There is a national effort to identify management options for no-spray or organic growers that are trying to manage spotted wing drosophila. If you are an organic grower, please consider filling out this survey to help researchers prioritize areas of research.
Organic Grower Survey on Spotted Wing Drosophila
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 25, 2014 Anne Nielsen
Organic SWD Management Survey
April 14, 2014 Zane Helsel
Pesticide Storage Inventory Due May 1
All NJ licensed pesticide applicators, as well as dealers, who store pesticides are required by law to send a copy of their storage inventories with an explanatory cover letter to the local fire company by May 1st each year. [Read more…]
April 7, 2014 Brad Majek
Annual Weed Control in Vineyards
The program for the control of annual weeds in the vineyard should consider the weed free strip under the trellis and the sod middles between the rows separately.
Good weed control eliminates weed competition, improves air circulation, and fungicide and insecticide spray coverage.
The “Weed Control Season” starts in late fall, after harvest. The program implemented in the spring depends on what herbicides were applied the previous fall. If herbicides were applied in late fall, applications can be delayed until later in the spring. Residual herbicides should be applied in late winter or early spring after the soil is no longer frozen, if no late fall treatment was applied. [Read more…]
February 25, 2014 Anne Nielsen
‘Polar Vortex’ vs. Stink Bugs
This winter, especially January and February have been a bit cold, complete with ‘polar vortexes’ and lots of snow. There have been a couple of newspaper articles about how this will negatively impact insect pest populations, specifically brown marmorated stink bug. Is this true?
For BMSB, most likely NO. While insects do have something similar to antifreeze in their hemolymph (blood) there is a critical freezing temperature at which most species will die. Preliminary research by Dr. Tom Kuhar at Virginia Tech says the super cooling point – when the blood freezes – of BMSB is 5ºF. Populations in natural habitats may have suffered from the extreme cold weather. However, the majority of the BMSB population spends its winter with you, tucked inside the attic and under the eaves of houses, in boxes, under tarps etc. where it is warmer. They are in a reproductive diapause at this point, meaning that adult BMSB have physically prepared themselves to survive cold temperatures, and snow further acts to insulate the populations. There is a saying in Japan that lots of snow in the winter means lots of stink bugs (BMSB) in the summer! Research by Dr. K. Kiritani in Japan shows that BMSB is better adapted at surviving the winter than other stink bug species. There are many factors that contribute to winter mortality or survival and previous research suggests ~20% winter mortality for BMSB in any given year, regardless of weather.
So since the polar vortex may not keep the stink bugs at bay, keep monitoring your crops in the mid-late Spring for the initial dispersal.
February 15, 2014 Administrator
Considerations for Estimating Cold Hardiness in Wine Grape
The severity of the current winter weather has growers and ag agents questioning how to accurately assess vineyard damage and develop a plan for coping with the damage through cultural management.
Fruit Specialist Dan Ward supplies comprehensive answers.
Cross sections of grapevine compound buds showing the location of primary (P), secondary (S), and tertiary (T) buds.
P bud is dead, while S and T buds are alive.
Photo courtesy WSU Extension
The hardiness of grape buds and wood ranges widely among cultivars and different antecedent weather and physiological conditions. Any estimate of cold hardiness needs to be considered as specific to either the buds or the wood, given the cultivar, under the previous Fall’s conditions for the development of hardiness, given the weather conditions preceding the cold event in question. [Read more…]
February 3, 2014 Administrator
Assessing Grapevine Winter Cold Injury Workshop
Date: Thursday, February 6, 2014 6:00 to 7:30pm
Location: Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center, 121 Northville Road, Bridgeton, NJ
Accurate self-assessment of bud viability and fruitfulness is sound vineyard management when dealing with the effects of the unusually cold temperatures experienced this winter.
Join the Outer Coastal Plain Vineyard Association (OCPVA) and Rutgers NJAES for a free mini-workshop to train winegrape growers on the details of accurate cold injury damage assessment. Bring your own hand lens or other magnifier and, if you wish, some pieces of grape cane to evaluate.
