Peach:

Oriental Fruit Moth: First generation timings are updated below: Growers that have utilized mating disruption for OFM can focus on PC; GPA; and catfacing insect pests as described below. If you have not placed mating disruption dispensers yet they can still be deployed for later generations, but this generation must be treated with insecticides at the first generation timings.

Plum Curculio (PC): PC adults usually begin egg laying once the fruit is out of the shuck.  If using high rates of a neonicotinoid (i.e. Actara, Belay, Assail), be aware that there is a synergistic effect when used in tank mixes with DMI materials (i.e. Rally) with regard to bee toxicity. Neonicotinoids should not be used if there are any flowering weeds in your orchard. Those flowering weeds will attract bees, which will be killed by the insecticide. The use of most of these products when bees are present is off label and therefore not legal. If pyrethroids are being used, then high rates are advisable, since low rates often do not control PC, especially in hot weather. Where PC is a problem, growers should rotate away from pyrethroid insecticides if possible. Actara and Belay will also control PC (and GPA), but not OFM. Avaunt is a good non-neonicitinoid material that will control all insect pests at petal fall except aphids and thrips.

Green Peach Aphids (GPA): Green Peach Aphid: GPA colonies typically begin forming at bloom. In southern counties aphids are present at very low levels, and well below treatment thresholds. If aphids are at treatment level in your orchard and your ground cover is clean of blooming weeds, a good choice that will cover catfacing insects, aphids, and plum curculio is Thiamethoxam (Actara and in VoliamFlexi) or Clothianidin (Belay). Both of these are neonicitinoids and carry the bee caution label and therefore cannot be used where blooming weeds are present in an orchard. Examine trees for the presence of colonies by standing back and looking at the entire tree. Clusters of curled leaves will define a single colony. Count the number of colonies on ten trees and use a treatment threshold of 2 colonies/tree at petal fall to shuck split for peach, and 1 colony/tree for nectarine. If treating aphids alone then Movento @ 6 oz/A is a good non-neonicotinoid choice. Movento must be combined with a spreader/penetrant spray adjuvant. Used later during late May to early June this will also control scale. Movento will not control PC or catfacing insects. Lannate can also be used, but is not quite as effective and is a weak PC material. Admire Pro (a neonicitinoid) is another option that will only control aphids. Actara and Belay will not control OFM. Belay has a 21 day PHI and Actara has a 14 day PHI, and are limited to 2 applications each per season. This is important to note because Actara is a good choice for resistance management of stink bugs in preharvest sprays. Both of these products will also suppress scale if crawlers are present in mid may or early June.

Tarnished Plant Bugs and Other Catfacing Insects:  This is the other key insect complex at this time of year. Tarnished plant bugs will become more of an issue as temperatures warm and mowing and other ground cover activities become more common. General spray timing at this time of year should still be targeted for Oriental Fruit Moth and/or Plum Curculio (PC). Most materials, except the diamides (Altacor) used for these pests will have some efficacy for plant bugs.

Lesser Peach Tree Borer and Peach Tree Borer: Growers that wish to use mating disruption for borer control should place them in the orchard before the lesser borer flight begins, which should be sometime in the next few weeks. 

Bacterial Spot: Maintain tight covers with antibiotics until pit hardening. Typical antibiotics used include various copper and oxytetracyclene formulations. Full covers with at least 100 gpa are recommended around wetting periods or severe weather. No bacterial spot cankers or leaf symptoms have been observed in southern county orchards as of yet.

Peach Scab: In addition to Rusty Spot and Bacterial Spot, peach scab requires protective applications starting at petal fall. Peach scab cankers begin to expand at bloom and by shuck split begin to shed spores during wetting periods. Topsin, Topsin/Captan combinations, Flint Extra, Inspire Super, and especially Quadris Top applied at petal fall are the best materials for blocks that had scab last year, or were poorly sprayed because of crop loss. Quadris Top, Flint Extra and Topsin should be used at the high rate to suppress overwintering lesions on the wood. Quadris Top contains azoxystrobin which is phytotoxic to many apple varieties. Phytotoxic residues can remain in the tank for long periods after an application is made, even if a tank cleaner is used. Do not use Quadris Top or Abound in the same sprayer used for apples. Bravo (chlorothalonil) is also a good protectant that may be applied no later than shuck split. Captan is also helpful in cover sprays after shuck split where scab was troublesome last year.

Rusty Spot: Rusty spot infections begin around petal fall and are ongoing until pit hardening. If you are using Flint Extra, Inspire Super, or Quadris Top for scab, these materials will also control rusty spot. After petal fall , maintain coverage with effective materials such as Rally, Rhyme, or potassium bicarbonate products.

Apple:

Codling Moth (CM): The first codling moth flight has not yet started. Timings for codling moth once the biofixes are set are listed below.

 Spotted Tentiform Leafminer (STLM): Adults are flying, but are not considered a pest target at this time. This is one of the most highly parasitized insects in the orchard. We have not seen economic damage from this pest in recent years. However in recent summers we have observed a slight increase in trap counts and injury in a few orchards in southern counties. Monitor your orchard for damage.

European Apple Sawfly (EAS): This insect is active through bloom and into petal fall and first cover. Adult females lay eggs just under the skin of freshly set fruit, and the young larvae mine just under the skin. Where this insect is active, it is a primary target at petal fall. In orchards of mixed variety plantings, the petal fall spray for the entire planting is prolonged. This enables EAS to start damaging the first varieties where petals fell earlier before a petal fall spray could be applied to the entire block.

Diseases: Apple Scab, Powdery Mildew, Cedar Apple Rust, are diseases of concern at this time. The NEWA scab models are predicting about 90% ascospore maturity during this period in southern NJ. Primary apple scab spores are released during any substantial wetting and infection period. Ascopore maturity will be slightly less in northern counties. Cedar apple rust infections can occur anytime between pink and 3^rd cover.

Fire Blight: Continue rotations of Streptomycin, Mycoshield or Firewall through 1^st cover for shoot blight. If using apogee or Kudos for shoot blight suppression follow label instructions.

Grapes:

Diseases: Grape diseases active at tis growth stage are pretty much limited to phomopsis and powdery mildew management. Disease infection periods can be monitored using the NEWA models. Choose the weather station closest to your vineyard.

Insects: At this growth stage monitor for climbing cutworms and grape flea beetle. Both of these are considered minor pests.

Scouting Calendar Tree Fruit Southern Counties

The following table is intended as an aid for orchard scouting. I t should not be used to time pesticide applications. Median dates for pest events and crop phenology are displayed. These dates are compiled from observations made since 1995 in Gloucester County. Events in northern New Jersey should occur 7-10 days later.

Tree  Fruit Trap Counts – Southern Counties