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 late bloom depending on variety. [Read more…]
Fruit Crops Edition - Wine Grape Section
Seasonal updates on diseases, insects, weeds impacting small fruit (blueberry, cranberry, and wine grape). Fruit Pest Alerts are also available via this category feed.
Subscription is through the general Fruit feed available via EMAIL and RSS.
April 10, 2023 Hemant Gohil
NJ Department of Environmental Protection Issues Burn Permit for Frost Protection – Through April 14
(TRENTON) – With the state expected to experience colder spring temperatures, the Department of Environmental Protection has agreed with NJ Dept of Agriculture Secretary Douglas Fisher’s request to allow farmers to do controlled open burning or use specialized torches known as smudge pots to protect crops from damage beginning Friday, April 7, through Friday, April 14.
These cold events could adversely affect some of the fruit, vegetable, and floriculture crops.
Note: The NJDEP and New Jersey Forest Fire Service caution all farmers and agriculture businesses with respect to the use of open burning in high wind velocity conditions. Please take note that farmers are encouraged to utilize smudge pots is warming as necessary during higher wind conditions. Use of open burning when wind velocity is greater than 5mph is strictly prohibited, may contribute to wildfire risk, and can carry significant penalties. [Read more…]
April 7, 2023 Hemant Gohil
NJ Department of Agriculture Issues Burn Permit for Frost Protection – Through April 14
(TRENTON) – With the state expected to experience colder spring temperatures, the Department of Environmental Protection has agreed with NJDA Secretary Douglas Fisher’s request to allow farmers to do controlled open burning or use specialized torches known as smudge pots to protect crops from damage beginning today, Friday, April 7, through Friday, April 14.
These cold events could adversely affect some of the fruit, vegetable, and floriculture crops.
Note: The NJDEP and New Jersey Forest Fire Service caution all farmers and agriculture businesses with respect to the use of open burning in high wind velocity conditions. Please take note that farmers are encouraged to utilize smudge pots is warming as necessary during higher wind conditions. Use of open burning when wind velocity is greater than 5mph is strictly prohibited, may contribute to wildfire risk, and can carry significant penalties. [Read more…]
March 22, 2023 Hemant Gohil
South Jersey Tree Fruit Twilight Meeting – I
April 6 (Thu) @ 7 PM
Gloucester County Govt. Services Building: 1200 N. Delsea Drive, Bldg. # A, Clayton, NJ 08312
Pesticide credits requested: CORE, 1A, PP2, 10
7 pm: Welcome. Notes from Colorado peach meeting: market updates, etc.
Hemant Gohil, Gloucester County Agricultural Agent, Rutgers NJAES
Pesticide Safety and Regulations Update for 2023 (CORE)
George Hamilton, Extension Specialist in Pest Management, Rutgers NJAES
Field observations from the IPM Program
Dave Schmitt, Fruit IPM Program Associate, Rutgers NJAES
Management of Peach Bacterial Spot: Timing Bactericide Sprays to Rainfall Events
Norman Lalancette, Extension Specialist, Tree Fruit Pathology, Rutgers NJAES
Urea Nitrogen Fertilizer and Nickel Nutrition for Orchard Health
Joseph Heckman, Extension Specialist in Soil Fertility, Rutgers NJAES.
Alon Rabinovich, Postdoc Associate, Plant Science Department, Rutgers Uni.
9 pm: Pesticide re-certification credits application and Adjourn
Light fare will be provided. Please call Joan Medany at jmedany@co.gloucester.nj.us or 856-224-8030 if you plan to attend. If additional assistance is needed, please get in touch with Hemant Gohil (Program Organizer) at 856-224-8029 before the meeting.
March 2, 2023 Michelle Infante-Casella
NJDEP Bureau of Water Allocation and Well Permitting Workshops Held
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection coordinated workshops in the past two weeks to assist farmers with Agricultural Water Certifications/Registrations who needed 5-year renewals. Those farmers with certifications expiring in 2023 were invited by NJDEP to attend the scheduled workshops. NJDEP Staff visited the 4 counties: Gloucester, Salem, Burlington, and Cumberland to complete renewals for 2023. These workshops are an efficient way to make sure forms are accurate, complete, and acceptable to NJDEP – avoiding the need to mail back paperwork to correct any information. If a farmer receives an invitation in the future to attend these NJDEP coordinated workshops, it is really important to attend and update your forms.
If a farmer was unable to attend workshops, or their county did not have a workshop, they must complete the 5-year renewal form mailed by DEP and make an appointment with the County Agricultural Agent in their county to finalize the forms in order to keep their status current. County Agricultural Agents do not have access to obtaining the renewal packets and farmers must bring them completed to the appointment or contact NJDEP for another copy, if they cannot locate their copy.
As per the NJDEP’s instruction, Agricultural Agents are to complete an “agent irrigation calculations sheet” and sign off on the form prior the forms are submitted to DEP. The forms can also be reviewed during an appointment with the Agricultural Agent. All other portions of the form are the responsibility of the farmer to complete. Also, it is important to read all instructions – that includes having a written daily log of the last month water was used in the past year to submit with the 5-year renewal application.
If a farmer does not have an Agricultural Water Use Certification or Registration, they can contact the NJDEP using the information below to obtain the forms.
If a farmer has any questions, NJDEP asks they contact staff at:
NJ Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Water Supply and Geoscience, Bureau of Water Allocation and Well Permitting, Mail Code 401-04Q, P.O. Box 420, Trenton, NJ 08625-0420, 609-984-6831. Also see the website at http://www.nj.gov/dep/watersupply/
February 22, 2023 Stephanie Murphy
Rutgers Soil Testing Laboratory adds Sulfur to Soil Fertility Analysis
Plant-available sulfur (sulfate) values have been added to Rutgers Soil Testing Laboratory fertility reports in the micronutrient reporting line. There are four interpretive categories: Low, Medium-low, Sufficient, and High. An explanatory paragraph follows near the end of the report to help interpret the reported value.
Symptoms of sulfur deficiency include yellowing or light green coloring on youngest tissue, thin stems and petioles, slow growth, and delayed maturity. Photo Credit: G. Brust, University of Maryland.
As the interpretative statements within the reports explain, sulfur analysis/interpretation is very complicated (similar to nitrogen) due to the many factors influencing it. Also, there is not full consensus among soil fertility experts on a best extraction method and critical values. Still, the sulfur value on the revised reports will provide an extra degree of information for understanding the soil & plant health. As with all micronutrient interpretations on the reports, the relevant RCE publication is referenced for further information; in the case of sulfur, RCE bulletin E365.
