Can frost events trigger fire blight? Frost injury is considered a fire blight “trauma event”, but very little is known or published about exactly what conditions are required to trigger fire blight during a frost event. Because frost was widespread … Continue reading
The extended wetting periods and cool cloudy weather we are experiencing in the lower Hudson Valley as trees are approaching petal fall create unusually high risks for quince rust, Botrytis infection, and fruit marking from phytotoxicity. Special cautions are advised. … Continue reading
Note: This article was first published in Scaffolds Fruit Journal 29:1 (23 March 2020) but some of the hyperlinks in that article did not function correctly. Attention to a few disease-control details in early spring can make life easier through … Continue reading
In previous commentary, fungicides recommended for control of bitter rot in the Northeast included captan, ziram, and QoI fungicides, but continued dependence on the latter is probably neither sustainable nor advisable. Read my recent article published in Scaffolds Fruit Journal for the rationale … Continue reading
Apple growers and extension specialists in northeastern North America are seeing an alarming increase in the numbers of orchards, mostly young orchards, where trees are declining or dying due to dysfunctional trunks. The phenomenon has been named sudden apple decline (SAD) … Continue reading
Tuesday evening, May 3rd: Hudson Valley fruit growers should be thinking very carefully about their disease control strategies for the next few days. The good news is that the weather is too cool for fire blight to be a concern … Continue reading
Given that apples and pears are blooming again in the Hudson Valley, it’s time to think about fire blight. The primary risk from fire blight occurs during bloom, as everyone should know by now. The fire blight bacterium, Erwinia amylovora, … Continue reading
In addition to cold injury from our current cold snap, a scab infection period may arrive in the Hudson Valley with the warm rains predicted for Thursday. (No the snow did NOT kill the scab spores, and yes, the spores … Continue reading
The predicted scab infection risk for April 1-3 has diminished somewhat, but caution is still advised. Below are the RIMpro graphs for the two systems that I described in a post yesterday morning that was titled “Weather or Not.” The RIM … Continue reading
The scab infection risk for April 1-3 in the lower Hudson Valley may be waning, although caution is still advised. As suggested in my earlier post this morning, weather predictions that vary widely for events that are three or four days … Continue reading
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Many of the apple cultivars desired for making hard cider are currently in short supply, a fact that has resulted in high prices for fruit of some especially desirable cultivars. Apple growers interested in producing cider apples may wish to … Continue reading
Tuesday, April 22: Apricots at the Hudson Valley Lab were in full bloom this afternoon. Trees on top of the hill behind the lab showed very little bud damage, but other apricots planted in a colder area on the back side … Continue reading
16 April 2014: Low temperatures early this morning (Wed) varied by region, but ranged from 28 to as low as 23 across the Hudson Valley. More freezing temperatures are predicted for early Thursday morning. Green tissue in apple buds that … Continue reading
Sun, 6 April: They may have been active before, but I heard the first spring peepers this afternoon. The buds on red maples are swollen and ready to pop. Both events are indicators that the time for the first tree fruit … Continue reading
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