June 22 Berry Bulletin

June 22, 2018

Strawberries: Harvest continues for June-bearing strawberries and pick-your-own is open across most of the province. Valley Sunset is at the green fruit stage and Malwina is in bloom.  After a late spring, harvest came faster than we were initially expecting.

Cyclamen Mites: mites continue to be one of the big challenges for strawberry growers this season.  Mites can now be harder to find in some fields that do not have new, succulent growth where cyclamen mites were found earlier, but the population will likely build up again in August or September. Flag these problem areas for control after harvest.

• At this point scout your fields for damage and prepare to apply a miticide after renovation.
• Check old and new fields.
• Avoid spreading cyclamen mites to new fields; work in new fields before moving to old, infested fields.

If your fields have little new growth and are stunted or lack vigour, this could be cyclamen mite damage.

Strawberry Aphids: Aphids are likely flying to new fields with succulent, new growth. Scout weekly in new and established fields, and don’t let populations rise about 15 aphids on 60 leaves. Spray is likely needed every 2-4 weeks.

Tarnished plant bugs (TPB): Late varieties with bloom and green fruit present are susceptible to TPB. Continue to monitor these varieties for TPB.

• Check for TPB in day-neutrals as bloom returns in new plantings.

Thrips: thrips can be found in June-bearing fields where bloom is present. Breathe gently on blossoms and see if any thrips emerge from the bloom. Monitor late June-bearing varieties and Day-neutral varieties. Consider control if 5-10 thrips per bloom are found.

Potato leaf hopper (PLH): we have seen PLH damage in a few fields. Look for leaf curling and yellowing. Look for nymphs on the underside of leaves. Control may be necessary if there are 1-2 nymphs per leaf.

Strawberry disease: Powdery mildew can be seen in day-neutral strawberry fields; check Fruit Crop Protection Guide, Publication 360, 2018-2019, for a list of available products.

Low levels of Anthracnose have been found during June-bearing harvest.

• A fungicide for anthracnose is needed before a rain where bloom and fruit are present.
• Choose fungicides that will control botrytis and anthracnose.
• For disease management continue to rotate between chemical groups and include group M fungicides (captan, Maestro, Granuflo-T) for resistance management. .

Blueberries: Berries continue to ripen and the crop is looking promising. Check for scale crawlers in areas with a history of scale by looking at new growth and old wood for the tiny crawlers, or by using black sticky tape.  If crawlers are present apply Movento 240 SC (7 day PHI). It is important to apply Movento when crawlers are active to stop them from moving to new growth and developing fruit.

Raspberries:  The crop potential looks good across the province. Summer-fruiting raspberries have green fruit present. At this stage raspberries need consistent soil moisture- 1-2 inches per week during the green fruit stage.

Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD):.

• 1 SWD was caught the week of June 4^th and 1 the week of June 11th in Norfolk County.
• In all other areas no SWD has been found.
• Stay tuned to the ONFruit blog for SWD updates: https://onfruit.ca/ .
• We have conducted salt water tests on strawberries from Norfolk county and Niagara and have not found any SWD larvae.
• As we move further into the season plan to pick as regularly as possible- this can have a big impact on improving SWD control. Do not leave overripe strawberries in the field; SWD populations can build up in this leftover fruit.
• Use all forms of management- weekly sprays, regular, thorough harvest (every 2 days or less) and immediate post-harvest cooling to less than 5°C (preferably cooler).
• Do salt water tests on your own berries regularly to evaluate your management program.
• This link will take you to an infosheet with the 2018 SWD registrations: https://onfruit.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/registration-for-swd-june-2018.pdf , or check out Ontario.ca/spottedwing, including two emergency use registrations (Mako & Malathion 85 E).

 

New pest control products are available for berry growers. Check out this blog post for new products and uses this season. This post includes an update on products from October 2017 to April 2018. Use this in addition to the 2018-2019 version of Publication 360, Fruit Crop Protection Guide.

Twitter: Follow me on twitter @PateErica and our ONfruit blog for regular updates and berry information.