May 26, 2017
Crop development: Day- neutral strawberries are being harvested! The earliest areas have begun to harvest day-neutrals, and the rest of the province is close behind. June bearing varieties are in full bloom, some with green fruit. Raspberry flower buds are present and bloom is expected next week in early areas. Blueberries are in bloom in southern Ontario and are quickly approaching bloom in later regions.
Blueberries: During bloom, choose fungicides that control both anthracnose and botrytis, especially with the wet weather we are looking forward to next week. The first insecticides are needed at petal fall. Apply products such as Altacor and Exirel early for cherry fruitworm and cranberry fruitworm, targeting eggs and young larvae.
Raspberries: With fruit buds present in raspberries look for raspberry fruitworm and strawberry clipper weevil damage. Similar to strawberries, tap flower clusters over a shallow dish to scout for these two pests. If no insects or signs of damage are seen no insecticide is needed until after bloom. Malathion 25W is no longer registered and Diazinon 50 WSP is not registered for raspberry fruitworm- Diazinon is only registered on crown borer. Malathion 85E is registered for clipper weevil on raspberries at a rate of 1345 ml of product per 1000L water, and will provide good control of clipper weevil with some limitations. If you are spraying for leafrollers in raspberries group 5 insecticides (Delegate, Success, Entrust) may also provide some control of raspberry fruitworm.
Strawberries: Aphids are active and populations are growing. Control is needed before or during bloom. Use Beleaf or Sivanto Prime if your fields are in bloom; avoid spraying when bees are active. I have seen the first winged aphid in strawberry fields (figure 1). Check your fields for winged aphids as this is when then are flying and spreading virus to new fields. You can use yellow sticky traps or yellow bowl traps to monitor for winged aphids, but we have also found checking leaves directly effective at finding winged aphids.
Figure 1. Winged strawberry aphid. Photo: D. Moreau, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canad
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