM:

Click to View | Download PDF

Filed Under: Blueberry, Fruit, Tree Fruit, Wine Grape
July 29, 2015

Winegrape Twilight Meetings: North & South Jersey

Dates: August 12 & 13, 2015
See flyer for locations and agenda.

Click to View Flyer

Click to View Flyer

Filed Under: Wine Grape
July 29, 2015

Brown Rot Management in a Wet Growing Season: Part III

Brown rot of peach and nectarine fruit results from the interaction of many different factors. In Part I of this series, we discussed the various sources of inoculum and their importance for disease development (see July 21 posting). In Part II, we examined the many facets of spray application technology and [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tree Fruit
July 24, 2015

Brown Rot Management in a Wet Growing Season: Part II

In part I of this article series, we discussed the sources of inoculum for fruit infection by the brown rot pathogen, Monilinia fructicola (see July 21, 2015 article).

P6050053

Air-blast application of fungicide to peach.

Although measures to reduce the inoculum from these sources were presented, these cultural controls alone only provide partial control. They are to be used in conjunction with other measures in an integrated program. And every facet of this program needs to be fine-tuned for optimum performance, especially in a wet growing season.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Fruit, Tree Fruit