• Foliar diseases should be managed with Mancozeb or Ziram, plus a single-site fungicide, to maintain pressure and inoculum at low levels, protecting fruit and maintaining a healthy orchard going into the next season.
• Where fire blight is present, it is appropriate to prune out infected shoots. Prune out strikes on dry, cooler days, cut back 8-12” back into healthy tissue, and sterilize pruners between cuts.

• Pear psylla adult and egg stages are present in orchards where populations persist.
• Options for control include Actara, Assail, and Belay (IRAC group 4A); Sivanto Prime (IRAC group 4D); Delegate (IRAC Group 5); and products containing abamectin (IRAC group 6). Other options include Movento (IRAC Group 23). The addition of 0.25-1 gal of summer oil may improve control. Avoid applying oil at high temperatures, and do not mix with captan. Be sure to read and follow the label instructions for adding penetrants to products.

• Brown rot can be found on developing fruit in southern NJ orchards (Figure 4).
  

  Figure 4. Brown rot on mature fruit.

  Growers should rely on a captan-based program for mid-season covers, followed by better materials during the last 3 weeks’ pre-harvest, where fruit is present and being harvested. See the New Jersey Commercial Tree Fruit Production Guide for more information.   

Oriental Fruit Moth (OFM): We are past the window to target the second generation.

Japanese Beetles: Japanese beetles have been observed feeding in orchards. Products containing imidacloprid (Admire Pro, Leverage 360) are effective and have a short preharvest interval.

Scale: Crawler emergence is active in orchards across the state. If crawlers are present, treatment options include Movento, Esteem, Centaur, Sivanto, and neonicotinoids (for suppression only). Movento and Esteem should be applied a week before or at the start of crawler emergence.

Thrips: Thrips injury has been found in orchards throughout the state (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Russeting on peach from early thrips feeding injury.

Delegate or Entrust at the highest labeled rate are the usual recommended materials for thrips present in stone fruit. Time applications starting at petal fall to reduce injury. Lannate also has activity on thrips. These materials all have short PHI’s and may be applied close to harvest where thrips are observed.

Tarnished plant bugs and other catfacing insects: Insects are active, but new fruit feeding injury has been minimal.

Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs: Brown Marmorated Stink bugs are present at low to moderate levels and numbers are increasing from previous weeks in orchards statewide. Eggs are hatching and nymphs are present (Figure 6). See the NJ Tree Fruit Production guide for effective materials.

Lesser and Greater Peach Tree Borers: Male moth captures in pheromone traps decreased in number from previous weeks. Mating disruption is recommended to maintain low populations in your orchards.

Average Trap Captures in Peach – Southern Counties

Average Trap Captures in Peach – Northern Counties

Scouting was conducted last week across 119 conventional and organic blueberry fields in Burlington and Atlantic Counties.

This week, the IPM monitoring team observed signs of cherry fruitworm infestation in developing fruit, although infestation levels remain low.

Aphids: Aphid populations remain low at an average of 1–5 aphids per shoot.

Spotted-wing drosophila & Blueberry maggot: Trap captures increased in both Atlantic and Burlington Counties for spotted-wing drosophila. An increase in blueberry maggot trap captures were observed in Atlantic County (Table 1).

Table 1. Spotted-Wing Drosophila and Blueberry Maggot Traps

SWD remains the primary target for insect management. When selecting insecticides, special consideration should be given to products with shorter pre-harvest intervals (PHIs) that provide effective control of these pests while also helping suppress scale crawlers, aphids, and other pest populations above threshold levels. For more information, see the Blueberry Bulletin or Commercial Blueberry Pest Control Recommendations for New Jersey for recommendations.

The IPM team continues to observe higher levels of anthracnose than in the previous week. The recent wet weather is conducive for anthracnose development on berries. Fungicide applications are still merited in fields where anthracnose has been reported. Phosphite materials are effective and have a 0-day PHI.

Additionally, mummy berry and Alternaria have been observed during scouting. The increased incidence of Alternaria is most likely associated with fruit injury caused by mechanical harvesting.

For fungicide recommendations, refer to the Rutgers Blueberry Commercial Production Guide or  https://extension.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/2026-03/bb-v42n01.pdf

Grape Berry Moth (GBM): Second generation adult GBM continue to be captured in pheromone traps and larval activity in bunches has been observed. The degree day timing to treat the second generation has passed. Second generation grape berry moth is not an automatic pest problem in New Jersey vineyards. The need for control is determined by examining bunches for larval activity, beginning in early‐July. An insecticide application is warranted when 5% of the bunches display larval feeding signs.

Japanese beetle: Japanese beetles are present in vineyards feeding on foliage. While established vines can tolerate some foliar injury, young or stressed vines are more susceptible to damage. If damage is severe, Assail, Baythroid, Belay, Danitol, or Sevin should provide the necessary control.

Spotted lanternfly: Population levels have been variable across the state, with average counts of nymphs remaining low compared to previous years. Fourth instars have been recently observed.

