In this bulletin:
- Crop & pest update
- Spotted wing drosophila
- Pick-Your-Own in 2020
Strawberries:
Day neutral strawberry harvest has begun on over-wintered day-neutrals and the first June-bearing strawberries are not far off where row covers were used. June-bearing strawberries that were not row covered this spring are in full boom in southern Ontario, and mid-season varieties are beginning bloom in eastern Ontario.
In new day-neutral plantings continue to remove flower buds and bloom until there are 4-6 leaves present to help the young plant establish.
Insects: tarnished plant bugs, clipper weevil, aphids, flea beetles, cyclamen mites and two-spotted spider mites were found in strawberries this week.
Tarnished plant bug (TPB): continue to monitor for TPB. 2nd instars are starting to be found. Do not spray when bees are active. Beleaf is a good choice during bloom at the early instar stages. Apply at the high rate.
Flea beetles: flea beetle damage has been found in new strawberry fields. Some of the insecticides applied for aphids will also provide some control of flea beetles, including Assail, Admire, Cygon, or Lagon. Malathion may also provide some efficacy when applied for leafhoppers.
Cyclamen mites: damage is now easier to see with a lot of new growth. In the pictures below you can see how the mites cause stunted, short and shriveled leaves. To confirm it is cyclamen mite look at the youngest leaves. They will look crispy and the mites will look like piles of salt inside the folded leaves. If you are finding damage then you can apply Agri-mek post-bloom. Make sure to include a non-ionic surfactant (0.1%-0.5% v/v) with Agri-mek SC. Avoid using surfactants in close sequence with Bravo, Echo, Captan, Maestro, Folpan or copper fungicides. Cyclamen mites can be protected in the crown so a high-volume spray is necessary to ensure thorough coverage. Check all your fields including the 2019 fields! It is important to spray the entire block or the entire variety if you are spraying.
Figure 1 & 2. Cyclamen mite damage in June-bearing strawberries.
Disease:
Botrytis and powdery mildew infections have been found this last week. Check June-bearing and day-neutral fields for powdery mildew. There are a number of products listed for powdery mildew- check out Pub 360 B (Full URL: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/pub360/pub360B.pdf). Include broad-spectrum group-M fungicides in your disease management program for botrytis and anthracnose.
Raspberries:
Raspberries are in very early bloom in southern Ontario and Eastern Ontario is not far behind. Ferbam or Tanos can be applied before bloom to control Anthracnose and spur blight.
Primocane fruiting raspberries are 1-2 feet tall.
Insects: Raspberry sawfly larvae damage can be found. Damage to foliage from sawfly larvae is rarely excessive and controls are rarely needed. However, if control is needed Malathion applied for clipper weevil or leafhoppers will provide some control. Keep watching for raspberry fruitworm and clipper weevil until bloom.
Blueberries:
Blueberries are at full bloom to petal fall in southern Ontario. The warm weather over the weekend will be good for pollinators.
Gypsy moth: Melanie Filotas, Specialty Crops IPM specialist, wrote a great article on what we expect from gypsy moth this year- a boom year. Check out the article if you are finding gypsy moth larvae in your blueberries. Bacillus thuringienesis products (Dipel, Bioprotec) applied for cranberry and cherry fruitworm will have some activity on gypsy moth caterpillars.
Spotted wing drosophila:
We have started to set up traps for SWD this week in berry and tender fruit crops, and will begin to report numbers next week. Subscribe to onfruit.ca to get the updates as they are posted.
Applying insecticides for SWD is not necessary until SWD is present in your area and there is ripe fruit present. Calibrate your sprayers now to ensure excellent coverage once you start to spray. Once harvest begins plan to pick every other day if possible (every day is even better), and cool fruit immediately after harvest. Also, have a plan for removing unmarketable fruit from the field.
Pick-your-own:
Thanks to everyone who participated in the PYO webinar & discussion on June 2nd. There is a list of further resources attached here: PYO in 2020 resources
0 comments on “June 5 Berry Bulletin”