Grape Grower Webinars Planned for April 22 and May 13

By Terence Bradshaw

Passing on information on two informative webinars that local growers should find useful.- TB

The University of Minnesota Extension and University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension are teaming up to offer two webinars/Q&A sessions for grape growers in April and May. The goal of these events is to help growers refine their early season vineyard management plan and ask questions. We will focus on key tasks and sprays that must be completed between bud swell and bloom.

In the first 30 minutes of each webinar, you will hear from UMN and UW experts on topics like insect, disease, and weed management; soil fertility; and other critical vineyard tasks like vine planting technique. The second 30 minutes is reserved for open Question and Answer time.

April 22 @ 1:00pm CDT: What To Do Now – Grape Bud Swell

REGISTER HERE: z.umn.edu/Grape1

May 13 at 1:00pm CDT: What To Do Now – Early Season Fungicides & Planting Grapevines

REGISTER HERE: z.umn.edu/Grape2

For more information on the topics that will be covered, please click the registration links above.

Speakers include Amaya Atucha (UW-Madison), Matt Clark (UMN), Jed Colquhoun (UW-Madison), Christelle Geudot (UW-Madison), Annie Klodd (UMN), and John Thull (UMN)

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, a USDA NIFA E-IPM

Grant, and USDA Risk Management Agency Funds.

Pesticide Training and Recertification Online Courses Available

Pesticide Training and Recertification Online Courses Available

Online courses to help study for pesticide applicator exams and to provide recertification credits for certified pesticide applicators are offered by the UVM Extension Pesticide Safety Education Program. These on-demand, self-paced courses are presented through narrated video modules.

Current courses:

  • Northeast CORE Manual Review (no credit)
  • Northeast CORE Manual Review, Unit #1 (1 credit)
  • Northeast CORE Manual Review, Unit #2 (1 credit)
  • Northeast CORE Manual Review, Unit #3 (1 credit)
  • Northeast CORE Manual Review, Unit #4 (1 credit)
  • *NEW* Category 7A Manual Review (no credit)

Courses are available through eXtension Campus, part of the national Cooperative Extension System, and open to the general public and certified pesticide applicators throughout the Northeast.

Visit https://www.uvm.edu/extension/pseponline for course details.

Orchard management- slow and low

By Terence Bradshaw

Here’s a real quick update. Bud stage in warmest Vermont orchard sites is around half-inch green (HIG). At that point, copper should not be applied unless you know the crop is going to cider, as copper applied at any effective rate for this time of year will russet the fruit finish. Frost is expected, again, the next few nights. At HIG, buds are hardy to around 20°F. I see no immediate issues in that regard. But, frost means that oil and/or captan should not be used in the orchard, at least until late next week. Early season scab fungicides of choice should be mancozeb or scala/vanguard. Sulfur, of course, is the main material for use in organic orchards.

In the Champlain Valley, we’re still closer to green tip for now. That means that copper is still a viable material, but be sure to not apply it after the first two “mouse ear” leaves emerge from the bud. See the bud stage link (above) for a visual. Otherwise, default to those listed above.

Buds are around silver tip or even dormant in upland and inland sites. Hold tight there, although you could get a prophylactic copper on for fire blight, but that won’t help much against scab.

BUT, this doesn’t suggest that anyone needs to spray. Modeled ascospore development is around 1-7%, more in southern areas. Potential for rain is pretty solid today and fairly spotty until midweek. You need rain and extended wetting to cause infection. Here’s my take: orchard at HIG or later should maintain coverage, especially if you have an orchard that takes substantial time to spray. Time it as close to rain as possible; if you were uncovered going into today’s rain, cover as soon as this rain is done with a protectant + Vangard or Scala for some kickback. If you were covered or are in one of the lower risk sites (decent scab control last year, green tip or earlier bud stage), hold off until we get a better idea of the chance for rain later in the week. Of course, use NEWA to keep an eye on scab development in your area.

Insect notes: if tarnished plant bug is a concern in your orchard (less so in pick your own than wholesale orchards), then get traps up soon. We use white sticky traps from Gemplers or Great Lakes IPM. Set three per block, knee-high, on a lower scaffold out in the drive row. Check weekly, giving enough time to apply prebloom insecticide if needed. Trap thresholds are listed in our monitoring guide located here. Print that out and out it on your wall in the shop.

