Rutgers Tree Fruit Breeding program, spearheaded by Dr. Joseph Gofredda, continues to release new varieties, giving growers more options to choose from. Five new and exciting Peach and Nectarine varieties were developed after extensive multi-year evaluations at several location in New Jersey, representing different agro-climates. Additionally, three-year post-harvest evaluations of fruit quality were performed at Pomology Lab at Rutgers Agriculture Research and Extension Center (RAREC) in Bridgeton. Fruit and tree characteristics of these new peach and nectarine varieties are described below. [Read more…]
Tree Fruit Edition
Seasonal updates on insects, diseases, weeds, maturity dates and cultural practices impacting only tree fruit.
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October 31, 2018 Hemant Gohil
Time to Hill-Up your Grapevines is NOW!
Winter injury is a crucial limiting factor to wine grape production in the New Jersey. Following the harsh winter of 2013-14, almost 85% of vineyards reported various degrees of cold damage. Often, the cold injury results in the development of Crown gall disease, which causes gall formation around the trunk and graft unions, which can lead to vine decline or death. One particularly useful way to reduce winter injury is to protect the graft union from the cold by covering, or Hilling-up, the base of the vines with soil to protect the graft union. Right time to hill-up is after the harvest and before the ground is hard frozen – that is now!
Factsheet 1264 https://njaes.rutgers.edu/fs1264/ details the following important aspects of hilling-up to protect the graft union from cold damage.
- The principle of Hilling-up – How the soil works, both as a thermal mass that holds the heat and insulator that slows heat loss.
- How to perform effective hilling-up using available and specialized implements.
- Cost benefits of using the implements.
- Challenges such as, timing, preventing damage to the drip lines and to trunks during hilling-up; and how to address those challenges.
- The process of hilling down in the spring to prevent root formation above the graft union and proper weed management.
October 8, 2018 Dean Polk
Results From the Tree Fruit Priorities Survey
During the fall and winter months of 2016-17 the NJAES Tree Fruit Working Group put together a grower survey with the objective of NJ tree fruit growers ranking various tree fruit research and extension activities done by Rutgers/NJAES. The survey consisted of separate discipline or program areas with rankings for each area. A first draft survey was vetted using input from a small grower advisory group in southern counties, and again at the Hershey meetings by the NJ State Horticultural Society board of directors. Comments from the 2 advisory meetings were incorporated into the survey prior to it being given out at the South Jersey Fruit Meeting (February 16, 2017) and the North jersey Fruit Meeting (March 1, 2017). A total of 34 responses were collected, representing 12 counties, plus 1 out of state grower. NJ responses represented 2,480 acres of tree fruit production. The survey combined stone fruit and pome fruit activities under most discipline areas; so tabulated results are combined under both crop types. [Read more…]
September 18, 2018 Dean Polk, Dave Schmitt, Atanas Atanassov, Carrie Denson
Fruit IPM for 9/19/18
Apples:
Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB): BMSB presence is spotty and still much higher than it was earlier in the summer. Now that apples (and pears) are the only fruit present for BMSB to feed on, growers must have a program to address this pressure. [Read more…]
September 5, 2018 Dean Polk, Dave Schmitt, Atanas Atanassov, Carrie Denson
Fruit IPM for 09/06/18
Peach:
Peachtree Borer (PTB) and Lesser Peachtree Borer (LPTB): Now is the time to treat for peachtree borers and lesser borers. PTB has one generation per year, while LPTB and 2 generations per year. Over the last 10 years PTB has caused more problems than LPTB. It is not unusual to find multiple borer larvae in a single mature tree. At minimum this is a stress that the trees do not need to survive the winter and be productive for the following season. Too many larvae can kill the tree, and in young trees only 1-2 larvae can kill the tree. The trick is to apply insecticide soon after most of the eggs have been laid, which is now, and before the larvae get too established in the trunk. Lorsban has been the best product available for this use, and must be used now after the fruit is off and while the larvae have just emerged. Make sure to apply liberal amounts of water in a high volume soaking spray directed at the trunk. This is likely the last year that Lorsban will be able to be used. When Lorsban is gone, mating disruption will need to take its place, and applied in the Spring. Other insecticides are also labeled for this pest, but they have been shown to be less effective. [Read more…]
August 30, 2018 Thierry Besancon
Fall control of perennial weeds with herbicides
Late summer and fall are perfect times to work on tough-to-control perennial weeds such as Virginia creeper vine, bindweed, green-brier, Canada thistle, goldenrod, and poison ivy. These perennials are among the most difficult weeds to eradicate, especially because of their ability to generate new shoots from their root systems. Successful management strategies will mostly rely on herbicide that can move from the leaf to the below-ground plant parts. Timely initial application and consistency at controlling any regrowth with follow-up spot treatments are crucial for long-term control of these weeds.
Field bindweed (upper left), goldenrod (lower left) and green-brier (right) are some tough weed species of NJ blueberry and will warrant extra time for achieving successful control
Glyphosate (Roundup or other generic products) is the only postemergence herbicide labeled on blueberry that can provide good control of perennial weeds. Late summer and fall are good times for applying glyphosate as plant sap movement is mostly directed toward the roots where nutrients will be stored in anticipation of next season. Therefore, large volume of glyphosate can easily be translocated from the leaves to the roots, improving the efficiency of the herbicide at killing below-ground storage organs. It is VERY IMPORTANT for glyphosate to be applied when weed leaves are still green before fall colors appear.
Use extreme care not to contact crop green tissues (stems and leaves) with glyphosate. Glyphosate absorbed by crop green leaves and bark moves within the plant and can severely damage or kill above-ground and below-ground parts of annual crop and perennial treess. Weeds such as bindweed, Virginia creeper, and greenbrier may need to be pulled out of the trees so they can be treated safely. This may seem too slow to be practical, but consider what these weeds cost in lost income. For example, blueberry bushes covered by Virginia creeper vine may yield just 20% of their potential. This easily equates to a $5 to $10 loss per bush. The loss is incurred each year and increases as the vines spread to neighboring bushes. Investing 15 minutes to carefully pull vines out of that bush and safely treat them on the ground is money well spent.
Glyphosate should be applied through low pressure spot treatment to limit drift movements. Glyphosate absorption will be improved if ammonium sulfate (17 lbs / 100 gal water) is added to your spray mixture. For effective control, at least 50% of the foliage should be wet with glyphosate applied as a 2% solution (see your product’s label for rate necessary to reach this concentration).
Consider also “cut stump” applications for Virginia creeper or poison ivy that have large diameter stems. Apply a 2% glyphosate solution to the cambium (inner bark area) IMMEDIATELY after cutting the stem. Don’t let time for cutting to dry as this would prevent glyphosate absorption and translocation to below-ground plant parts.
Always apply glyphosate on weeds that are actively growing and not under drought stress.
Always refer to the commercial product label for rates and additional information.
