University of Vermont Fruit Blog

Category: Tree Fruit

  • Orchard management week of June 15

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    by Terence Bradshaw Apparently I need to go away for a week for us to get any significant moisture, and boy did we get it. The good news is that apple scab ascospores should be all released now, so if you maintained good protection during the primary infection season, You should be done by now.…

  • Save the Date: Champlain Valley Orchard Tour June 30

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    by Terence Bradshaw Please consider joining us for a tour of Champlain Valley orchards sponsored by the UVM Fruit Team, UVM Extension Risk Management Agency, Vermont Tree Fruit Growers Association, and Cornell Cooperative Extension on June 30, 2015. Final details are still being arranged, and an agenda will be forthcoming. Cornell Entomologist Peter Jentsch will…

  • Post-rain pest management

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    June 2, 2015 by Terence Bradshaw We are coming out of the biggest apple scab infection period of the season in Vermont orchards, and despite model predictions, I and many others in the region are assuming that there were plenty of mature ascospores that were released since rains started on Sunday. For orchards that were…

  • Rain…finally

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    May 31, 2015 by Terence Bradshaw After last night’s rains, I would say that every orchard in the region experienced an infection period last night that will likely continue through Tuesday. Because it has been so dry this spring, few opportunities have been available to release of apple scab ascospores, so a large amount of…

  • Apple scab, plum curculio, thinning

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    May 28, 2015 by Terence Bradshaw I was a bit absent earlier this week when some of this information may have been relevant, but here’s my take on the situation in Vermont orchards: Apple scab: Although there has been little moisture this season, infection periods have occurred, and I saw my first primary scab lesion…

  • Marginal yellowing on apple leaves

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    May 22, 2015 by Terence Bradshaw This is just a quick note to help explain a condition you may be seeing on your orchards this year. Yesterday, while passing through the orchard quickly, I noticed marginal yellowing on many leaves, similar to the picture below. My first thought was to go back and diagnose a…

  • Petal fall: scab, insects, and thinning

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    May 19, 2015 by Terence Bradshaw Most orchards in the ‘traditional’ growing regions in Vermont are at or near petal fall, although the cool weather may be extending bloom a bit. This is a critical time for orchard management, so be ready. Apple scab: Ascospore maturity is high and with few wetting periods lately many…

  • Fire blight risk

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    May 15, 2015 by Terence Bradshaw With all credit to Dan Cooley from UMASS, I am sending along a comment of his for Massachusetts growers that is equally pertinent to Vermont: “Fire Blight update May 15 – it’s not done quite yet With the refreshingly cool weather, the tendency is to think fire blight is…

  • Scab, pink insect management, fire blight, what else?

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    May 7, 2015 by Terence Bradshaw This is an important week for orchard activities, as you likely know. I’ll try to be brief but thorough: Apple scab: Depending on whether or not you had green tissue showing on April 23 or (more likely) April 27-28, you may not have even seen an apple scab infection…

  • More on Fire Blight

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    May 5, 2015 by Terence Bradshaw We have run the Maryblyt model for the UVM Hort Farm in South Burlington and, as I had predicted this morning, conditions for infection will occur this weekend if blossoms are open. We may not have flowers showing by this weekend, but growers are advised to be diligent in…