In this update:
-spotted wing Drosophila management
-cyclamen mite
-strawberry fungicides
-raspberry and blueberry update
-OBGA twilight meeting
September 8, 2017 PDF available: Berry Bulletin September 8
Spotted-Wing Drosophila:
-Will be serious for blueberry, day neutral strawberry and fall-bearing raspberry growers until harvest is over. Continue to:
- apply regular insecticides (every 5-7 days, reapply after ½ inch of rain)
- Rotate through different chemical groups
- Get excellent coverage so the fruit is protected- slow down, don’t reduce water volumes, calibrate your machines and open up the canopy. Use the highest rates available
- Regular harvest schedule (every day or two if possible)
- Immediate post-harvest cooling
- Don’t leave fruit on the ground. Crush or remove dropped fruit
- Clean up after PYO
- as the weather cools down SWD should develop at a slower rate
Strawberries:
Day neutrals:
- TSSM and cyclamen mite can be found in day neutral fields. Continue to monitor for them in your own field.
- Continue to monitor and manage strawberries for anthracnose, botrytis, and powdery mildew. Fungicides including Captan, Maestro, and Switch will also control anthracnose when applied for botrytis.
- Do not use Pristine or other group 11s alone; tank mix with Captan or Maestro to reduce your risk of resistance.
- As the season continues it will be challenging to manage SWD with limited insecticides. Picking ever day or two can make a huge difference.
- Note that Mako is only registered for one application a year on SWD.
June Bearing. New plantings need a few more weeks of good weather to be well established for the winter.
- Growers put on Labour Day herbicide applications this past weekend.
- Continue to watch for aphids as we move into fall. Insecticides seem to be working well on aphids but will need to be re-applied every 3 weeks or when the counts rise again.
- Leaf diseases can build up in September, including common leaf spot, powdery mildew, and angular leafspot. Apply a fungicide from Table 4-19 in Pub 360 to manage the disease.
- A second fungicide can be applied in mid-September to keep disease in check. Bravo or Echo applied twice in September-October will help reduce overwintered botrytis grey mould inoculum and reduce disease pressure next year.
- Watch for cyclamen mite and flag problem areas for management next year. Cyclamen mite has been found in a few older fields.
Fall Raspberries:
- Yields continue to increase for fall raspberries; peak season is a week or two away.
- Two-spotted spider mite have been found in fall-bearing raspberry fields and a miticide may be needed.
- Be cautious using Mako at this time as this product is hard on beneficial mites and can cause TSSM outbreaks.
- Diazinon has been reinstated for raspberry crown borer only on raspberries. Altacor is also registered for control of raspberry crown borer. Apply altacor in late summer-early fall when first-instar larvae are actively feeding in the cambium, before they tunnel into the crown.
Blueberries:
- harvest is slowing down after a very hard year of dealing with SWD.
- Pay attention to bushes where foliage turns bright red earlier than usual- this could be an early warning sign for blueberry stunt disease.
Blog and Twitter: follow the OMAFRA Fruit Blog to receive regular berry news as well as apple, grape and tender fruit information: https://onfruit.ca/
Follow me on twitter @PateErica to get pest and production info and news from the road as I head to meetings and conferences this fall and winter….including The OBGA Annual Twilight Meeting being held at Strawberry Tyme Farms in Simcoe, Tuesday September 12th, at 4:00pm. RSVP to Kevin Schooley at 613-258-4587 or info@ontarioberries.com .