Rutgers Cooperative Extension
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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Tree Fruit Phenology:
Tree Fruit Phenology remains about normal. In southern counties most peach orchards are at petal fall. Redhaven was at approximately full bloom on 4/12, and 90% petal fall on 4/20. Plums are past petal fall and pears are at late bloom to petal fall. Red Delicious is at full bloom. Sweet cherries are at full bloom to late bloom and tart cherries are in bloom. [Read more…]
This is the time of year when growers start to think about scheduling there USDA Harmonized and Harmonized Plus+ Audits. There have been changes to both audits which take affect May 1. Growers should download the latest versions from https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/auditing/gap-ghp/harmonized. The Harmonized Audit is version 2 dated February 8, 2021 and the Harmonized Plus+ with the same date is version 3. If anyone is still getting the GAP/GHP audits there are no changes.
There are changes to both the Harmonized and Harmonized Plus+. New questions for the Harmonized Audit include: G-8.2, G-10.7, G-12.1, G-12.2, P-3.1, P-8.2 and P-8.4. Amended questions include: G-3.2, G-10.1, G-10.3, G-10.6, G-10.8, G-10.10, G-10.12, G-10.16 and G-10.19. All of these apply to the Harmonized Plus+ in addition to four new questions: F-8.2.c, P-6.5.a, P-3.1.a and P-9.4.a. Two questions were also amended: G2.2.2 and G-6.1.a.
Other than the new questions which must be reviewed and addressed in the food safety plan there are certain things audits will be stressing this year. One is G-3.2 related to documentation and protection of those documents. Documents must be maintained for two years and be available for review. The one document which has not been assessed in the past is the portable toilet record. This year they will be checking for it. There are two ways growers can comply. First make sure the starting and ending dates are on your contract for the portable toilets. Also, take a picture of the log inside the toilet door at least at the end of the season. It may make sense to do it mid-season and at the end. Maintain those photos with your other documents.
The second is F-8.2 related to cleaning and sanitizing equipment, vehicles, tools and utensils and their storage. There needs to be a schedule for those activities and records must include the date and method of cleaning and sanitizing. One thing that gets overlooked at times are knives for field harvesting of vegetables and herbs. These must be included, and the auditors will be looking for the logs this year.
Example templates are being updated on the Food Safety website https://onfarmfoodsafety.rutgers.edu/ that will include most of what would be needed for an audit. These can be modified to fit any operation.
Bacterial Spot is a key pest of Peach, Nectarine and Plum and in some years like 2019 can cause significant losses. It is caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas arbicola pv. pruni. Bacterial spot cankers that cause tip dieback (commonly called Black Tip) are often difficult to distinguish from cankers caused by other peach diseases. Other cankers that may appear during bloom are caused by the blossom blight phase of brown rot, and constriction canker. Black tip usually appears during or just after bloom. Typical symptoms are a gradual blackening of the tip with dead tissue moving down the twig and is often observed on highly susceptible cultivars (Fig. 1). Tip die back may also occur from abiotic factors such as frost. Tip die back from frost is often accompanied by blind wood usually 6-8 inches below the tip where leaves and flowers have fallen off after being killed by a freeze.
Fig. 1 Tip die back likely bacterial spot or spring frost.
In some cases the twig may appear healthy and a shoot begins growing from the tip only to die back after leafing out and flowering. This is often a symptom of late winter/early spring infections of constriction canker. Many times a bud that was infected in the fall and never leafed out may be found just below the new shoot that is dying. This usually a good clue that constriction canker is the cause. These symptoms may be more prevalent in old trees that have a history of the disease (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2 Tip die back possibly caused by constriction canker.
Tip cankers such as these may be accompanied by cankers on flower buds lower down the on the twig typically associated with blossom blight or constriction canker, or they may appear alone. Spring cankers from bacterial spot that form around flower buds are less commonly seen in our region. In cases like this it is difficult to diagnose the disease early on, especially where symptoms are randomly found at low levels or are mixed in appearance. The only thing that can be done is to note the trouble blocks and watch to see what develops. Blossom blight and constriction canker will eventually develop unique symptoms. Bacterial spot lesions will eventually show on the leaves. If you see black tip cankers forming during bloom its not a bad idea to assume its bacterial spot and include copper or oxytetracycline with your blossom blight sprays.
There is no argument that tractors have forever changed agriculture. The use of tractors has long replaced the presence of draft horses on almost every farm in America. It is estimated that cultivation of land with a modern tractor allows 64 acres to be plowed in the time it took to cultivate one acre with a draft horse. The use of tractors also comes with a dark side. As long as farmers have been using tractors they have been injured and killed by them. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 274 transportation related deaths, which includes tractor deaths in 2018. In any given year half of all tractor fatalities are from overturns, almost another one-fourth are from runovers. Many have a tradition of allowing extra passengers to ride on tractors. Sometimes trying to transport a worker from one task to the next or possibly saving them from walking back to the barn. Some even allow children to come along for a ride – a very dangerous practice. Whether it be on the tongue, side steps, fender or extra passenger in the cab, remember these places are not designed for riders. As we enter one of the busiest seasons in agriculture remember one of the most important safety rules NO SEAT, NO RIDER!
Do not ever think “it won’t happen to me.” Every farmer can tell a story of an incident that happened to someone they know in the farm community that involves a tractor. Make sure everyone makes it through the harvest – NO SEAT, NO RIDER!
Posted on behalf of Bill Bamka, Agricultural Agent, RCE-Burlington County.
April 21: 9AM-10AM
Zoom Link: https://go.rutgers.edu/eu5ps890
Meeting ID: 970 1440 2692
Password: 989229
Join by Phone: +1 646 558 8656
Prior to Wednesday April 21, Please E-mail ALL of your Tree Fruit Insect Questions to:
Megan Muehlbauer muehlbauer@njaes.rutgers.eduOr
Hemant Gohil gohil@njaes.rutgers.edu
Tree Fruit Phenology:
Tree Fruit Phenology remains about normal. In southern counties all peach orchards are at full bloom to petal fall. Redhaven was at approximately full bloom on 4/12. Plums are at petal fall and pears are at full bloom. Red Delicious is at pink with just a few blossoms beginning to open. Sweet cherries are at early to full bloom and tart cherries are nearing bloom. [Read more…]
