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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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…]

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…]

Fruit IPM Report 7-22-2015

Peach

Oriental Fruit Moth (OFM): While overall pest pressure in peaches is very low for oriental fruit moth, we are at the proper time to treat if your farm has trap captures above 6 males per trap. Timing for third brood OFM applications are as follows:

OFM 3nd Generation Timing
Insecticide Type
County/Region Degree Days by 7/22
base 45
Conventional Intrepid/IGRs Diamides
Gloucester-Southern 2317 1st – 7/17-19,
2nd – 7/27-28
1st – 7/14-15,
2nd – 7/25-27
1st – 7/13-18,
2nd – 7/24-27
Hunterdon-Northern 2053 1st – 7/24-28,
2nd – about 8/5-7
1st – 7/22-24,
2nd – about 8/3-5
1st – 7/22-23,
2nd – about 8/3-5

[Read more…]

Brown Rot Management in a Wet Growing Season: Part I

Mid-July has arrived and the 2015 peach harvest season has begun in earnest. As each successive crop of fruit mature and ripen, they become susceptible to infection by the brown rot fungal pathogen, Monilinia fructicola. Since spores of this pathogen require water to germinate, the number of fruit infection periods and therefore severity of the 2015 epidemic will be very much dependent on the number of rainfalls.

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Fruit IPM Report 7-16-2015

Peach

Oriental Fruit Moth (OFM): The third brood should be treated based on the timings below. Overall pest pressure is light with some exceptions in northern counties.
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Cranberry Toad Bug: Life Cycle & Management

Recently the cranberry toad bug, Phylloscelis atra (Figure 1), has become a problematic pest of cranberries in New Jersey. Toad bugs are hemipteran insects, similar to blunt-nosed leafhoppers, but belong to the Family Dictyopharidae (planthoppers) as opposed to leafhoppers, which belong to the family Cicadellidae.

Fig 1. Cranberry Toad Bug

Fig 1. Cranberry Toad Bug

[Read more…]