Forwarding from the VT Agency of Agriculture. -TB
|
Month: October 2020
Fast-track Your VCAAP Application
Fall post-harvest herbicide application
[tree fruit, IPM]
Passing this on from Mary Concklin at UCONN.
Herbicide Applications this Fall
There are a couple of times during the year when the timing of herbicides will have the largest positive impact on your weed management – fall and spring. Herbicides applied at other times during the season are good for eliminating those few pesky weeds that managed to sneak through, often times because of extended wet periods.
Summer annual weeds: they likely died off with a hard frost earlier this fall. Pre-emergent herbicides applied this fall will help to control new annual weed germination in the spring. It is also easier to apply this time of the year than during the busy wet spring when, in some years, it is difficult to get into the fields before germination occurs.
Fall applications: For all perennial weeds, a combination of pre- and post-emergent materials will provide the best results as long as the application is made while the emerged weeds are still alive. Applications made after they have been hit with a hard frost can be with pre-emergent materials only which aims at moving the herbicide into the root zone and impacting emergence in the spring.
Some materials perform better in the fall because of their mode of action. Glyphosate/Roundup is a systemic that moves into the plant. In late summer and fall, plants are moving food reserves to the roots. Glyphosate applied at this time will also move to the root system and kill the plant. In the spring, movement is upward in plants as they grow, so glyphosate applications made at that time have less of a chance of giving you the results you are looking for.
Organic growers also have organic herbicides available. These are contact not systemic materials and work best when applied to young weeds for knockdown. They will need to be re-applied several times throughout the growing season.
Brad Majek, Rutgers, offers the following about timing:
Apply herbicides to the tree row in established orchards twice annually, in late fall and in late spring. Herbicides applied in late October or early November control winter annuals, certain perennials, and early season summer annuals. Spring herbicide applications extend summer annual weed control through harvest. Advantages of two herbicide applications per year include:
1. Control of winter annual weeds, including camphorweed, wild lettuce and horseweed (marestail) and summer annual weed control for the same cost as most single application weed control programs.
2. Improved spring labor and equipment distribution requirements by controlling early summer annual weeds with residual herbicides applied the previous fall, thus delaying the need to spray in the spring until May or early June.
3. Increased consistency of weed control treatments, especially control of summer annual weeds when dry weather follows the spring herbicide application.
4. Decreased risk of crop injury, since each herbicide application must last less than a full year. Herbicides can be alternated and rates can be reduced or split to improve crop safety.
5. Decreased competition from established winter annual weeds and summer annual weed seedlings in March, April, and May for fertilizer and water when the trees begin to grow.
Late Fall Herbicide Applications should include a translocated post emergence herbicide, and a residual broadleaf herbicide. A residual grass herbicide may also be applied in the fall. Apply 2,4-D to control emerged winter annual broadleaf weeds tank-mixed with Princep for residual control. Consider a labeled glyphosate product if perennial weeds are present and treatment is recommended in the fall. The use of a grass herbicide in the fall depends on the product chosen. Kerb 50WP is the only grass herbicide that must be applied in the fall, if it is used, to control certain cool season perennial grasses. An additional residual annual grass herbicide is needed in the spring to provide full season summer annual grass control following a fall application of Kerb 50WP. Solicam 90DF, Surflan 80WP, Devrinol 50WP and Prowl 4EC (non-bearing only) are annual grass herbicides that should be applied in late fall or as a split application, half in the fall and the second half in the spring. Use the split application when grass pressure is heavy for best results. The use of these herbicides in spring only has resulted in inconsistent weed control when dry weather followed the application.
Information on tree fruit herbicides may be found at: https://netreefruit.org/weeds
Where trade names or commercial products are used for identification, no discrimination is intended and no endorsement is implied. Always read the label before using any pesticide. The label is the legal document for the product use. Disregard any information in this message if it is in conflict with the label.
