Contents


Current (through June 28) degree day (DD) Accumulations

Location: UMass Cold Spring Orchard (CSO), Belchertown, MA

Base 43: 1531

Base 50: 983

Note: this will be the last degree-day report for 2010

Significant upcoming orchard pest events based on degree days (Base 43):

Lesser appleworm 2nd flight begins: 1409-1951

Obliquebanded leafroller summer larvae hatch: 1038-1460

Obliquebanded leafroller 1st flight subsides: 1612-1952

Redbanded leafroller 2nd flight peak: 1546-1978

Spotted tentiform leafminer 2nd flight peak: 1360-1790

Spotted tentiform leafminer 2nd generation feeders present: 1378-2035

Codling moth 1st flight subsides: 1280-1858

Codling moth 2nd flight begins: 1569-2259

Oriental fruit moth 2nd flight peak: 1455-1935

Apple maggot 1st catch: 1234-1640

Orchard Radar insect synopsis (for Belchertown)

http://pronewengland.org/AllModels/MAmodel/RADARMA-Belchertown.htm

First dogwood borer (DB) egg hatch roughly: June 15. Peak hatch roughly: July 22

Codling moth (CM) development as of June 29: 2nd generation adult emergence at 1% and 1st generation egg hatch at 98%. In most orchards, insecticide targeted against plum curculio and apple maggot prevent codling moth damage. If targetted codling moth control is needed, key management date is: 2nd generation 7% CM egg hatch: July 19, Monday (= target date for first spray where multiple sprays needed to control 2nd generation CM)

Lesser apple worm (LAW): 2nd LAW flight begins around: June 27, Sunday

1st generation Obliquebanded Leafroller (OBLR) flight begins around: May 28, Friday. Where waiting to sample late instar OBLR larvae to determine need for treatment is an option, or to check on results from earlier sprays: Optimum sample date for late instar summer generation OBLR larvae: June 23, Wednesday. If first OBLR late instar larvae sample is below threshold, date for confirmation follow-up: June 26, Saturday

2nd generation Oriental Fruit Moth (OFM) flight begins around June 19, Saturday; first treatment date, if needed: June 26, Saturday; second treatment date, if needed, July 7, Wednesday

2nd redbanded leafroller (RBLR) flight begins around June 21, Monday; peak catch and approximate start of egg hatch, June 27

Spotted tentiform leafminer (STLM): Rough guess of when 2nd generation sap-feeding mines begin showing: June 24, Thursday. Optimum first sample date for 2nd generation STLM sapfeeding mines is June 30, Wednesday. Second optimized sample date for 2nd generation STLM sapfeeding mines, if needed: July 7, Wednesday

Orchard Radar preliminary McIntosh harvest date forecasts (for Belchertown)

Date to apply ReTain to delay harvest for apples which without treatment would be ready for storage harvest on August 25 is Wednesday, July 28

Begin measuring actual McIntosh starch-iodine index no later than Wednesday, August 18

The Michigan formula estimate for standard (i.e. non-spur) McIntosh starch index 4.0 and beginning of optimum McIntosh harvest for CA storage is Wednesday, August 25. Estimate adjusted to lessen influence of unusual bloom date is Tuesday, August 31

Cornell Bulletin 221 provides formulas for different locations to estimate date when non-spur McIntosh reach starch index 6.0 and the end of optimum harvest for CA storage. Using the Hudson Valley formula, the estimated end of McIntosh CA harvest for
Belchertown MA is Wednesday, September 15

Upcoming meetings

July 15, 2010: Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association Summer Meeting, UMass Cold Spring Orchard, Belchertown, MA.10 AM to 3 PM. Registration and details here or see registration form at end of Healthy Fruit. Peter Jentsch from Cornell's Hudson Valley Lab will be our guest speaker. Orchard tour in the morning followed by lunch and afternoon speaking program. BBQ lunch will be provided by Outlook Farm.

 

The way I see it

Cherry harvest is pretty much over. Fireblight has made an appearance in a few orchards. The typical July pests potato leafhopper and Japanese beetle have arrived. I expect the first very early peaches (PF-1, PF-5) will be harvested next week. An upcoming dry spell means young trees and peaches will need to be watered, and peaches will need to be protected from brown rot as they ripen. Don't forget to make your reservation for the MFGA Summer Meeting at the UMass Orchard in Belchertown.

New England Tree Fruit Management Guide update

Thanks to Glen Koehler of the University of Maine for this update to the insecticide characteristics tables to the 2010 New England Tree Fruit Management Guide (http://www.umass.edu/fruitadvisor/2010/2010netfmg.html)

Potato leafhopper prevalent

Potato leafhopper are here in abundance and evidence of damage -- marginal yellowing -- is pretty easy to find. It could be a banner year for leafhopper given the weather pattern. Be sure to check your young orchards and treat with an insecticide (Actara, Assail, Avaunt, Calypso, Leverage, Portal, Provado, Sevin, etc., take your pick) at the first sign of potato leafhopper. Otherwise, expect stunting of shoot growth, something you do not want with young trees.

Japanes beetle also here

Japanese beetles are also here and there are already signs of feeding on Honeycrisp foliage. I am reprinting a useful Table from the June 28, 2010 Illinois Fruit & Vegetable News with insecticide options and pre-harvest intervals for Japanese beetles. Again, don't let them get out of hand in young plantings and in peaches/nectarines. (Cherry foliage is also desirable.) We will be dealing with Japanese beetles for a month probably, so multiple insecticide sprays will be necessary where they are abundant. Here is the Table:

Pre-harvest Intervals for Japanese Beetle Fruit Insecticides
from the June 28, 2010 Illinois Fruit & Vegetable News (http://ipm.illinois.edu/ifvn/volume16/frveg1607.html)

Pre-harvest intervals (days) for selected insecticides used for Japanese beetle control in fruit crops. NR = not registered. * = generally not recommended (malathion is not labeled for use in commercial apple production; most pyrethroids are not recommended for use on apples at this time because they tend to trigger outbreaks of European red mite).

table

Fireblight rearing it's ugly head

I have visited a few orchards with fireblight shoot strikes. Needless to say any shoot blight found should be pruned out. I tell people the important think is to get it out of the trees on a dry day. No need to sterilize pruners. Just be careful to NOT cut into obviously blighted wood. Thus, cut way back into healthy wood (leaving an 'ugly' stub) and throw the prunings in the aisle. They will dry up quickly and not be a source of further infection. In addition, any 'trauma' event -- hail, and/or high winds with rain -- should be followed up with a strep application (within 12 hours) in orchards where there has been significant shoot blight. See the fact sheet: An Annual Fireblight Management Program

 

Useful links

UMass Fruit Advisor http://www.umass.edu/fruitadvisor/

UMass Cold Spring Orchard Weather Data http://www.umass.edu/fruitadvisor/hrcweather/index.html

Scaffolds Fruit Journal http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/scafolds/

NEWA (Network for Environmental and Weather Applications)

Orchard Radar for Belchertown, MA http://pronewengland.org/AllModels/MAmodel/RADARMA-Belchertown.htm

JMCEXTMAN Blog http://jmcextman.blogspot.com/

Follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/jmcextman and Facebook http://www.facebook.com/jmcextman


The next Healthy Fruit will be published July 13 or thereabout, 2010 (and begin an every-other-week schedule). As always, feel free to get in touch with any member of the UMass Fruit Team if you have questions or comments.