If you’ve had mite or scale problems, think about your options for managing them in the next few weeks. Oil is a great first line of defense, but if you have high populations, especially of scale, you may need to consider adding a stronger material prebloom. Esteem is most recommended for scale, applied around HIG to tight cluster. If mites have been a problem, there are a number of materials available for prebloom use, you’d best check the New England Tree Fruit Management Guide for recommendations.

Be safe out there.

Terry

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, a USDA NIFA E-IPM

Grant, and USDA Risk Management Agency Funds.

April 17 Trellis workshop canceled

Per UVM policy in accordance with Governor Scott’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” policy, the Trellis Building Workshop scheduled at the UVM Horticulture Research and Education Center is canceled. We hope to host the Vermont fruit growing community at the farm later this summer.

Thanks, and be safe.

Terry

Green tip has arrived in many Vermont orchards

By Terence Bradshaw

Yesterday, April 9, we ‘called’ green tip at the UVM Horticulture Farm, orchards. This signals that buds are beginning to open, and therefore green tissue is present that may be susceptible to apple scab infection. The apple scab ascospore maturity model, which predicts the presence of mature overwintering inoculum that could infect, given appropriate weather conditions, uses ‘McIntosh’ green tip as a biofix to start accumulating degree days. It is best to record your own green tip date, and if you are using NEWA to track infections, use the station that is closest to your farm (or buy your own station, and I can help you to connect it to the NEWA network).

Presently, the orchards in the warmest parts of the state (Bennington and Putney) are predicting 2-5% of ascospores mature; in Addison, Chittenden, and Grand Isle counties, it’s more like 1-2%. Inland and upland sites likely aren’t even at green tip yet, but will likely advance once the warm weather returns. What does this mean? In warmer areas, I would get copper on as soon as you can get in- remember, after the buds reach ½” green tissue, your window for high-rate copper is closed. Wind is looking pretty fierce on Monday (rainy too) and Tuesday, and both of those days look to be in the 50s-60s. So I’d try to get some copper on this weekend. Hold off on oil, as it’s looking like frost conditions Saturday night. For orchards that are closer to the very beginning of green tip and which have less chance of advancing beyond half-inch green on Monday and Tuesday, I would wait until Wednesday or so and apply copper (and oil if you can). For inland and upland sites with no bud break- hold off.

It’s important to recognize that early season infections when <5% of ascospores are mature typically won’t cause much if any scab, especially if your inoculum is low to begin with. Some orchards had terrible scab problems last year, and if you had any noticeable scab, assume that you’re high inoculum and need to take a more conservative strategy this year. But, if you had low scab (as in, none that you know of), and/or you perform orchard sanitation, you can relax a little bit in the early season. You still have time to flail mow leaves and / or apply urea to the orchard floor to reduce scab load for this year. However, copper is important not just as a (relatively weak) scab protectant, but also as a fire blight management tool, so I strongly urge growers to get copper on before the window closes if you’ve had any whiff of that disease in the recent past.

Don’t Forget- The New England Tree Fruit Management Guide is now housed at: http://netreefruit.org.

-Terry

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, a USDA NIFA E-IPM

Grant, and USDA Risk Management Agency Funds.

Important: COVID-19 impact reporting

By Terence Bradshaw

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets is collecting farm-level data to assess the impact of COVID-19 and loss of business from break normal operations on area farms. Please fill out this short survey to contribute. The more data they have, the better their response can be.

Thank you,

Terry

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, a USDA NIFA E-IPM

Grant, and USDA Risk Management Agency Funds.

COVID-19 business resources, green tip approaching in VT orchards

By Terence Bradshaw

First, UVM Extension Farm Viability Program has posted a page of resources for farm businesses related to emergency loans, grants, and other updates from state agencies: http://blog.uvm.edu/farmvia/?p=1805. Of particular interest to the framing community is the Paycheck Protection Program which provides low-interest, forgiveable loans to small businesses to cover payroll, mortgage interest, rent, and utilities. The direct link to that program is: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program-ppp.