The UVM Tree Fruit and Viticulture Program is supported by the University of Vermont Agriculture Experiment Station, UVM Extension, USDA NIFA E-IPM Program, and USDA Risk Management Agency.
UVM Extension helps individuals and communities put research-based knowledge to work. University of Vermont Extension, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating, offer education and employment to everyone without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status.
Helping out Champlain Orchards
I am passing this request from UVM Extension on to the greater fruit growing community. It is rare that I use this list to promote a specific farm, and this should not be read as preferential treatment. What happened at Champlain could have happened on any of our farms, and this is a chance to support each other as a farming community, and to consider what we may need if such a situation befalls any of us. I’ve talked with Ginger and she has indicated that much of the need involves housing upgrades, including dishwashers and laundry facilities to help the workers maintain quarantine while keeping the farm running. She suggested, and I agree, that mundane features like this are something that all farms that have communal housing may want to consider moving forward. Take care, everyone, and please let me know if you have any issues or concerns.
-Terry
By now most of you have probably heard that some of the Jamaican crew members at Champlain Orchards have contracted COVID.
Many of us have worked with Champlain Orchards over the years through our jobs in Extension, and some of us have even had the privilege of working alongside the Jamaican guys as fellow employees of the orchard. They are an amazing group of people, and it is hard to imagine how challenging it must be to be dealing with the pandemic while so far from friends and family.
You can find out more about the situation on Champlain Orchard’s website. While the state is helping in some ways, there is still going to be considerable cost associated with taking care of the men, making adaptations to housing to keep everyone as safe and able to quarantine as possible, etc..If you would like to help, you can make donations by scrolling down to the green button at the bottom of the webpage.
These funds will go towards purchasing supplies for the crew, and making improvements to labor housing. If you have ideas of other kinds of assistance you may be able to offer, please contact marketing to help coordinate.
GINGER NICKERSON|FOREST PEST EDUCATION COORDINATOR
she/her pronouns (why is this here?)
VT Urban & Community Forestry Program
University of Vermont Extension
327 US-302, Barre, VT 05641
Mon – Thurs: 802-476-2003 (Please note I do not work on Fridays) │ www.vtcommunityforestry.org
Where trade names or commercial products are used for identification, no discrimination is intended and no endorsement is implied. Always read the label before using any pesticide. The label is the legal document for the product use. Disregard any information in this message if it is in conflict with the label.
The UVM Tree Fruit and Viticulture Program is supported by the University of Vermont Agriculture Experiment Station, UVM Extension, USDA NIFA E-IPM Program, and USDA Risk Management Agency.
UVM Extension helps individuals and communities put research-based knowledge to work. University of Vermont Extension, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating, offer education and employment to everyone without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status.
COVID resources
By now it’s likely that everyone in the Vermont orchard community has heard news of a COVID outbreak among the harvest crew at Champlain Orchards in Shoreham. I write this with respect for the Champlain Orchard community, and humility regarding the potential for an outbreak when we are doing the best we can. A farm isn’t that different than a college campus, and this only highlights how easily any of us can wind up in a tough situation.
The Vermont Agricultural and Public Health communities are providing support to Champlain and to other growers. Addison District State Senator Ruth Hardy has issued a communication to constituents outlining the services being provided. For many of our smaller pick-your-own orchards, the low crop and high demand have led to a shortened season, and many shops have already closed up for the season. But for those who are still harvesting, and especially who still have crews in bunkhouses, it’s critically important to follow CDC guidance as I outlined in a previous post.
Finally, on a good note, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets has announced an extension to November 15 of the Vermont Covid-19 Agricultural Assistance Program. VAAFM personnel had contacted me earlier in the season because few growers had signed onto the program, which wasn’t too surprising given the timing during harvest. The purpose of VCAAP grants is to stabilize agricultural businesses and organizations based on their lost revenues and expenses related to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Please consider applying for this program, more information is available at: https://agriculture.vermont.gov/covid-19-information/vermont-covid-19-agriculture-assistance-program
Take care out there,
Terry