The Empire State Growers Expo in 2024 will have a full day of berry programming, moderated by Laura McDermott of CCE ENYCHP and Anya Osatuke of CCE HNY. The EXPO will be held in-person at the On Center in Syracuse, NY from January 23 – 24.
Here is a link with EXPO information.
Here is a link to register for the EXPO.
The three berry sessions will begin at 9:00 am and continue until 3:30pm on Tuesday, January 23. We are requesting 1.5 DEC credits for each session. Below is a detailed agenda of the program. We hope to see you there!
Session 1 – Brambles – 9:00 am – 10:30 am
9:00 am Cane Berry Variety Update – Courtney Weber, Cornell
Dr. Weber will provide an update on new raspberry and blackberry varieties. Disease
resistance and horticultural characteristics that are important to insect management will
be included.
9:30 am Novel Approaches to Cane Berry Production – Marvin Pritts, Cornell
Dr. Pritts will explain some of the newer production practices being used across the
country. These practices will help growers better manage disease and insect pests, while
also improving productivity. The focus of the talk will be on pruning and trellising
practices that improve airflow and sunlight.
10:00 am Growing Blackberries in NY – Is it Worth Trying? – Tim Stanton, Feura Farm,
Feura Bush, NY
Mr. Stanton is an experienced farmer, but blackberries were a new enterprise. By
employing a version of the rotating cross-arm trellis, along with cultivar choices, he has
been able to reliably produce blackberries on his farm.
10:30 am Adjourn
Session 2 – Blueberry – 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
11:00 am Fruitworm Review – Maggots, Fruit Flies and Worms – Anna Wallis, NYS IPM, Cornell
Dr. Wallis will review fruit worm life cycles and management strategies for controlling
these families of blueberry pests.
11:30 am TracCloud – Improving Berry Pesticide Management – Juliet Carroll, NYS IPM, Cornell
Dr. Carroll, the original designer of TracBerry, will introduce and guide growers through
the updated version of this pesticide tracking software.
12:00 pm Blueberry Disease Management Review – Kerik Cox, Cornell
Dr. Cox will discuss the major diseases for NYS blueberry plantings and explain control
strategies. Diseases likely to be covered include cane blights, fruit rots and viruses.
12:30 pm Adjourn
Session 3 – Strawberry: 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
2:00 pm Strawberry Research Update – Anya Osatuke, CCE Harvest, NY, and Laura McDermot, CCE ENYCHP
Berry Extension Specialists Osatuke and McDermott will update growers on recent
research results focused on 1) Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation, an organic soil fumigation
method; 2) new approaches to winterizing strawberries in the northeast; 3) using low tunnels with June bearing strawberries to reduce pesticide applications; 4) organic fungicide materials for strawberry disease control.
2:45 pm Preventing & Managing Strawberry Anthracnose Resistance – Scot Cosseboom, Cornell
Dr. Cosseboom will discuss ongoing research looking at managing fungicide resistance in
anthracnose disease on June bearing and Day Neutral strawberries.
3:30 pm Adjourn