Weekly Berry Call â June 22, 2011
Weekly Berry Call – June 22, 2011 Participants: Kevin Schooley (Ontario, Canada), Cathy Heidenreich (Western NY/Finger Lakes region, Geneva), Dale Ila Riggs (Stephentown, Eastern NY), Jeff Miller (Oneida County, Marcy), Sharon Bachman (Erie County, East Aurora.), Colleen Cavagna (Allegany/Cattaraugus Counties, Belmont) Marvin Pritts (Finger Lakes region, Ithaca), Greg Loeb (NYSAES, Geneva) Growing conditions: (courtesy NY NASS) Week ending June 19, 2011: Temperatures averaged below normal in most regions. The high was 86 degrees in Massena and the low was 60 degrees in Boonville and Franklinville. Departures from normal ranged from minus 4 to plus 2 degrees. Growing Degree Day accumulations were above normal in all locations by as much as 326 in Dansville. Rain fell in all areas. Amounts varied from 0.08 inches at Niagara Falls to 2.35 inches in New York City. Totals since April 1st were well above normal across the state. Strawberry condition was 9 percent poor, 24 percent fair, 47 percent good, and 20 percent excellent. In Broome County, the u‐pick strawberry season was already curtailing after only a week of picking. Stressed plants were not producing for a second picking and berries were short lived because of excess moisture. Reports from the Field Allegany/Cattaraugus Counties No problems with dryness here. Periodic rains falling every 3 days or so. Western NY/Finger Lakes region/Geneva Strawberries at full harvest in most areas. Good crop but compressed season. Some issues with fruit cap infections (Phomopsis?). Very little gray mold or anthracnose so far. Some plantings with plants collapsing – little canopy, full fruit load; possible issues with root rots and/or lack of soil oxygen during earlier prolonged wet periods?
Collapse of strawberry plants with full crop load Raspberries with incredible fruit set. Plants will need sufficient water each week to sustain this heavy crop load during warmer summer days. Elderberries are in full bloom in the new Ithaca variety planting.
Elderberries in full bloom
1
Weekly Berry Call – June 22, 2011 Wind damage observed in thornless blackberries in western NY. From Marvin Pritts: “Thornless blackberry canes are very tender before they become woody. They are very susceptible to wind damage. Winds cause rocking canes to form a ring of suberized tissue at their base where they attach to the crown. Movement of nutrients and water to the upper portion of the cane becomes restricted, causing tips to collapse. Canes often snap off at this weakened point.
Wind damage to canes of Doyle thornless blackberry
‘Patriot’ blueberries were observed in western NY having significant differences in berry size in the same clusters. An explanation for this was a ProGib application by the grower who was worried about fruit set. When ProGib is applied it sets the fruit precluding bees from pollinating. Gary Pavlis from New Jersey indicates blueberry growers only apply ProGib as a total last ditch effort in seasons when no bees were brought in or the weather during bloom was extremely poor for pollination i.e. cold temperatures (40 to 50F) and very windy conditions. Even then they typically wait to make a ProGib application until 2/3 of the corollas have started to turn reddish purple and drop (v.s. white corollas dropping indicating full pollination). To verify this as a cause of the problem, he suggests when the fruit ripens, you cut and count seeds in both the smaller and larger berries. Small berries with roughly 0 to 7 seeds per fruit were probably set by the ProGib. Small berries with 10 to 12 or slightly more seeds are probably a result of poor pollination. Fruits with 18 to 30 or more seeds are a result of good pollination.
2
Weekly Berry Call – June 22, 2011 Oneida County GDD 86/50 is 705 up to 18 June 2011. 0.4” rainfall this past week; still picking strawberries. Ontario, Canada Harvesting early varieties of strawberries; yields down. King berries looked good then berry size fell off. ‘Wendy’ showing problems with sunscald due to lack of adequate canopy. Raspberries have a beautiful crop, heavy crop load. Some plantings going down to Phytophthora root rot from earlier wet weather. Blueberries are chugging along. Now 3+ weeks without rain – very dry; growers irrigating. Rain in the forecast for the next 4 to 5 days. Stephentown, Eastern NY Strawberry harvest continuing; ‘Wendy’ and other early varieties done, ‘Ovation’ just starting; tired of dealing with wet berries! The strawberry season has been compressed with many of the varieties being harvested at the same time. King berries had good size, but secondaries and tertiaries have been a little disappointing. Berries are holding up well overall . Grower is not – 3 predictions of hail necessitated application of floating row cover over berries. Hopefully not more such predictions before the end of harvest. Blueberries still have great looking crop – sizing well just lately.
Troubleshooting: Literature/anecdotal reports suggest use of evaporative cooling (short 5 to 15 min. bursts of overhead irrigation) on warm days for strawberries… Any reports in the literatures of water droplets on berries causing sunscald by intensifying light on fruit surfaces? Possible negative effect during the heat of the day? Not a lot of research/data on this topic. Probable benefit received from using this technique is extra water on crop during periods of high water stress.
