June 16 Berry Bulletin

June 16, 2017

Crop development: A lot of fruit ripened quickly over last weekend with the warm weather.  June bearing harvest continues where row covers were used. Pick-your-own operations in southern Ontario are opening this weekend.  Raspberries are in bloom and green fruit is present in the earliest areas. Green fruit is present in blueberries and the crop potential continues to look good. Growers have started to irrigate their berries.

Blueberries: The blueberry crop is looking promising and bird nets are going up. Continue to check for scale crawlers. Use Movento postbloom when lecanium scale crawlers are present.  Crawlers can be identified with black sticky tape or by flipping over the hard scale shell (figure 1) and finding crawlers underneath.  This is also an important time to control cranberry and cherry fruitworm control.

 

Figure 1. Scale Shells found on blueberries.

Raspberries: Green fruit is present. This is an important time for raspberries to have adequate soil moisture. Berries need more water during the green fruit stage than when fruit is ripening; make sure you don’t under-irrigate.

Strawberries: A few more tarnished plant bugs have been seen this week. Keep an eye on later varieties like Malwina which will be susceptible to TPB as they continue to bloom.

Thrips continue to be a challenge in day neutrals and in June bearings, turning fruit bronzed and seedy (Figure 2). Delegate is registered for suppression of thrips. Exirel recently had a label expansion and now includes suppression of thrips as well. Thrips can be a bigger problem if tarnished plant bug insecticides weren’t used this year with the low plant bug pressure.

Figure 2, thrip bronzing on strawberries

Look for winged strawberry aphids. This is when the aphids can fly to new fields and spread virus. Make sure you protect the new plantings by controlling aphids in the established, fruiting fields. Scout for winged aphids or high aphid counts. If the population starts to build an aphicide is needed. More than 15 aphids on 60 leaves will warrant control. The newly expanded Exirel label includes aphid control at 500-1500mL/ Ha.

Exirel

Exirel’s label was recently expanded and now includes aphid control and thrip suppression on strawberries and spotted wing drosophila control in caneberries (including raspberries and blackberries). Add this product to your tool box in the next few months to manage these insects.

Crop:Strawberries

Pest and rate (insecticide/Ha): Aphids , 500-1500ml.  Thrips (suppression) 1000-1500ml.

Re-application interval:5

Notes: Aphids: begin applications when treatment thresholds have been reached.

For optimum control of aphids and thrips apply Hasten NT Spray Adjuvant* at an application rate of 0.25% v/v or MSO Concentrate with Leci-Tech* at an application rate of 0.5% v/v. It is recommended that a small area be tested to demonstrate safety to fruit and leaves before using in large areas.

Crop:Caneberries

Pest and rate (insecticide/Ha): Black Vine weevil adults, Japanese beetle, obscure root weevil adults, spotted wing drosophila- 1000-1500ml

Re-application interval:5

Notes: Obscure Root Weevil: Begin applications when adults are observed.

Black Vine: Apply when most of adults have emerged but before they begin to lay eggs (early summer)

Japanese Beetle: Begin applications when thresholds have been reached

For optimum control of spotted wing drosophila, black vine weevil and obscure root weevil tank mix DuPont™ EXIREL™ Insecticide with Hasten NT Spray Adjuvant* at an application rate of 0.25% v/v. It is recommended that a small area be tested to demonstrate safety to fruit and leaves before using in large areas.

 

Do not apply more than once every 5 days.

Do not exceed a total of 4.5 litres Exirel per ha per season.

Max applications: 4

PHI: 1