Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Time: 8:00 am – 2:00 pm
Location: Rutgers Agricultural Research & Extension Center
121 Northville Road, Bridgeton, NJ

Pre-Registration: Required, by February 4th
Contact Karen Holton at holton@aesop.rutgers.edu
856-455-3100 x4104

Cost/person:  $15.00
Lunch: Included
Pesticide Credits: Awarded for Cat 10, 1A, Core, PP2
Program details: Norm Lalancette
856-455-3100 x4124

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Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2015   @  8:00 am – 2:00 pm
Location: Rutgers Agricultural Research & Extension Center, 121 Northville Road, Bridgeton, NJ

Pesticide Credits Awarded | Lunch will be Served | Program to Follow

For pre-registration contact: Karen Holton at holton@aesop.rutgers.edu or 856-455-3100 x4104
For program details contact: Norm Lalancette at 856-455-3100 x4124

The 2015 South Jersey Commercial Tree Fruit Meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, February 10 and will be held at the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center (RAREC), Bridgeton, NJ.

The meeting will consist of presentations on horticulture, entomology, weed science, and pathology of tree fruits during the morning, followed by an included lunch. An open discussion and question session on any aspect of tree fruit production is scheduled for after lunch. The full program will be published in the upcoming weeks.

Pre-registration is required and a fee will be charged to cover the cost of morning coffee/pastries and lunch.

Save the Date!

A farm in Southern NJ is experiencing an infestation of the granulate ambrosia beetle, Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Mot.). GAB was identified by expert Dr. James Lashomb at Rutgers. Adults are hunch-backed in appearance and are cinnamon or brownish in color. Females are 2.1-2.9mm in length and males are 1.5mm. Offspring are small white and legless c-shaped larvae.

Females bore into trunks or limbs and excavate a system of tunnels in the wood. The beetles feed on living trees and carry a mutualistic fungus with them. When GAB females attack a tree, they introduce the fungus, which also is used as a food source. Eggs, larvae, and pupae are found together in galleries. There are related ambrosia beetles that attack apple and are present in other states and it is possible we have multiple species.

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It’s time to consider sanitation practices that can help reduce over wintering scab inoculum. These practices should be considered an essential part of  apple IPM  programs.

In 2014 scab was once again a problem in most orchards we scouted. Even if you didn’t see scab on the fruit at harvest there still could be infected leaves in the orchard at low levels. In addition, in the northeast and other regions scab is becoming increasingly resistant to chemistries we rely upon for primary season control. Therefore, all growers should consider integrating sanitation practices into their scab control program. The recommended sanitation program involves either: fall or spring applications of Urea; flail mowing fallen leaves; or preferably both.

For a refresher we’ve linked a short video explaining this approach.