In this bulletin:
- Crop & Pest Update
- Spotted wing drosophila monitoring
- AgRobotics Field Days- July 6 and 13th
Strawberries: The season continues to move along quickly as growers begin to harvest late varieties including Valley Sunset. Very late variety Malwina will likely start to be harvested in early areas early next week.
Growers are starting to renovate early varieties- before renovation walk your fields to identify which blocks need to treated for cyclamen mite, and assess your fields for weed pressure to determine if herbicides are needed and if so which herbicides to use. Broadleaf herbicides need to be applied 5-7 days before mowing. Avoid applying herbicides if temperatures are above 25C. Refer to the Ontario Crop Protection Hub for herbicide options. Renovate as soon as harvest is over to help manage SWD- do not wait for late varieties to be harvested to renovate earlier blocks.
In new fields aphid control continues to be very important to control viruses (in new fields and established fields). Rotate through different products- options include Cygon/Lagon, Admire, Assail, Cormoran, Exirel, Sivanto Prime, and Beleaf. Admire can only be applied after bloom. Check the youngest, folded leaves to find aphids. Once the population starts to increase it is time for another spray, likely every 3-4 weeks. If the population begins to build up after a spray consider making another application. Also watch for potato leafhoppers and hopper burn (leaf curl, yellowing) on new plants.
Day-Neutrals: Spring-planted day-neutrals and overwintered day-neutrals are blooming again and harvest will begin again soon. Now is an important time to watch for tarnished plant bug. Regular fungicide applications also need to be applied for powdery mildew, anthracnose and botrytis. Disease pressure is currently fairly low but make sure to have a fungicide on before a rain. Plan to use Switch, which is the most effective product, when conditions are favourable for anthracnose- warm, rainy conditions. Rotate with Diplomat and Quadris Top, and apply captan during a gap in production. Do not rely on group 11s alone for anthracnose control.
Raspberries: Raspberry harvest is beginning in early areas. Where harvest is beginning and SWD is present it is time to spray for SWD. Pest pressure has been fairly low but watch for leafhoppers and Japanese beetles as they are starting to show up. Make sure raspberries are getting enough water at this stage!
Spotted Wing Drosophila Monitoring 2022- this year we are monitoring at a limited number of sites. Traps are set up in Oxford, Elgin, Norfolk, Brant, Hamilton, and Niagara. SWD was found again this week in Elgin county and the Niagara region. With sustained catch growers in these areas and other early areas should be managing for SWD. 1 male SWD was also found in the Hamilton area. No SWD have been found in Norfolk, Brant, or Oxford county. Growers can monitor fruit quality with salt water tests: http://omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/swd-saltwater.htm.
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.
- Insecticides target SWD adults- make sure to spray when adults are active, in the morning and evening.
- Using Up-Cyde can lead to a mite outbreak. Reserve this product for fields that are in their final year of production.
The AgRobotics Working group is hosting two demo days coming up. Come out to any of the demonstration days planned so far:
1. July 6: 9 am – 12 noon
AgRobotics Field Demonstration
Start at: University of Guelph Muck Crops Research Station
1125 Woodchoppers Lane, Kettleby, ON L0G 1J0
In-field and in-person only demonstration of the Naïo Dino and Nexus La Chèvre
No registration required.
2. July 13: 9 am – 4 pm
AgRobotics Field Tour
Start at: Haggerty Creek Ltd. (Haggerty AgRobotics Company)
7708 Bentpath Line, Bothwell, ON N0P 1C0
Register for virtual or in person participation and see the FarmDroid, Korechi RoamIO, Naïo Oz, Nexus La Chèvre and Raven OMNIPower.
https://survey.clicktools.com/app/survey/go.jsp?iv=25t6zheg5h9kv
For more information check out: https://onfruit.ca/2022/06/29/agrobotics-in-ontario/
Happy Canada Day!
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