Berry ‘To-Do’ list:

• Spotted Wing Drosophila has been found throughout the region this week. This is the earliest we’ve seen it, and it’s a little unusual that it’s so widespread so soon.  Fruit that is ripening or ripe need to be protected.  The first spray is very important as it serves to undercut the population expansion before the adults lay eggs in the fruit.  Research has shown that attention to the early sprays helps enormously in the season-long management strategy.  The 2024 SWD Pesticide Quick Guide of all effective insecticides – organic and conventional – is available on our website.
• Spotted Lanternfly: Reports of nymphs in SE NY. The fast-moving tick-like nymphs are black with small white spots and spring away when disturbed. They feed on many herbaceous and woody plants this time of year causing minimal to no apparent plant damage.

If you live outside Dutchess, Nassau, New York City, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk (except for North Fork), Sullivan, Ulster, Westchester, you can help by reporting SLF immediately after it is found. Follow these steps:

1. Take pictures of the insect, egg masses and/or infestation signs as described above (include something for scale such as a coin or ruler) and email to spottedlanternfly@agriculture.ny.gov

OR fill out the Department of Agriculture and Markets’ reporting form

2. Note the location (address, intersecting roads, landmarks or GPS coordinates).
3. After you have reported SLF in your area and collected a sample, you should kill any additional SLF you see by stepping on it or crushing it.

 

Strawberries:

• Strawberry harvest has commenced in all regions of eastern NY. The heat is pushing ripening faster than anyone wants, and there are some reports that it’s been hard to get people to the fields.  There are even reports from other parts of the Northeast that wholesale buyers aren’t ready for local fruit yet.  Early berries in some areas are smaller than normal, likely due to more frost damage in April than we thought.   Reports form PA that despite these challenges prices are still strong.

• Anthracnose is still appearing on plasticulture strawberries.  ‘Chandler’ seems to be more susceptible than other varieties, but all varieties will be plagued by this disease, especially if we get rain events that help spores move.  If you missed the information in last week’s newsletter, you can visit our BLOG to learn more about this disease.

Cyclamen Mites were found in a two-year-old matted row June bearing berry field.   This pest can become a serious problem for growers as it will move on equipment and pickers.  The mite is much harder to control than spider mites, and can cause serious damage to plants and result in significant yield loss.  Portal and Agri-mek are labelled.  Portal may not give you as long control.  High volume of 200/gallons per acre need to be applied at high pressure.  This is because the mites hide in the crown of the plant and pesticides are not able to get at them.  Adjuvants are strongly recommended.  Take care to move through non-infested plants before going to the cyclemen mite infested fields.

Winter injury or soil-borne disease? Plants are collapsing just as the fruit starts to size.  The plant roots are likely already dead, or almost dead, causing the plant to collapse when it’s stressed by a crop.  Wet soils last fall and into winter may be the cause of Phytophthora inoculum moving in fields.  OR excessive heavy rains in December could have caused soil to erode from plant crowns.  OR the warm February followed by cold temps in March could have caused damage.  Either way, if your field is significantly impacted, there is no recovery from this damage.  Don’t keep the field and hope for something better next season.

• Potato Leafhopper adults and nymphs may be seen on strawberries and raspberries at this time of year – especially as first cuttings of hay are happening in some areas.  The ‘hopperburn’ is most notable on young plants but can be on any age plant and are seen on lots of other crops including grapes, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, hops, and hemp.   Dan Gilrein of CCE Suffolk County advises to check under leaves for the pale green insects.  After about a week of feeding hopperburn symptoms appear- new growth may appear stunted, curled/distorted with leaves showing yellow and sometimes brown leaf margins. Damage can severely stunt plants.   Organic and conventional insecticides labeled for leafhoppers can knock numbers down quickly but repeat applications may be needed for successive waves of migrating adults. There are no economic thresholds established in strawberries.
• As fruit ripens you may notice a lot more problems with slugs and sap beetles.  Slug populations are usually high in matted row plantings, but since last year was so wet in many parts of eastern NY, I anticipate populations to be really high.  Slugs create holes in strawberries that are then infested by sap beetle.  Look for slug and sap beetle damage in older fields and field borders as that is where you are likely to see these pests first.
• Day-Neutral strawberries should be fertigated: Standard recommendation is 5 lbs N per acre per week once fruits are forming (UNH 2019 day-neutral guide). That’s just under 2 oz. N per 1,000 sq. ft of tunnel growing area.

