Monday, October 14, 2002

Man, have I had a busy summer! Lousy excuse, huh?, for not updating my weblog. Will try to get back on track, now that I can spend some time in the office. Apple harvest in Massachusetts is almost over, with just a few late varieties waiting to be picked, like Northern Spy, Fuji, Braeburn, and a few others. What a great fall day today! I got some inspiration and cut down a pin cherry blocking the westerly view out my office window at the UMass Cold Spring Orchard. The picture above does not do it justice! Use your imagination, looking southwest over the town of Belchertown with southwest Massachusetts/Berkshires in the far background across the Connecticut River Valley. The Holyoke range is just out of view to the northwest. Maybe I'll get a picture for you... 3:10:20 PM

Thursday, June 20, 2002

Pinching shoots is a young tree training technique used on mostly first-, and second -leaf apple trees to promote fruiting and manage growth in the top of the trees of vertical axis, slender-spindle, or super-spindle orchards. Rapidly growing shoots that are six to eight inches long, that are in the top one-fourth of the tree, and that originate from the leader, are candidates for pinching. Pinch-back the shoot two inches using your thumb and finger(s) or pruners. (See picture.) Pinching will do two things: weaken the growth of the developing shoot so it is not as likely to compete with the leader; and promote the development of a fruit bud in the vicinity of the pinch if done now into early July. This technique will also prevent the tree from becoming top heavy, which of course would eventually mandate a less desirable dormant pruning cut be made. To view a short web video of the pinching technique, go to 'Techniques for Training Young Apple Trees on the UMass Fruit Advisor. 4:04:38 PM

Powdery mildew -- as seen on this young Cortland apple tree -- has not been too hard to find in the Northeast this year. Generally, a good fungicide program aimed at apple scab keeps mildew at bay, however, in young trees and/or where fungicide coverage has lapsed, mildew may be a problem. Severe infection can kill the terminal foliage and shoots, and result in winter injury and stunted tree growth. Mildew thrives when temperatures are in the 60-8 F. range, particularly with high humidity. Unlike scab, rain is not a pre-requisite for infection to occur. Certain varieties are more susceptible to mildew, including Cortland, GingerGold, Jonathan, and Granny Smith. Unfortunately, once and infection has been established, there is not much that can be done about it -- except remember to maintain a good fungicide program during scab season (particularly on young, non-bearing trees) next year! 3:36:32 PM

Thursday, June 13, 2002

After 'stripping' - which was described in my 6/7/02 Weblog - the use of clothespins to develop wide (90 degree) and strong branch angles is the next most important young apple tree training technique you can accomplish. NOW is the ideal time to attach clothespins, when young shoots are 3-6 inches long and flexible. Clip spring-type clothespins to the tree trunk to force acute branch angles into a more perpendicular (90 degree) angle from the trunk. (See picture.) Take care not to tear the shoots from the trunk when affixing the clothespins. Clothespin all shoots with narrow crotch angles that may form permanent scaffold branches - usually 4-8 clothespins per tree are required. This is assuming you have already stripped (removed) the top few shoots competing with the leader as we described in last weeks newsletter. After several weeks, and when the new, wide branch angle is established, the clothespins may be removed and reattached out onto the shoot tip to help hold it down and keep it growing in a more horizontal position. Take the time to train young trees with clothespins now and you will be rewarded with wide scaffold branch crotch angles that will withstand a heavy fruit load for the life of the orchard. Note: this article also appears in the June 11, 2002 editions of Healthy Fruit and the Rutgers Plant & Pest Advisory, Fruit Edition. 10:52:49 AM

Friday, June 7, 2002

'Stripping' is a young tree training procedure used to isolate and protect the 'central-leader' of an apple tree. The three to four buds directly below a heading cut on newly planted apple trees develop vigorous, upright shoots. Choose the single most upright shoot to remain as the leader, and then strip (with a downward pull) or pinch out the few competing shoots (usually 2 or 3) directly below the leader shoot you want to maintain and promote. These should be removed as soon as possible to focus the growth into the central-leader and prevent a multi-leader tree from developing. Hand pruners may also be used. These competing shoots are easiest to identify and remove when 3-4 inches long. For pictures of the stripping technique, visit the UMass Fruit Advisor. Next week: using clothespins to form desirable branch crotch angles. Note: this article was co-written with Win Cowgill, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, and also appeared in the June 4, 2002 edition of the Rutgers Plant & Pest Advisory, Fruit Edition. 12:34:10 PM

