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.
 
Subscriptions are available via EMAIL and RSS.

Late Season Yellow-fleshed Peaches

-Jerome L. Frecon
In recent years late season peaches have not been as popular because food retailers and consumers seem to feel peach season ends at Labor Day. This was not quite true in 2012 with many of our most popular late season varieties waning in supply after Labor Day.

Peach movement was great throughout the summer of 2012 as most varieties were maturing ten days to 1 week early in the August varieties. This early season maturity and good movement seemed to occur throughout the eastern US. In southern New Jersey this resulted in a few changes with many normally late maturing peaches.  [Read more…]

Small Fruit IPM Report July 17, 2012

-Dean Polk, Fruit IPM Agent and
David Schmitt, Eugene Rizio and Atanas Atanassov,
Program Associates, Tree Fruit IPM

NJ IR-4 A Call for Project Submissions

The IR-4 Project is “a cooperative program of the USDA and the SAES, with the principle goal of developing data to support and to expedite regulatory clearances of newer, reduced risk pest control products for specialty crop growers.” More information on the IR-4 Project can be found at http://ir4.rutgers.edu. As the IR-4 liaison for the state of New Jersey, my main responsibility is to represent the pesticide needs of minor crops in New Jersey at the IR-4 Food Use Workshop meeting.

This year, the IR-4 Food Use Workshop will take place on Tues.-Wed., Sept. 11-12, at the St. Louis Union Station Marriott, downtown St. Louis, MO. New projects must be submitted no later than August 15. [Read more…]

Freeze Warning for Northwest NJ

Smudge pot and open burning permits for freeze protection on farms have once again been authorized Friday night Aprit 27, 2012 and each night through Monday morning.

See Crop Protection: Procedures for Open Burning and the Use of Smudge Pots Pertaining to New Jersey Fruit, Vegetables, and Floriculture.

[Read more…]