It’s easy for conventional growers to use a highly soluble Nitrogen source like urea or calcium nitrate, for organic growers it’s harder.  Dr. Vern Grubinger from  UVM has some great tips for organic DN strawberry fertility.  There are lots of soluble organic fertilizer options for fertigation purposes.  Some of the suppliers include Seven Springs Farm Supply and Brookdale Fruit Farm.  If you were using a product with a 12-0-1 nutrient ratio that came in a for $25 lb bag, one pound of the material would provide just under 2 oz. of N.  If you are growing strawberries in a tunnel that is ~2,000 sq ft. you’d feed 2 lbs of fertilizer/week, and one bag should get you thru the season. The lowest N fertigation cost would probably be to dissolve Chilean nitrate 15-0-2 (make sure to agitate it), but remember that NOT ALL Chilean nitrate products are OMRI-approved.   North Country Organics and Seven Springs Farm Supply do offer appropriate products.

If K is needed you can use fertilizers that have both N and K, or a much less expensive option would be to use ultrafine potassium sulfate – the ultrafine will help with solubility.

Important: tissue testing (leaf analysis) during the season is the best way to guide fertilizer application – it lets you know what nutrient levels are in the plant so you can raise/lower N applications, or feed other nutrients. Dairy One in Ithaca NY has a fast turnaround time for tissue tests, and the results come with Cornell guidelines for optimal ranges in small fruit. Cost is $30 per sample. Sampling instructions are on the site (collect at least 30 recently matured leaves from across the tunnel and wash if there is any residue on them).  Penn State also offers tissue testing, and for just $24. Given the quick turnaround with water sample results, the same should be true with tissue testing.  The New England land grant labs are a bit slower with tissue tests, since they don’t run many.

Blueberries

• Fruit is sizing, and in southern blocks it’s starting to color. The fruit set looks great – a few instances of the shoot–fruit ratio being off-kilter.  This problem has been noted for many years – super heavy fruit set on canes with almost no leaves.  The plants seem to get back in balance as the season progresses.  If you know the fruit is not sizing, you may want to remove the fruit or remove the entire cane.  But there is little research into why this is happening and what to do about it.
• Cranberry fruitworm found in traps in several locations. The adult moths of the cranberry fruitworm lay their eggs at the base of the newly set fruit. The greenish larvae are up to half an inch long and brownish red on the back. Cranberry fruitworm larvae web the berry clusters together and feed inside. Damage from just a few worms is obvious and can be extensive. Two sprays are often required for control; the first should be applied at petal fall and the second 10 days later, about 2 weeks before harvest.  Sprays should be applied proactively if you have had this pest in the past.
• Lots of evidence of Botrytis Tip and Blossom blight. The hot dry weather has helped us avoid a major issue in some areas.  If weather conditions turn and become conducive to infection (wet) when berries are ripening, a preharvest application may be needed later in the season to prevent post-harvest berry rot and losses.  Fungicides that are registered for Botrytis blight include captan, iprodione, fenhexamid, boscalid, and thiophanate-methyl. Organic options include Serenade (Bacillus subtilis strain QST 713). Fungicide resistance to site-specific fungicides is a real concern with Botrytis. These fungicides should not be applied consecutively or be alternated with other fungicides from different FRAC codes.

 Brambles:

• Fruit set and fruit sizing. Cane growth is robust.  SWD presence is a real threat to raspberries, so monitor fruit using the saltwater flotation method as harvest season commences.  That test will help you feel confident about the success of your management program and the status of your fruit.
• Our friends in Long Island (Dan Gilrein) remind us that Tarnished Plant Bug can become a threat to caneberries as bloom and early fruit set get underway. TPB feeding through buds, in open blooms, or on developing fruits stunts berries. Bifenture, Assail, Danitol are labeled for TPB (Brigade used in caneberries for other labeled pests will provide incidental control). In organic production Mycotrol, Grandevo, PFR-97 and PyGanic are labeled, but emphasize good weed management. Avoid application during bloom.

Elderberries:

• Four-lined plant bug makes a mess of leaves but doesn’t do much to the overall yield or vigor of the plant. Try to live with it.
• Elderberry borer damage is an increasing problem in elderberries. If they are causing many canes on a single plant to collapse you may want to remove the entire plant.  Be very careful while planting – any cutting with a slight indent and darker coloring on the top should not get planted as it may harbor a borer.  If you see this during pruning, remove the whole branch from the very base and see if there is evidence of the borer further down the cane into the crown of the plant.   If there is, remove the whole bush.