In walking the orchards at the UVM Hort Farm yesterday, I saw a lot of swollen, delayed-dormant buds, but only none yet at silver tip. Given the warm weather expected next week, I would expect to see at least some cultivars reach green tip in the next seven days. If you have green tissue on your farm already, please send me a note to let me know. Thus begins the disease management season.

If you’re still pruning, you should wrap up what you can and get your brush pushed to make room for sprayer access. I am a believer in using copper at green tip for disease management. The timing of this spray is very important- too soon (no green tissue showing) and you risk ‘wasting’ some of the effectiveness of the material against apple scab when susceptible tissue isn’t present. Too late (beyond ½” green tip) and you risk fruit russeting, which can be quite severe. Given that, it’s better to err a bit on the early side, but you should have green tissue showing in the orchard before applying. Copper applied at green tip will give about seven days’ protection against apple scab.

Copper’s primary benefit is in reducing overwintering populations of fire blight bacteria. Even though we saqw minimal amounts of this disease last year, fire blight has become a regular disease to manage in Vermont, and a multi-pronged approach will be needed to keep it at bay. Copper should be applied to all trees in the orchard, not just susceptible varieties, and in as dilute a spray as possible. The specific copper material is less critical than the amount of metallic copper that is applied in the spray, and copper sulfate, copper hydroxide, copper oxychloride sulfate products all will be effective when used at label rates. A good primer on spring copper applications to pome fruit by Dr. David Rosenberger can be found in the March 28, 2011 issue of Scaffolds. Addition of one quart oil per 100 gallons can help improve penetration into bark crevasses where fire blight may reside. However, this could be a good time to apply a full oil spray to manage overwintering mites, and a 2% solution is recommended at this timing. Oil and copper products are compatible for tank mixing at this time of the year, but likelihood of phytotoxicity increases as more green tissue emerges. One benefit of applying oil in your first spray is that it allows more time for it to degrade or wash off before incompatible fungicides such as Captan and sulfur may be used as primary scab season ramps up. Avoid the oil if you’re within a few days (before or after the spray) of a frost to reduce chances of damage to tree tissues.

Now that the ground is clear and firming up, it also would be a good idea to perform spring orchard sanitation to reduce overwintering scab inoculum. Leaf shredding with a flail mower is an effective practice that also may be used to reduce small pruning wood to mulch, but the mower must be kept low in order to lift and grind leaves that harbor overwintering inoculum. Alternatively, there is still time to apply urea (40 lbs/100 gal water/acre) to leaf litter which aids in decomposition and breakdown of inoculum. Leaves should be wetted thoroughly and the majority of material directed into the tree row.

Good luck with the beginning of the season and please reach out if you need anything.

-Terry

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, a USDA NIFA E-IPM

Grant, and USDA Risk Management Agency Funds.

Pre bud break vineyard management; COVID-19 farm business resources

By Terence Bradshaw

First, UVM Extension Farm Viability Program has posted a page of resources for farm businesses related to emergency loans, grants, and other updates from state agencies: http://blog.uvm.edu/farmvia/?p=1805. Of particular interest to the framing community is the Paycheck Protection Program which provides low-interest, forgiveable loans to small businesses to cover payroll, mortgage interest, rent, and utilities. The direct link to that program is: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program-ppp.

In the vineyard, things are holding tight now but reports from the Hudson Valley suggest an early bud break. Dr. Jim Myers continues to run his bud hardiness model, which for our region, shows vines beginning to deacclimate about 7-10 days earlier than normal. Does that mean budbreak will be 7-10 days early? Maybe, but not guaranteed. But this is a suggestion that we should get things in order for the season to begin before we know it. For those who follow this list, the rest of this message is an updated copy from this time last year- the early season details are pretty much the same year-to-year:

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 season’s spray records and to identify any gaps that may have led to disease issues. We have updated two disease management documents in 2017 for Vermont and area grape growers: a table of relative disease susceptibility of cold-climate cultivars and an initial IPM strategy for cold climate winegrapes. More information on general viticulture and other small fruit production can be found in the 2019 New England Small Fruit Management Guide , and the 2020 New York and Pennsylvania Pest Management Guidelines for Grapes are now available and should be used in combination with specific pesticide labels to select pesticide materials for use in your IPM program.

