Berry Bulletin June 19, 2020

In this bulletin:

• Crop & pest update
• What’s Growing ON? Podcast
• Spotted wing drosophila

Strawberries:

June-bearing strawberry harvest continues and early varieties that were not row covered are being picked. Size was down at the beginning of harvest likely due to losing the king bloom to frost, but later varieties are looking good and yield is expected to be good overall. Pick-your-own operations are opening up and from what I am hearing there is a lot of interest from customers in PYO. There is green fruit in Valley Sunset and Malwina is beginning to bloom in southern Ontario.

New strawberries: new fields are looking good. Remove the blossoms in new fields and watch for potato leafhoppers, cyclamen mites, and aphids.

Apogee can be applied for runner suppression in day-neutrals where runners are not needed. Apply before runner formation; plants should have 4-6 leaves before the first application is made. If necessary a second application can be made 3 weeks later. Tank-mix Apogee with a non-ionic surfactant.

Insects: Insect activity has been low this week but continue to monitor for tarnished plant bugs, cyclamen mites, potato leafhoppers and aphids.

Potato Leafhoppers: Leafhopper nymphs and hopper burn (leaf curling and yellowing) have been found. Monitor for nymphs on the underside of leaves in new fields and day neutrals. Leafhoppers often migrate into berry fields after the first cut of hay.

Tarnished plant bugs (TPB):  Options for control during the green fruit stage are group 3 insecticides (Mako, Matador, Decis), Rimon (15), Cormoran (4A +15), Assail (4A) or Beleaf(29) for suppression only. Group 3s can be toxic to beneficial insects so avoid these if there is a history of mites.  Rimon and Beleaf work best on early-instar nymphs. Do not spray when bees are active.

Cyclamen mites:

As we move into harvest control for cyclamen mite should wait until renovation. For now mark any areas with damage for control later. Pick in clean blocks first before moving to infested blocks or fields. Keep an eye on new fields.

For later varieties, if you are planning on spraying post bloom make sure to not apply Bravo, Echo, Captan, Maestro, Folpan or copper fungicides in close sequence (10-14 days). When spraying excellent coverage is very important- use a high water volume and slow down. The miticide needs to reach the mites that are protected in the crown and the newest leaves.

Two-spotted spider mites:

Spider mites are building up in day-neutrals and June-bearing strawberries in some areas, but pressure is variable.  Nealta, Oberon, or Agri-mek can be applied for control before harvest. Remember there are only 2 applications of Agri-mek per year and keep resistance management in mind for cyclamen mites. Check out page 161 in Pub 360 B (http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/pub360/pub360B.pdf ) for information on miticides.

Disease:  

Powdery mildew and angular leaf spot have been found in strawberry fields. The conditions this past week and in the forecast are ideal for powdery mildew- high humidity and warm weather (15-27C), so keep an eye out for white patches of the fungus on the lower leaf surface. Once you find symptoms begin a regular fungicide program for control.

Reports of anthracnose and botyrits have been low so far. It is important to protect strawberries during bloom for botrytis and anthracnose. Group M fungicides will help with resistance management.

Raspberries:  

Raspberries are at bloom or in the green fruit stage. Harvest could begin in 2-3 weeks in early areas. Primocane fruiting raspberries are looking good.

Watch for potato leafhoppers in raspberries, especially primocane fruiting raspberries. Monitor for nymphs on the underside of leaves in new fields and day neutrals. Leafhoppers often migrate into berry fields after the first cut of hay. Check new growth for yellowing and leaf curl, and check the underside of the leaves for the nymphs, which are small, green, wedged-shaped insects. Spray when nymphs are present and symptoms are evident.

Blueberries:

Blueberries are at the green fruit stage in southern and central Ontario and beginning to size up.

Haskaps:

Haskaps are beginning to colour. Read up on Evan Elford’s recommendations for determining when to being harvest: Are Your Haskaps Ready for Harvest?  https://onspecialtycrops.wordpress.com/2014/06/19/are-your-haskaps-ready-for-harvest/

 

Whats growing ON? Podcast:

Check out the new podcast What’s Growing On? For an episode with Hannah Fraser (OMAFRA Entomologist) and I that covers different SWD management practices for berry growers.

This podcast is hosted by Cassandra Russell and Kristy Grigg-McGuffin. This podcast features conversations with crop specialists from Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs on production, pest management and other best management practices for fruit, vegetables and specialty crops.All episodes can be found under the Podcast tab on the blog homepage or at onfruit.ca/podcast.

You can also search for episodes on your favourite podcast app including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Spotted wing drosophila:

The first catches of spotted wing drosophila (SWD) have been identified in low numbers in Essex, Kent, Norfolk, Elgin, Niagara, Oxford, & Halton. Check the Onfruit.ca blog for full details on counts.

The list of registered products is SWD Registrations June 2020 final, as well as SWD management 2020.

Spraying for SWD isn’t necessary until there is ripe fruit present + SWD is active in your area. Do not count on sprays alone– use as many of these tools as possible through the season to control SWD:

• Keep your fruit picked regularly and clean!
• Cool fruit immediately after harvest.
• Keep alleys clean- either remove unmarketable fruit or crush it in the alley
• After unmarketable fruit is removed it should be destroyed (disposed of, or leave in plastic bags in the sun).
• Make the environment less favourable to SWD- prune the canopy and manage water to reduce humidity (repair leaking drop lines).
• Calibrate your sprayers now to ensure excellent coverage once you start to spray.
• The list of registered products can be found here on our blog. Inseciticdes target SWD adults- make sure to spray when adults are active, in the morning and evening.
• Using Mako can lead to a mite outbreak. Reserve this product for fields that are in their final year of production.

Subscribe to onfruit.ca to get the updates as they are posted.

The monitoring project is funded by Niagara Peninsula Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, Ontario Grape and Wine Research and Ontario Tender Fruit Growers in collaboration with private consultants.