June 27 Berry Bulletin

June 27, 2018

Strawberries: Harvest continues for June-bearing strawberries and pick-your-own will be open for the long weekend across most of the province. The first Valley Sunset is being picked in Southern Ontario, while early to mid-season strawberries are being picked in Eastern Ontario. Parts of the province had a weekend full of rain which was appreciated in dry areas. Canada Day weekend looks hot and dry.

Mites: cyclamen mite damage can be seen in many fields, identified either by the distorted, misshapen and toughened leaves or fields that are stunted with little new growth. Prepare to manage these mites post-harvest.

• Scout old and new fields for mites and damage.

• After renovation Vegol crop oil can be applied in a high water volume to ensure thorough coverage.

• Agri-mek is registered for Two-spotted spider mite (TSSM) post-harvest. If you are applying agri-mek for TSSM you might achieve some efficacy on cyclamen mite.

• Apply once there is new growth after mowing, which could be 5-7 days after mowing. Apply Agri-mek at 225 mL/ha in 750-1000L water /ha, with a surfactant at .1-.5%

• Apply agri-mek under slow-drying conditions to improve uptake into the leaves.

• Do not apply sinbar after applying Agri-mek. Wait 5-7 days after Agir-mek before applying sinbar.

 

• 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.

• Check leaves for two spotted spider mite. TSSM will cause plants to appear dry and scorched, and can build up rapidly hot weather.Strawberry Aphids: Check new fields for aphids. Aphids are likely flying to new fields with succulent, new growth.
• If there are more than 15 aphids on 60 leaves a spray is needed to control them.
• It is very important to maintain aphid control in these new fields and protect next year’s crop.
• Beleaf, and Sivanto Prime are good products for aphid control and are not hard on beneficial insects. Cygon, Lagon, Admire and Assail also work well for aphid control but are hard on bees, so do not apply these when bees are active.

Tarnished plant bugs (TPB): Late varieties with bloom and green fruit present are susceptible to TPB. Continue to monitor these varieties and day-neutrals for TPB. If more than 25% of clusters have TPB nymphs an insecticide is needed. Rimon and Beleaf are friendly to beneficial insects but work best when applied to small TPB nymphs.

Thrips: thrips can be found in June-bearing fields where bloom is present in late varieties. Breathe gently on blossoms and see if any thrips emerge from the bloom. Keep an eye on thrips and any possible damage on your late June-bearing varieties and day-neutrals.

Potato leaf hopper (PLH): we have seen PLH damage in a few new fields. Control is warranted if there are more than 1-2 nymphs per leaf. Look for nymphs on the underside of leaves to confirm that the damage you are seeing is from PLH.

Strawberry disease: Powdery mildew can be found in day-neutrals, and anthracnose and botrytis is present in low levels in June-bearing fields. Remember to include a group M fungicide (captan, Maestro, Granuflo-T) for resistance management in your disease management program for anthracnose and botrytis. .

Blueberries: Berries are ripening well. Harvest should begin early July in Southern Ontario. Keep an eye out for scale crawlers, as they will likely be active soon, if not already.

Raspberries: Harvest is quickly approaching in Southern Ontario. The very first ripe berries can be found and harvest will likely begin in early July. The crop potential looks good across the province.  If you did not get enough rain last weekend make sure there is enough moisture for the raspberries during the green fruit stage. Growers should prepare to harvest as often as possible and plan their SWD spray program now.

Weeds: The OMAFRA Guide to Weed Control Hort Crops (Publication 75B) is now available. Go to http://www.blurb.ca/b/8811220 to order the english print version, or to English Pub 75B (http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/pub75/pub75toc.htm) to download a free pdf copy.

 

 

Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD):.

• 1 SWD was caught the week of June 4^th and 1 the week of June 11th in Norfolk County.
• No SWD was caught the week of June 18^th, and none this week so far.
• In all other areas in Ontario no SWD has been found.
• Michigan and New York are also catching very low levels of SWD and are experiencing a later SWD season than 2017.
• We have conducted salt water tests on strawberries from Norfolk county and Niagara and have not found any SWD larvae
• However, SWD could be building up in overripe strawberries and wild hosts (wild raspberries, honeysuckle, muldberries).
• Stay tuned to the ONFruit blog for SWD updates: https://onfruit.ca/ .
• As we move further into the season and into more berry crops 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.
• Renovate as soon as possible after harvest. Renovate early varieties before others if you are still harvesting late varieties.
• 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).

 

Raspberry Crop IPM now available! Check out http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/IPM/english/raspberries/index.html for information on integrated pest management, including main raspberry pests. This IPM tool includes information on identification, biology, scouting, and management of raspberry insect, disease and disorders.

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

 

Happy Canada Day!