University of Vermont Fruit Blog

Category: IPM

  • Apple scab, what would we do without you?

    —

    by

    fruit

    By Terence Bradshaw Here’s a quick note to remind everyone that we’re in the middle of an extended wetting and apple scab infection period that is likely to peak on Monday. Every orchard in the state still has mature ascospores in the leaf litter from last year, so stay protected. We’re also still in rust…

  • Apple scab infection period now… (May 13)

    —

    by

    fruit
    in

    By Terence Bradshaw This is a very brief message to Vermont apple growers that we are in a dry and relatively windless slot between significant wetting events and it would be wise to make sure that your fungicide coverage is maintained. I wouldn’t worry about insects now, unless you are treating for scale, but a…

  • REGISTRATION for May 16 Apple Scouting/IPM meeting

    —

    by

    fruit

    By Terence Bradshaw The UVM Fruit Program will host a hands-on program on apple orchard Integrated Pest Management and scouting on May 16, 2019. The program will run 1:00 – 4:00 PM. In the event of rain, we will hold the meeting on May 17. We will contact attendees the day before if we need…

  • Grape flea beetle, weed management

    —

    by

    fruit
    in ,

    By Terence Bradshaw May 5, 2019 Buds are swelling in Vermont orchards. I haven’t looked at our vines in South Burlington since Friday, and they were fully swelled then, but I cleaned up my vines at home (1500’ elevation, Washington county) today and they were quite swelled up. I expect bud break any day now.…

  • Pest management in orchards this week, May 5

    —

    by

    fruit

    By Terence Bradshaw First note, please remember that we will be hosting an Orchard Scouting Field Workshop at the UVM HREC on May 16, 1-4 PM to help growers with implementing scouting programs and to discuss upcoming management strategies. I’ll have a registration link ready later this week. The event will be free, but I’m…

  • Apple scab management this week

    —

    by

    fruit

    By Terence Bradshaw Well, so much for spring. Things sure cooled down this week, with apple trees pretty much parked between green tip and half-inch green bud stage, with a little more advancement in southern parts of the state. The primary scab ascospores that drive the whole disease cycle for the year and overwinter on…

  • Scouting workshop May 16; apple season is well underway

    —

    by

    fruit

    By Terence Bradshaw At the UVM Horticulture Research and Education Center (HREC), we hit the green tip bud stage on McIntosh today. This means that, even for orchards with relatively low apple scab inoculum that carried over from last year, disease management should commence any time. Today would have been a great time to put…

  • 2019 New England Tree Fruit Management Guide available!

    —

    by

    fruit

    By Terence Bradshaw For as long as I’ve been in this fruit business with UVM (1995-present) and well before, the cooperating Extension fruit programs of the New England Universities have collaborated on a management guide for commercial tree fruit growers. That guide has taken numerous forms, but in 2017, we switched a on online-only platform…

  • Beginning the 2019 viticulture season

    —

    by

    fruit

    By Terence Bradshaw After a long winter, spring is here and bud break is approaching. Plan on wrapping up pruning in the coming weeks and removing brush from the rive alleys to the burn pile (and burn it, too, to reduce overwintering insects and disease inoculum). This is a good time to review your previous…

  • Green tip on apples expected as early as this week

    —

    by

    fruit

    By Terence Bradshaw After a long, drawn-out winter like those from the ‘good old days’, it’s hard to believe that spring often happens pretty quickly. By that I mean that we’ll shift from winter activities when the sleeping trees provide us plenty of time and bandwidth to tend to certain tasks, but when the buds…