One pesticide spray that is often considered by growers is a late dormant application of lime sulfur (LS) which aids in inoculum reduction against many diseases, especially phomopsis and anthracnose. Growers who have had more than a passing amount of either of those diseases, especially organic growers with more limited choice of materials during the growing season may consider applying this practice, but I make that recommendation with several caveats. While LS is an organically-approved pesticide, it is one of the most acutely toxic materials I have ever used, and demands special considerations for its use. It is also a restricted-used spray material, so unlicensed applicators may not purchase or apply it. LS (active ingredient calcium polysulfide) is very caustic; spray mixtures tend to have pH around 10-11, and that characteristic is what gives it its sanitizing effect as a biocide. Contact with skin or especially eyes must be avoided, and it is pretty noxious even when smelled through a respirator. This material demands respect. While those effects will dissipate in the field after sufficient washoff and degradation by rain and other elements, I would only plan on applying after pruning is finished so not to muck around in it after application. In fact, very thorough pruning out of all dead and diseased wood is an important cultural disease control practice, and if you have a lot of such wood left in the vineyard, spraying your way around pruning it out won’t help.

LS is typically labeled for application at "15-20 gallons per acre in sufficient water for coverage" (Miller Liquid Lime Sulfur). That is a very high amount of LS, and would be difficult to apply and very costly when applied to large acreages. The key is to fully soak all woody tissues in the vineyard. This may mean aiming all nozzles at the cordons, but that would leave the trunks uncovered. Alternatively, the sprayer could be operated to cover the whole zone from the fruiting wire down, which would waste a tremendous amount of spray. The best application may come from a careful handgun application, which will take a long time and should be done with full protective gear including heavy nitrile gloves, full face shield and respirator, and Tyvek or other chemical-resistant, disposable coveralls. It is hard to say how much you would apply per acre in a directed spray, since that would be much more efficient with less wasted spray than an airblast application. My suggestion would be to apply a 10% solution (1 gallon LS to 9 gallons water) by handgun to cordons and trunks in a very thorough soaking spray. If you need to use an airblast to cover more ground, I would concentrate my nozzles toward the cordons but leave one or two directed toward the trunks, that will waste spray between vines but will allow you to cover ground much quicker. Because of the reduction in efficiency, I would calibrate to apply ten gallons of LS per acre in at least fifty gallons of water.

Remember, this stuff is caustic, stinky, and degrades just about everything it touches. It’s also quite phytotoxic- application at these rates to vines after bud break will cause leaf damage if not outright defoliation. I have used a lot of LS during the growing season in organic apple production, and don’t recommend it there unless absolutely necessary. I do not have experience using it in-season (post-bud break) on grapes, so this recommended spray must be applied during the window between pruning and bud break. The spray, if left on tractors and in sprayer plumbing, will corrode hoses, gaskets, and even stainless steel. It must be thoroughly rinsed from sprayer systems and the rinsate applied back out in the vineyard, not dumped on the ground. Some growers have applied a film of vegetable oil via backpack prayer to tractors and sprayers before an LS application to prevent it from soaking into and corroding steel and other materials on equipment. It’s that bad, and I could show you sprayer hitches, mix screens, and ceramic nozzles that have been degraded by it.

With all that said, LS is extremely effective as a preventative practice to reduce disease inoculum, and I still recommend its use in vineyards where anthracnose and/or phomopsis have gotten a bit out of control. Just be careful out there and treat it with the same (and a little more) respect that you should retreat any pesticide.”

Good luck with your vineyard activities in the coming weeks, and let’s all hope for a ‘normal’, gradual spring warm-up.

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, a USDA NIFA E-IPM

Grant, and USDA Risk Management Agency Funds.

Webinar TODAY on COVID-19 and produce farms;

By Terence Bradshaw

I apologize for the late notice. There will be a webinar hosted by the Cornell Workforce Development, Produce Safety Alliance, and Small Farm Program today, April 3 at 10:00 am : COVID-19 and Your Produce Farm. Details at: https://events.cornell.edu/event/covid-19_and_your_produce_farm_webinar

Best,

Terry

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, a USDA NIFA E-IPM

Grant, and USDA Risk Management Agency Funds.

