September 2010

 

If you plan on doing any soil fumigation this fall please let me know.  I need to place an order for Vapam.  It’s a special order product and takes a bit of lead time.    Thanks!

 

Interested in grape trellis materials?  Kim Childs (872-4250)  has 500  8’ X 5” pointed, treated poles.   800 “Manworks” 8’ steel stakes and 1600  9” crossarms.  These are all used materials.

 

If you have a piece of equipment or some orchard/vineyard material that you would like to sell, let me know and I’ll put it in the next newsletter.

 

For a number of years the Coryneum blight program for my own orchard has been an aggressive spring treatment.  I’ve never had a problem with this disease.  I don’t remember ever seeing infected fruit.  Well this season changed that!  The  mid and late summer rains must have been timed perfectly to flare what little population was present.  Needless to say,  I’ll be taking home a pile of copper this month.  Autumn rains can start the spread of the disease.  Infection can also take place in the dormant season if proper moisture and temperature conditions occur.  Spores, spread primarily by splashing water can remain viable several months.  The key to control is PREVENTION.  This is especially true if you’re farming with organic methods.  Establishing a protective barrier with copper is vital to keep Coryneum from germinating and spreading.  Good sprayer coverage is important! The disease usually starts low inside the tree where moisture persists, so be sure and target this area.  The most common application timing is at 50% leaf fall.  It’s not necessary to wait for that to happen.  If we have a wet Fall you could be behind by the time leaf drop occurs.  How aggressive you need to be with rates and applications depends on if you need to clean up a problem or are just performing routine maintenance.  

 

Magnetism, as you recall from physics class, is a powerful force that causes certain items to be attracted to refrigerators.  Dave Barry

Cancellation and Phase-out of Endosulfan:  On June 9, 2010, the US EPA announced its intention to cancel all uses of endosulfan (brand names include Endosulfan, Thionex, and [previously] Thiodan. At the end of July, EPA published a five-year phase-out schedule based broadly on the impact of the cancellation on various crops and the availability of alternatives. Most current uses will be canceled on July 31, 2012. Crop-specific information can be found at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregistration/endosulfan/ .  A partial summary of the phase-out calendar includes:

 

Group A: Use ends July 31, 2012:  Almond, apricot, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, celery (non-AZ), citrus (non-bearing), collard greens, dry beans, dry peas, eggplant, filbert, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, nectarine (CA only), macadamia, plum and prune, poplars grown for pulp and timber, strawberry (annual), sweet potato, tart cherry, turnip, walnut, ornamental trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants.

 

Group B:Use ends July 31, 2012:  Cabbage, celery (AZ only), cotton, cucumbers, lettuce, stone fruits not listed in Group A, including nectarine (non-CA), peaches, and sweet cherry, summer melons (cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon), summer squash, tobacco.

 

Group C: Use ends July 31, 2013:  Pear

 

Group E: Use ends July 31, 2015 (Group D pertains only to Florida and is not listed here.):  Apple, blueberry, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, sweet corn, tomato, winter squash

 

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.  Thomas Jefferson

 

If you received a printed copy of this newsletter in the mail it’s because I don’t have a valid email for you.  I’m happy to send them through the mail but you’ll miss out on the weekly pest alerts that I send through the  growing season.  So, if you use email please make sure I have your address.

 

 

 

It's time once again to mention a program that I'm a big believer in.  Fall foliar fertilization.  I started 25 years ago injecting UN32 into my overhead sprinkler system on apples.  My first attempt opened my eyes.  I overdid the rate and fried all the leaves.  I never slept well the entire winter wondering how my trees would come out the following spring.  I had the biggest strongest buds and bloom I’d ever seen!  Research on foliar application of urea dates back to the 1940’s in California.   1990’s work shows that a foliar spray of urea on peach begins to move into the leaf within two hours, with over 80% of the applied N moving into the leaves within 24 hours.  The efficiency of N recovery through a foliar urea application is four-fold greater than through a soil application.  (If you're trying to cut back on your annual fertilizer expense this is a program that will get more N in the tree for fewer dollars!) This nitrogen is mobilized and moved into other plant parts such as shoots and buds within one week. Trees move nutrients from the leaves back into the buds and wood prior to leaf drop.  It remains there until spring when it is available for early use during cell division (more cells = larger fruit)!  Peach fruits have three fairly discrete stages of growth. The first stage (Stage I) lasts from full bloom until about 50 days after bloom. During this time the fruits grow fairly rapidly and growth is primarily due to cell division. Most of the cell division occurs during the first 30 days after bloom, but the length of stage I may be influenced by temperature. There is an increase in both fruit size and fruit dry weight. During stage I, shoot growth begins but there is too little foliage on the tree to support the growth of the fruit and shoots. Therefore much of the carbohydrates for early fruit and shoot growth come from reserves stored in the tree during the previous season.   Urea is known to enhance the uptake of other micronutrients when sprayed in combination.  Adding zinc, iron, manganese or any other element your tree requires will help boost bud strength and tree health.  No detrimental effects have been found on winter hardiness, quite the opposite, research has shown that healthy buds with good nutrient reserves are the most winter hardy. Now is a great window of opportunity to put a bit of fuel back in the tank for next year.  

 

Along the same note, this came to my email from Lynn Long with Oregon State: 

Dr. Greg Lang of Michigan State University has found that late summer or autumn urea sprays increased the shoot hardiness of the cherries that he tested and produced up to 20% larger spur leaves in the spring. As a whole, throughout the growing season, the spur leaves are the most important leaves for supplying nutrients to developing fruit. Greg speculates that if the spur leaves are larger than photosynthesis in increased and there are more carbohydrates being exported to the developing fruit.

 

In his trials Greg applied two applications of low biurate urea as a foliar spray. An application on August 31 and a second application about one week later actually gave the best uptake of N into spur tissues and provided earlier acquisition of cold hardiness in the year that it was treated. However, application can be made up to leaf fall.

 

Each application should consist of 15 to 20 pounds of actual N/acre. Dilute sprays of 250 gallons/acre are possible, but some leaf burn at the leaf margin should be expected with these dilute sprays. Concentrate sprays ranging from 25 to 75 gallons/acre showed less phytotoxicity when applied with a curtain-type sprayer (small volume, small droplet size). The reduced toxicity which was noted with the concentrate sprays is probably due to less pooling of the material along leaf margins and therefore less burning of the foliage.

 

It is also a good idea to apply boron in the fall. Studies show that there is greater boron uptake in the fall while leaves are still on the tree than during a delayed dormant application in the spring.

 

 

Here’s to my favorite season……Post-harvest!

 

Larry  234-3424