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 24, 2023

South Jersey Wine Grape Twilight Meeting

May 11 (Thu) 4:15 pm
Auburn Road Vineyards and Winery
117 Sharptown-Auburn Rd, Pilesgrove, NJ 08098

Pesticide Credits Approved: CORE (1); PP2 (5); 1A (5); 10 (4)
4:30 pm   Welcome Remarks and Updates and Social  
Bird Management – Demonstrations and Interactive session on challenges and successes in bird control
Aaron T. Guikema, State Director, USDA – APHIS Wildlife services

Potassium Fertilizer Chemistry for Wine Grape
Joseph Heckman, Extension Specialist in Soil Fertility, Rutgers NJAES.

2023 Recommendations for Wine Grape Disease Management
Peter Oudemans, Extension Specialist, Small Fruit Pathology, Rutgers NJAES

Brief Overview of Alternative Options to Paraquat for Postemergence Weed Control.
Thierry Besancon, Extension Specialist, Weed Science, Rutgers NJAES

Early Season Field Observations from the IPM Program
Dave Schmitt, IPM Program Associate, Rutgers NJAES.  

Spotted Lantern Fly and Other Vineyard Insects Management
Anne Nielsen, Tree Fruit Entomologist, Rutgers NJAES

7:30 pm    Pesticide re-certification credits
 
Light fare will be provided. Please email Joan Medany at jmedany@co.gloucester.nj.us or 
call 856-224-8030 if you are planning to attend. This site is accessible to the physically impaired. 
For the additional assistance, please contact Hemant Gohil at 856-224-8029 before the meeting.
Filed Under: Blueberry, Cranberry, Fruit, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape Tagged With:
April 24, 2023

2023/2024 New Jersey Tree Fruit Production Guides are Available (Print Version)

Print copies of the 2023/2024 New Jersey Tree Fruit Production Guides are available at your local Cooperative Extension Offices for $25 per copy.

The guides will soon be available for FREE online.  Once they are available online the announcement will be made on the Rutgers Plant and Pest Advisory.

If you have any trouble obtaining a guide from your local office please contact: Kim Crommelin: kfrey@co.hunterdon.nj.us or 908-788-1338.

Filed Under: Fruit, Tree Fruit
April 18, 2023

Your Input Needed on Preharvest Water use in Produce

Do you irrigate produce?Survey link
Have questions about Subpart E or agricultural water?

The On-Farm Food Safety Team is involved in a national survey to find out:

  • Does the produce industry understand the rule?
  • What areas of the rule are still unclear to the industry.
  • How preharvest water is used and treated on farms across the U.S.

This survey will help us get a better understanding of what you know and how extension educators can assist the industry. Please take a few minutes and fill out the survey by clicking on the image to the right.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Organic Production, Vegetable Crops
April 17, 2023 and

Tree Fruit IPM Report for April 18, 2023

Tree Fruit Phenology: Tree Fruit Phenology remains advanced in peach, but development is slowing. In southern counties all peach orchards are late bloom to petal fall. Redhaven was at approximately full bloom on April 4. Plums are at shuck off. Pears are at petal fall. Red Delicious is just past full bloom. Sweet cherries are at about late bloom depending on variety. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tree Fruit, Wine Grape Tagged With: , , , , ,
April 13, 2023

EPA Establishes First Pesticide Tolerance for Hemp

[EPA Pesticide Update posted April 13, 2023]. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established the first pesticide tolerance for hemp. This tolerance is for the pesticide ethalfluralin. After a robust human health risk assessment, on April 10th, EPA issued a final tolerance rule that established the maximum amount of ethalfluralin residues allowed to remain in or on hemp […]
Filed Under: Christmas Trees, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops
April 12, 2023

National Survey on Spotted-Wing Drosophila

Dear Berry Growers:

You have been identified as a berry grower whose perspectives matter in helping to shape the future of the industry. We request your participation to complete an online survey to determine the impact of USDA funded projects conducted by land-grant university faculty on the sustainable management of Spotted-Wing Drosophila (SWD).

Over the past 15 years, SWD has negatively impacted the U.S. berry and cherry industry, which has led to rejection of crops and significant losses on the farm. A group of highly committed researchers has been engaged in a multi-state initiative to develop and test different control practices for SWD. Some of the products are commercially available, while others are awaiting approval.

This survey seeks to determine your level of awareness and adoption of these new techniques, and to capture your experiences with the new technologies introduced by the research team.

To complete the survey, please click on the link Online Survey Software | Qualtrics Survey Solutions

https://ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9B5kHcjLIRgW9gO

Also, please forward this letter to others in your community who have mitigated SWD to increase our data pool.

This study is being conducted by a professional evaluation team from the University of Florida, Mr. Damilola Ajayi and Dr. Kay Kelsey, on behalf of Drs. Ashfaq Sial, Cesar Rodriguez-Saona, Hannah Burrack, Hannah Levenson, Vaughn Walton, Frank Zalom, Elizabeth Beers, Greg Loeb, Kent Daane, Philip Fanning, and Kim Hoelmer representing University of Georgia, Rutgers University, Michigan State University, North Carolina State University, Oregon State University, University of California-Davis, Washington State University, Cornell University, University of California Berkeley, University of Maine, and the United States Department of Agriculture.

This study was reviewed and approved by the University of Florida Institutional Review Board for the protection of human subjects (IRB# 202300289). In case you have any questions, please contact Damilola Ajayi, 706-588-2697, d.ajayi@ufl.edu or Kay Kelsey, 706-247-2492, kathleen.kelsey@ufl.edu

Sincerely,
Damilola Ajayi, Graduate Assistant, UF|IFAS.
Kay Kelsey, Professor, UF|IFAS.

Filed Under: Blueberry, Cranberry, Fruit, Strawberry, Wine Grape