I hope everyone is doing okay after the already wet season and this past week’s damaging rain event. Unfortunately, these events are too common, such that UVM Extension has a resource page ready to go: https://www.uvm.edu/extension/disaster-resources. I know that orchards and vineyards are generally on higher ground and thus likely saw less damage than the vegetable farms and hay/corn fields near the rivers, but if anyone needs anything, please reach out to me.
Given the similar state of affairs in orchards and vineyards- dealing with wetness (and disease), occasional insect management, weed management, and canopy management, I am combining apple and grape bulletins. For both crops, consider maintaining fungicide coverage in light of all the water we have been inundated with. For apples, that means keeping coverage on for fruit rots, grapes should be protected against downy and powdery mildews and botrytis before bunches close up. Insects of not should be apple maggot and codling moth in apples and grape berry moth in vineyards.
Midsummer is the time for plant tissue testing in apples and grapes. Apple leaf samples are usually collected between July 15 – Aug. 15. Grape petiole samples may be collected at bloom or veraison, and comparisons between years or blocks should be based on the same time of collection. Veraison samples are a couple of weeks out for most vineyards. Samples should be collected separately for each cultivar or block. For apples, collect 50 leaves from the middle of this years’ terminal growth- not too old nor too young- from throughout the block and the tree canopy. In each vineyard sample, a random collection of 75-100 petioles should be collected from throughout the planting. Petioles should be collected from the most recent fully expanded leaf on the shoot, not across from the fruit cluster as is collected for a bloom sample. Just remove the whole leaf and snip the petiole (the leaf ‘stem’) off with your pruners.
Gently wash each sample in water with a drop of dish detergent, then rinse fully and place in an open-top paper bag to dry. The best analytical lab for grape petiole analysis that will provide recommendation for next year’s nutrient inputs is Dairy One, which is associated with the Cornell Nutrient Analysis Laboratory. Video- Taking a Foliar Sample: Vineyards and Orchards Taking a Foliar Sample: Vineyards and Orchards (University of Minnesota)
The UVM Agriculture and Environmental Testing Lab can provide analysis, but at this time their output does not generate fertility recommendations. The following are potential options of labs for analysis. It is recommended that you contact the lab for instructions and costs before samples are sent. Plus, it is important to confirm that they will send recommendations along with the analysis.
- Dairy One: https://dairyone.com/services/forage-laboratory-services/plant-tissue-analysis/
- University of Maine Analytical Lab: http://anlab.umesci.maine.edu/
- Waypoint analytical: https://www.waypointanalytical.com/Agricultural
Stay safe out there and as always please reach out if you need anything.
Terry
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Terence Bradshaw (he/him)
Associate Professor, Specialty Crops
Interim Chair
Dept of Agriculture, Landscape, and Environment
(formerly Plant and Soil Science)
College of Agriculture and Life Science
University of Vermont
117/210 – Jeffords Hall | 63 Carrigan Dr
Burlington, VT 05405
(802) 922-2591 | tbradsha
https://go.uvm.edu/pssbradshaw
UVM Fruit Website | UVM Fruit Blog
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