Reports of disease incidence of downy mildew, powdery mildew, black rot, Botrytis bunch rot, and ripe rot have been minimal. Recommended materials can be found in the New Jersey Commercial Grape Production Guide.

Foliar diseases should be managed with Mancozeb or Ziram, plus a single-site fungicide, to maintain pressure and inoculum at low levels, protecting fruit and maintaining a healthy orchard going into the next season. See the New Jersey Commercial Tree Fruit Production Guide for more information.

Where fire blight is present, it is appropriate to prune out infected shoots. Prune out strikes on dry, cooler days, cut back 8-12” back into healthy tissue, and sterilize pruners between cuts.

Pear psylla: Where psylla adults are still being found, options for control include Actara, Assail, and Belay (IRAC group 4A); Sivanto Prime (IRAC group 4D); Delegate (IRAC Group 5); and products containing abamectin (IRAC group 6). Other options include Movento (IRAC Group 23). The addition of 0.25-1 gal of summer oil may improve control. Avoid applying oil at high temperatures, and do not mix with captan. Be sure to read and follow the label instructions for adding penetrants to products.

Bacterial spot: This disease is still present in some orchards and can be found on developing fruit (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Bacterial spot on developing peach fruit.

Peach scab: Maintain good coverage with captan or other effective fungicides until July in orchards where scab was previously an issue.

Brown Rot: Most growers should rely on a captan-based program for mid-season covers, followed by better materials during the last 3 weeks pre-harvest when fruit is present. See the NJ Commercial Tree Fruit Production Guide for more information.

Oriental Fruit Moth (OFM): A biofix point for OFM was set on 4/7 for southern counties and 4/15 in northern counties. Treatment timings targeting the second generation are shown in the table below.

Japanese Beetles: Japanese beetles have been observed feeding in orchards. Products containing imidacloprid (Admire Pro, Leverage 360) are effective and have a short preharvest interval.

Scale: Crawler emergence is active in orchards across the state. If crawlers are present, treatment options include Movento, Esteem, Centaur, Sivanto, and neonicotinoids (for suppression only). Movento, Esteem, and Centaur should be applied at the start of crawler emergence.

Thrips: We continue to observe moderate thrips activity in orchards throughout the state. Delegate or Entrust at the highest labeled rate are the usual recommended materials for thrips present in stone fruit. Lannate also has activity on thrips. These materials all have short PHI’s and may be applied close to harvest where injury is observed.

Tarnished plant bugs and other catfacing insects: Insects are active, but new fruit feeding injury has been minimal.

Lesser and Greater Peach Tree Borers: We continue to trap high numbers of both species. If this has been a historical pest in your orchard, mating disruption is recommended. Continue monitoring and managing as usual in problem blocks with mating disruption or trunk sprays.

Average Trap Captures in Peach – Southern Counties

Average Trap Captures in Peach – Northern Counties

Scouting was conducted last week across 180 commercial and organic blueberry fields in Burlington and Atlantic Counties. Field evaluations focused primarily on inspecting fruit for insect injury and assessing aphid infestations on new vegetative terminals. Aphid populations increased compared with the previous week, although average colony sizes remain low, with approximately 1–5 aphids per infested shoot (Table 1).

Table 1: Aphid Infestation on New Terminals

Trap Monitoring

Although spotted-wing drosophila trap captures remain low compared to previous years, SWD remains the primary target for insecticide applications at this time (Table 2). For management recommendations for SWD in blueberry and other berry crops, reference Rutgers Cooperative Extension Factsheet FS1246 and SWD Insecticides for Berries.

Table 2. Spotted-Wing Drosophila and Blueberry Maggot Traps

Table 3. Sharp-nosed Leafhopper and Oriental Beetle Traps

Scale: We continue to monitor scale crawler activity for both terrapin scale and Putnam scale. We observed a decline in crawler activity (Table 4) and scale infestations on fruit (Table 5).

Table 4. Scale Traps

Table 5. Scale infestation on fruit

The IPM team has observed anthracnose on ‘Duke’ blueberries, as well as mummy berry and Alternaria fruit rot. Alternaria incidence can increase due to injuries from mechanical harvesting, which create entry points for infection.

For blueberry production and management recommendations, please reference the recently revised 2026 Commercial Blueberry Pest Control Recommendations for New Jersey.

We continue to capture Grape berry moth in pheromone traps, which have slightly increased in number, indicating adults are actively in flight. Applications for GBM using Intrepid or Diamides should be made at 810 DD base 47°F from wild grape or native grape varieties (Concords were at trace bloom on 5/19 in southern counties). Other effective materials can be applied a few days later. We are past the projected treatment window as predicted by the NEWA Grape Berry Moth model; however, you can monitor bunches to determine if further treatment is needed. Check especially on edge rows near the woods. If 5% of clusters show damage, then treatment is justified.

Japanese beetle pressure is increasing in vineyards throughout the state. Vines with well-developed canopies can withstand some Japanese beetle pressure, but where vines are stressed and vigor is reduced, see the NJ Commercial Grape Production Guide for more information on insecticides effective against this pest.