Rutgers Cooperative Extension
Seasonal updates on insects, diseases, weeds, maturity dates and cultural practices impacting only tree fruit.
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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…]
Have you ever felt that you did everything right at controlling brown rot during the preharvest period, but still got a significant amount of brown rot at harvest? Your preharvest fungicide applications were at tight intervals during the roughly 21-day fruit ripening period. Rains occurred but you were protected. Even when you looked back at the bloom period you saw no obvious gaps in coverage. Yet, the brown rot appeared at harvest. If this is you, read on. [Read more…]
Frost is common in the north-eastern US, however, frost events during bloom, specifically in orchard crops can be economically devastating. Often the cause is a few hours of temperatures below the injury threshold temperature for the developing buds as cooler nights result in the rapid loss of thermal energy. Fortunately, there are several passive methods or low-tech strategies, that can help maintain a slightly higher orchard floor temperature, has the potential to prevent substantial crop loss. [Read more…]
Spring is the best time to plant new grapevines in New Jersey. You may be receiving ordered grapevines in the coming days or weeks. 1You must ensure that your planting material is healthy enough to avoid problems after planting. While it is a good idea to plant grapevines as soon as they arrive, inspecting the physical attributes of your ordered vines before planting may save you some troubles later. Nurseries send planting material on pre-determined dates hence; you should have enough time for a detailed inspection. [Read more…]
Please use the below links to view or listen to the recordings from the first two sessions of Ask the Expert – Orchard Edition.
March 19
Tree Fruit Growers Meeting – I: https://go.rutgers.edu/n7v5agck
March 24
Tree Fruit Growers Meeting – II: https://go.rutgers.edu/wu2zgt6y
Tree Fruit Phenology:
Tree fruit phenology is about normal based on historical observations. In southern counties some early blooming varieties are at Pink to about 20% bloom. Redhaven was at bud swell on March 29, about 6 days later than the median observation date. Plums are in bloom and Pears are at Green Cluster. Red Delicious is at 1/2 Green Tip, which is about a week early. So it is time to start applying delayed dormant and blossom protection applications. [Read more…]