Friday, May 31, 2002

Whoaaa! Been awhile. Sorry. Well, this week has been warm and humid -- the complete opposite of my entry on 8/18 when we were in the snow! This has been ideal weather for the activity of plum curculio to pick up in local orchards. Here, a picture of the kind of damage caused by curc on fruit. Curculio hang out in our around the orchard after emerging earlier in the spring, and with the first warm, muggy weather after bloom, will cause these egg-laying (oviposition) scars on fruit. Growers are advised to have adequate insecticide coverage now and for the next few weeks until curculio activity subsides. Ron Prokopy, UMass Department of Entomology Professor has been doing some novel work on control of this pest -- you may find his articles in Fruit Notes of New England interesting. Or, check out this fact sheet on plum curculio from the New York State IPM Program. Be good. 6:15:09 PM

Saturday, May 18, 2002

What's the deal? This is mid-May! This morning, with temperatures in the mid-30's we had a good dose of the white stuff here in Belchertown, central MA, elev. app. 600 ft. The weather was better back in March. These pansies next to my office door can probably hack it, but fruit growers ought to consider this chilly air might result in frost the next couple mornings. In the Berkshire's, apples are still in bloom, although most of the rest of us are in full petal-fall and fruitlets are 4-8 mm. Does frost/freeze affect fruitlets when they are this large? If so, how cold does it have to get? Oh well, next weekend it will probably be 80 degrees! 'Till Monday, JC 3:19:24 PM

Friday, May 17, 2002

Here's Win Cowgill with his super-spindle planting in New Jersey. Cool. I should mention some of the apple cultivars we included in this planting: Golden Delicious (Gibson); Royal or Tome Empire; Joburn Braeburn; Cameo; Autumn Rose Fuji; Desert Rose Fuji; Redcort; Golden Supreme; Brookfield and Buckeye Gala; Honeycrisp (of course); Granny Smith; Joangored (Morren's Supra); Suncrisp; Mutsu (Crispin); Macoun; and Goldrush. (I may have missed one or two.) All are on M.9 (337, Pajam-2, or Nic-29); B.9; or G.16 (fireblight-resistant, similar in size to M.9, from Cornell-Geneva rootstock breeding program.) Tree spacing is 2-3 feet by 10-12 feet. Oh. And we put in a companion NC-140 planting trial with Cameo as the scion on M.9-337, B.9 , or G.16. Later. 1:18:53 PM

Yours truly standing next to a super-spindle orchard at the UMass Cold Spring Orchard planted in April, 2002. (Photo by Win Cowgill.) Thanks to tree donations from Willow Drive Nursery, Adams County Nursery, Wafler Nursery, Stark Brothers Nursery, and Hilltop Nursery, two super-spindle plantings were put in -- one in Massachusetts by Jon Clements, and one in New Jersey by Win Cowgill -- as Extension demonstration projects to see how this type of system will work in the Northeast. Already used extensively in British Columbia, Canada, and Europe, the super-spindle can give you high early yields (2nd and 3rd leaf) of top quality fruit. The downside is tree cost and intensity of management. (It's probably not a good system for every grower.) Stay tuned for updates and horticultural management details during the growing season. JC 10:38:39 AM

Re: that picture from 5/16, the apple flower bud with darkened center. Last night, at a grower twilight meeting sponsored by Rhode Island Fruit Growers Association and UMass Extension Fruit team, Heather Faubert of URI suggested this may be green pug moth damage. GPM is apparently a new pest of apples in the Northeast. It will attack the flower buds pre-bloom, and eat the flower parts. Here is a close-up of the injury. I have not been able to confirm the diagnosis, however, in the 2000-2001 New England Apple Pest Management Guide, there is a picture of the worm. (Wouldn't it be better to have a picture of the damage? How often do growers see the damage only, and rarely, if ever, see the pest???) Have fun. 9:25:12 AM