Monthly Archives: April 2019

NEWA apple pollen tube growth model now available

A new model that helps apple growers precisely time thinning sprays during bloom is available in time for the 2019 growing season on the NEWA website. It is called the pollen tube growth model (PTGM).

Developed by Greg Peck, Assistant Professor of Horticulture at Cornell University, PTGM expands available apple management options for apple producers, helping those who use bloom thinning to increase the chances of ideal crop load at harvest.

Peck collaborated with researchers at Virginia Tech to adapt their existing PTGM model for use on the NEWA platform, linking real-time hourly weather data with pollen tube growth rates collected under controlled temperature conditions.

Apple varieties in the pollen tube growth model include Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Red Delicious, and Pink Lady.

An article by Peck and Olmstead was published in the Spring 2019 issue of Fruit Quarterly that provides instruction and technical information about the PTGM. It also describes the research, justification, and logic for model development. Click the link below to view a PDF version of the article.

Implementing the Pollen Tube Growth Model on NEWA

If you are a New York producer and have additional questions about the PTGM, reach out to your regional extension specialist to learn more about this model.

Table 2. NY apple extension specialists.

Affiliation Name
New York State IPM Program Julie Carroll
Cornell Cooperative Extension Lake Ontario Fruit Team Craig Kahlke
Mario Sazo
Cornell Cooperative Extension Eastern New York Horticulture Team Mike Basedow (northern NY)
Dan Donahue (Hudson Valley)

Outside of NY, get in touch with your NEWA state coordinator to ask about local extension resources, expertise, and applicability of the PTGM in your area.

Table 3. NEWA state coordinators.

Region Entity State coordinator
Connecticut University of Connecticut
UConn Extension
http://www.extension.uconn.edu/
Mary Concklin
860-486-6449
mary.concklin@uconn.edu
Massachusetts University of Massachusetts
UMass Extension
ag.umass.edu
Jon Clements
413-478-7219
clements@umext.umass.edu
Michigan Michigan State University
Enviroweather Program
http://www.enviroweather.msu.edu/
Beth Bishop
517-432-6520
bishopb@msu.edu
Minnesota Minnesota Apple Growers Association
http://www.minnesotaapple.org/
JP Jacobson
651-429-6577
jpmnapples@gmail.com
New Hampshire University of New Hampshire
UNH Cooperative Extension
extension.unh.edu
Cheryl Smith
603-862-3841
cheryl.smith@unh.edu
New Jersey Rutgers University
Rutgers Cooperative Extension
njaes.rutgers.edu/extension
Peter Oudemans
609-726-1590
oudemans@aesop.rutgers.edu
New York Cornell University | NEWA
New York State Integrated Pest Management Program
newa.cornell.edu
Dan Olmstead
315-787-2207
support@newa.zendesk.com
North Carolina North Carolina State University
North Carolina Cooperative Extension
www.ces.ncsu.edu
Mike Parker
919-515-1198
mlp@ncsu.edu
Ohio The Ohio State University
USDA/OARDC
oardc.osu.edu
Matt Wallhead
440-320-0705
wallhead.3@osu.edu
Pennsylvania Penn State University
Penn State Extension
extension.psu.edu
Rob Crassweller
814-863-6163
rmc7@psu.edu
Vermont University of Vermont
UVM Extension
www.uvm.edu/extension
Terence Bradshaw
802-922-2591
tbradsha@uvm.edu
Virginia Virginia Tech
Virginia Cooperative Extension
ext.vt.edu
Mizuho Nita
540-869-2560 x33
nita24@vt.edu
West Virginia West Virginia University
WVU Extension Service
https://extension.wvu.edu/
M.M. Rahman
304-293-8838
MM.Rahman@mail.wvu.edu
Wisconsin University of Wisconsin
UW Extension
www.uwex.edu
Amaya Atucha
608-262-6452
atucha@wisc.edu
All other regions Cornell University | NEWA
New York State Integrated Pest Management Program
Dan Olmstead
315-787-2207
support@newa.zendesk.com

 

Julie Carroll Earns 2019 Excellence in IPM Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media contact: Jennifer Grant | Office: 315-787-2353 | jag7@cornell.edu

For photos: http://nysipm.cornell.edu/about/we-give-awards/2018-excellence-ipm-award-winners/juliet-carroll/

Formidable Fruit Doyenne Earns Excellence in IPM Award

GENEVA NY, March 1, 2019: Dr. Juliet Carroll, Fruit IPM Coordinator, received an Excellence in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Award from the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program (NYSIPM) at the Viticulture day of the B.E.V. (Business, Enology, Viticulture) conference in Rochester. NYSIPM develops sustainable ways to manage pests and helps people to use methods that minimize environmental, health and economic risks. The award honors individuals who encourage the adoption of IPM in their businesses, schools, communities, and farms, and who develop new tools and tactics for sharing these practices.

Vital. Invaluable. These are words used to describe Julie Carroll’s IPM contributions by her colleagues. Carroll spearheaded the expansion of NEWA, a website and network which allows growers to understand how the weather will affect fungal and insect pests, and takes the guess work out of their pest management strategy. Carroll ran NEWA for over a decade. Timothy Weigle credits NEWA’s growth in not only weather stations, but also the number of states participating, to Julie’s guidance. Under her leadership NEWA went from 45 weather stations in New York State to over 500 in 12 states. He notes further that her work on improving the user experience with the grape disease and grape berry moth models on NEWA, along with Wayne Wilcox and Greg Loeb, had an enormous impact on the implementation of grape IPM in New York.

Laura McDermott, Regional Extension Specialist in Hudson Falls, NY, noted Dr. Carroll’s passion for integrating pest management strategies, and called her “a determined perfectionist.”

Carroll also led the development of Trac software. Introduced in the early 2000s, the software simplified and digitized pesticide recordkeeping for large and small growers and processors alike. It allows farmers to input the information once, and generate customized reports for different processors. The software also includes reference to “IPM Elements” for grapes and other crops—a tool that helps growers assess their pest management practices. Grape processors across the state, including Constellation Brands, use TracGrape’s reports for their pesticide reporting requirements. Carroll built Trac software for five fruit crops, and partnered with a colleague to create TracTurfgrass for golf, lawns, sports fields and sod farms.

Luke Haggerty, of Constellation Brands, calls Carroll’s TracGrape software “a true breakthrough” in record keeping. As a Grower Relations rep for Constellation, he relies on information provided by NEWA: “Julie has always been very proactive in developing and delivering the products needed for our growers to produce grapes in an environmentally and economically sustainable way.”

Tim Martinson, Cornell Cooperative Extension Viticulture specialist, noted, “IPM is built on information and decision-making tools. Juliet has built TracGrape and NEWA into useful, practical tools for growers.”

Dr. Carroll also co-edited Organic Production and IPM Guides for grapes and several berry crops, and has regularly presented at Lake Erie Regional Grape Growers’ conferences and Coffee Pot meetings. She has conducted research on devastating pests such as the Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD)—investigating whether hungry hummingbirds can provide meaningful control. Dr. Carroll has also chaired the Northeast IPM SWD working groups for the last decade, bringing research scientists, growers, industry reps, and extension educators from across the region together to help find solutions. Carroll has also helped fruit growers with bird management. Tim Weigle noted that her bird-scaring tactics have saved everyone a lot of money and are more popular than the traditional neighbor-alienating air cannon.

Learn more about Integrated Pest Management at nysipm.cornell.edu.