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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April 10, 2023

NJ Department of Environmental Protection Issues Burn Permit for Frost Protection – Through April 14

(TRENTON) – With the state expected to experience colder spring temperatures, the Department of Environmental Protection has agreed with NJ Dept of Agriculture Secretary Douglas Fisher’s request to allow farmers to do controlled open burning or use specialized torches known as smudge pots to protect crops from damage beginning Friday, April 7, through Friday, April 14.

These cold events could adversely affect some of the fruit, vegetable, and floriculture crops.

Note: The NJDEP and New Jersey Forest Fire Service caution all farmers and agriculture businesses with respect to the use of open burning in high wind velocity conditions. Please take note that farmers are encouraged to utilize smudge pots is warming as necessary during higher wind conditions. Use of open burning when wind velocity is greater than 5mph is strictly prohibited, may contribute to wildfire risk, and can carry significant penalties. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blueberry, Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Fruit, Nursery, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,
April 7, 2023

NJ Department of Agriculture Issues Burn Permit for Frost Protection – Through April 14

(TRENTON) – With the state expected to experience colder spring temperatures, the Department of Environmental Protection has agreed with NJDA Secretary Douglas Fisher’s request to allow farmers to do controlled open burning or use specialized torches known as smudge pots to protect crops from damage beginning today, Friday, April 7, through Friday, April 14.

These cold events could adversely affect some of the fruit, vegetable, and floriculture crops.

Note: The NJDEP and New Jersey Forest Fire Service caution all farmers and agriculture businesses with respect to the use of open burning in high wind velocity conditions. Please take note that farmers are encouraged to utilize smudge pots is warming as necessary during higher wind conditions. Use of open burning when wind velocity is greater than 5mph is strictly prohibited, may contribute to wildfire risk, and can carry significant penalties. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Nursery, Tree Fruit, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape Tagged With: , , , , , ,
April 6, 2023

NJ Dept of Health Scheduled Training for Farmers Participating in the NJ Farmers Market Nutrition Program

A MESSAGE FROM NJ SECRETARY of AGRICULTURE DOUGLAS FISHER:

The New Jersey Department of Health will be hosting three face-to-face and one virtual mandatory training sessions for farmers who participate in the New Jersey Farmers Market Nutrition Program. The three regional trainings, one each in the Northern, Central and Southern sections of the state, will take place April 24, May 1, and May 3, and there will be a virtual training on May 10. Go to https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/md/prog/wic.html to see the complete schedule as well as the farmer/grower vendor agreement and the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program Application. [or you may download the attached official notice and application forms here:]

Letter from Secretary Fisher

DOH Farmer/Grower Vender Agreement

DOH Application for Participation

Filed Under: Blueberry, Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , ,
April 6, 2023

Alion herbicide received 24(c) Special Local Need label for use on Highbush Blueberry

Thanks to field research conduct by the Rutgers Specialty crops Weed Science lab and funded by Rutgers NJAES, Bayer CropScience, and the NJ Blueberry and Cranberry Research Council, Alion® herbicide received a FIFRA 24(c) Special Local Need label from the EPA and the NJDEP for use ONLY on dormant highbush blueberry in sandy soils containing greater than 1% organic matter. The new  24(c) Special Local Need label can be found on the Agrian website here.

Alion® (indaziflam) is a Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) group 29 cellulose biosynthesis inhibitor in the alkylazine family. The FIFRA Section 3 label of Alion® allows its use on blueberries that have been established for at least one year but prevents its use on soil with ≥ 20% gravel content or on sandy soil, regardless of soil organic matter content. Thus, prior to receiving the new  24(c) Special Local Need label, Alion® could not legally be applied on New Jersey blueberries that are primarily planted on sandy soils.

The new 24(c) Special Local Need label allows directed application to the soil beneath blueberry bushes planted on sandy soils with some important restrictions:

  • Only apply Alion Herbicide to soil as a dormant application in late fall through early spring before bud swell.
  • Do not use Alion® in highbush blueberry crops grown in sand containing <1 % organic matter content.
  • Do not use on soils with 20% or more gravel content.
  • Do not apply more than a total of 10 fl oz product/A (0.13 lb ai/A) per year on sand containing ≥1 % organic matter content in a 12-month period when used in any highbush blueberry.
  • Do not allow spray to contact green stems, foliage, flowers, or berries or unacceptable injury may occur.
  • When making more than one application per year, allow a minimum of 90 days between applications.

Alion® provides excellent and season-long residual control of annual grasses and broadleaf species due to its long soil persistence with half-life greater than 150 days and low water solubility under acidic soil conditions. Results of a 3-years study conducted on three different blueberry cultivars (Duke, Bluecrop, and Elliott) at the Rutgers P.E. Marucci Center  demonstrated that repeated fall or early spring applications of indaziflam at the 5 fl oz/a labeled rate did not cause injury or reduce commercial yield of blueberry grown on sandy acidic soil. Data generated through this research also showed that fall application of indaziflam consistently provided better weed control than spring applications for species such as horseweed, large crabgrass or narrowleaf goldentop. This suggests that Alion®  applications in New Jersey should be restricted to dormant bushes during the fall season in order to maximize weed control effectiveness while maintaining the highest level of crop safety as compared to spring application. Alion® has no activity on sedge species or perennial weeds. Therefore, it is important to consider rotating to different herbicide modes of action after 1 or 2 years of Alion® application to avoid selecting for weeds that are not controlled by Alion® and prevent potential development of herbicide resistance to indaziflam.

Filed Under: Blueberry Tagged With: , ,
April 3, 2023

Pesticide Storage Inventory with Cover Letter Due May 1st to Fire Department

All licensed pesticide applicators, as well as dealers, who store pesticides are required by law to send a copy of their storage inventor(ies) with an explanatory cover letter to the local fire company by May 1st each year. In New Jersey, all licensed pesticide applicators and dealers who store pesticides are required per N.J.A.C. 7:30-9.5 […]
Filed Under: Christmas Trees, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops
March 28, 2023

Free webinar – Retraining and Upskilling Workers on Produce Safety Best Practices

Did you know that well trained employees have a higher job satisfaction and feel more valued by their employer? Employees satisfied with job training are more committed to their employers and more willing to accept organization goals and values. This is a key component in creating a food safety culture on your farm. Well trained, committed employees are less likely to look for another job, reducing employee turnover on the farm and the turnover costs associated with having to find new employees.

Growers leave training courses with a lot of information, the majority of which needs to be taught to your employees. You are sent home with food safety educational tools such as handouts, knowledge, and binders, but are not given guidance on how to use these resources to train your employees. This webinar will help.

Join us on Wednesday, April 12, 2023 to talk about tips to train employees at our free lunchtime webinar Retraining and Upskilling Workers on Produce Safety Best Practices from 12 – 1pm Eastern Time.

This webinar will feature Phil Tocco, Extension Educator at Michigan State University Extension.

At the end of the webinar participants will:

  • Understand how to verify training is working.
  • Discern what training is required for different employees.
  • Develop a process for training folks on your farm.

You can register for the webinar at this link: Webinar: Retraining and Upskilling Workers on Produce Safety Best Practices

Filed Under: Food Safety, Fruit, Vegetable Crops