Farm relief during COVID-19 crisis

By Terence Bradshaw

Hi everyone:

It was gorgeous outside today, which provided a good chance to get caught up on pruning, pushing brush, and prepping for a growing season that is right around the corner. This is not my usual message about orchard or vineyard management.

Many of our fruit and vegetable farms rely on H2A workers. They manage many farm tasks year-round, not just at harvest. I’ve spoken with Deputy Secretary Alyson Eastman from VT Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets and she has assured me that those workers will be available this year with only a slight delay, if any, for those who would be coming in the next few weeks. Officials at the USDA and Dept of Labor have identified H2a / H2B workers, and other agricultural workers in general, as “essential employees” who must be supported through this situation.

Farms that use H2A or other workers who live in communal housing especially should develop a plan for screening employees for illness and to safely quarantine them if they are symptomatic or test positive for the COVID-19 virus. This means that employers should be proactive- have digital thermometers on-hand and teach employees to use them to monitor for fever. Develop sanitation protocols for worker housing, especially share spaces like bathrooms and kitchens. Stock your housing with essentials: disinfectants that are active against the flu virus; paper products; cough medicine; acetaminophen; etc. Farms should also identify other operations in the area with H2A worker housing so that resources may be shared if workers need to be quarantined. Workers who stay in housing that is not in their work order need that to be amended, but it will be easier to do so if they are staying in another H2A inspected facility.

I am also concerned about farms that do not have backup personnel for skilled tasks, in particular, spraying. If one of us goes down from this illness, a missed spray program during a critical time can threaten the whole crop for the season. Therefore, I propose that we develop a system where we can meet emergency labor needs on our farms through mutual and/or community aid.

I have started a google survey https://forms.gle/s9rJtFBJWH6iGqAQ7 to collect and share this information with our grower community. I could also use our VT Tree Fruit mailing list which is largely dormant but has two-way communication set up so that growers can easily reach out to the larger community.

I have been thinking a lot about the role of our farms, and the vulnerability of our farmers, during this public health crisis we’re in. Our farms are absolutely essential, and I have been impressed with how our food production and distribution system has handled this situation. One of our fellow growers posted on social media that their farm sent 275,000 pounds of apples this week alone to customers all over the eastern U.S. While most of our farms are not of that size, we are capable of producing a lot of food for people- and this year in particular, people are going to need it. So let’s do our best to get a great crop in this fall, and that means getting our orchards and vineyards in shape now. I also want to ask farms to consider how we can best rise up to get food to everyone who needs it. I am not asking anyone to work for free, by any means. But this is a time when our perennial crops can show their resilience. Orchards in reasonably good shape will produce a crop this year, barring any calamities. We may want to consider bringing unmanaged or planned-to-pull-out blocks into at least a minimal management program this year, even if those fruit are donated or gleaned by charitable organizations. I was planning to pull an older, 1-acre block (~15% or our production) from the UVM orchard this year. Instead, I plan to grow it for the new UVM Student Food Shelf. I know that labor and management of these blocks will be a drain on already stretched resources, but this seems like the year where we need all the food we can muster.

The Agency has some good information on COVID-19 for farms and food businesses: https://agriculture.vermont.gov/covid-19-information

Chris Callahan at UVM Extension also has some great on Food Safety and the virus: https://www.uvm.edu/extension/necafs/clearinghouse/home

The Peace and Justice Center has collected a list or regional mutual aid resources: https://www.pjcvt.org/mutual-aid-and-other-resources-related-to-covid-19/

NC State Farmers Market COVID-19 info sheet: https://foodsafety.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Farmers-Market_COVID-19_031320.pdf?fwd=no

NC State U-Pick Farms COVID-19 info sheet: https://foodsafety.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/U-Pick-Farms_COVID-19_031620.pdf?fwd=no

Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development site https://agworkforce.cals.cornell.edu/2020/03/12/novel-coronavirus-prevention-control-for-farms/

Thank you and be well,

Terry

The UVM Tree Fruit and Viticulture Program is supported by the

University of Vermont Agriculture Experiment Station, a USDA NIFA E-IPM

Grant, and USDA Risk Management Agency Funds.