Sunscald on strawberries No Pristine application at bloom on blueberries – now what in terms of anthracnose management? Apply Pristine now? Does it have systemic activity? Will it burn out any latent infections? From Dr. Kerik Cox: “Good question(s). Pristine has limited systemic kickback activity (14 hours). I wouldn’t count on it to burn out any infections that happened 4 weeks ago, but it’s a good idea to apply Pristine when the fruit starts to color to prevent potential secondary spread of the disease to fruit without latent infections.” U‐pick customer reported she developed a rash similar to poison ivy after picking strawberries at my operation. Scoured the field, no poison ivy to be found?! Only weeds found were prickly lettuce, dandelion, oxalis, wild radish – could any of these be the culprit – other suggestions? Discussion: Check for poison parsnip (wild parsnip); an invasive weed species also causing contact dermatitis (skin rashes); this weed is becoming more widely established in NYS. Another possibility is allergy to strawberry foliage. Other call‐in participants reported various degrees of allergic reactions to strawberry foliage observed in themselves or summer field workers. Symptoms of these allergic reactions were reported to be similar to those caused by poison ivy.
3
Weekly Berry Call – June 22, 2011
Poison Ivy (Toxicodenron radicans)
Poison Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)
4
Weekly Berry Call – June 22, 2011 Weather Data for Week Ending Sunday, June 19, 2011
Temperature (oF) Station High
Low
Avg
Dep. from Norm
Growing Degree Days Precipitation Base 50o 1/ (Inches) 1/ Dep. Dep. Dep. Week Season from Week from Season from Norm Norm Norm
Hudson Valley 827 ‐0.8 84 48 66 ‐2 113 +252 0.17 Albany 678 ‐0.29 84 46 64 ‐2 96 +202 0.46 Glens Falls 882 +0.42 83 48 66 ‐2 116 +257 1.30 Poughkeepsie Mohawk Valley 478 ‐0.77 78 47 60 ‐2 74 +130 0.34 Boonville Champlain Valley 579 +0.10 83 47 64 ‐3 99 +92 0.86 Plattsburgh St. Lawrence Valley 588 ‐0.18 83 46 63 0 96 +171 0.59 Canton 654 ‐0.49 86 45 66 +2 111 +201 0.28 Massena Great Lakes 704 ‐0.69 81 50 65 ‐2 105 +167 0.15 Buffalo 564 ‐0.79 77 44 61 ‐3 76 +151 0.19 Wales 657 ‐0.76 83 48 65 ‐2 103 +102 0.08 Niagara Falls 725 ‐0.62 83 48 66 0 110 +181 0.08 Rochester 596 ‐0.31 83 43 63 0 94 +183 0.32 Watertown Central Lakes 859 ‐0.61 84 46 66 0 116 +326 0.30 Dansville 707 ‐0.77 82 48 66 +1 111 +194 0.14 Geneva 710 ‐0.74 81 44 63 ‐4 93 +179 0.17 Honeoye 666 ‐0.53 80 42 62 ‐3 86 +207 0.38 Ithaca 763 ‐0.80 82 50 65 0 110 +250 0.11 Penn Yan 893 ‐0.58 84 50 67 +2 119 +342 0.33 Syracuse 543 ‐0.75 77 46 61 ‐2 77 +166 0.29 Warsaw Western Plateau 613 ‐0.56 80 41 62 ‐2 84 +196 0.35 Angelica 731 ‐0.81 82 46 64 ‐2 97 +239 0.10 Elmira 564 ‐0.73 79 41 60 ‐2 75 +242 0.31 Franklinville 632 ‐0.65 79 45 62 ‐1 86 +250 0.47 Jamestown Eastern Plateau 679 ‐0.48 78 47 63 ‐2 91 +205 0.36 Binghamton 607 ‐0.35 80 49 62 ‐2 88 +174 0.63 Cobleskill 553 ‐0.69 80 47 61 ‐3 76 +148 0.29 Morrisville 634 +0.34 83 46 62 ‐2 87 +200 1.32 Norwich Oneonta Coastal 597 +0.54 81 52 65 ‐2 106 +203 1.38 Bridgehamton 991 +1.51 84 59 70 ‐2 144 +164 2.35 New York 1/ Season accumulations are for April 1st to date. Weekly accumulations are through 7:00 AM Sunday Morning
5
11.81
+3.09
11.08
+2.42
12.38
+2.11
17.30
+5.29
16.05
+8.40
13.90
+6.00
11.08
+3.95
14.51
+6.22
14.01
+4.00
12.44
+4.13
1.75
+3.52
11.65
+4.65
10.60
+2.46
11.27
+3.00
11.33
+3.16
14.70
+6.09
9.71
+1.44
12.93
+3.96
15.88
+6.26
14.93
+6.94
12.98
+4.71
17.11
+7.57
16.34
+5.67
16.78
+8.01
11.63
+2.03
13.00
+3.59
15.86
+6.12
10.31
+0.19
12.34
+2.48
Collapse of strawberry plants with full crop load Raspberries with incredible fruit set. Plants will need sufficient water each week to sustain this heavy crop load during warmer summer days. Elderberries are in full bloom in the new Ithaca variety planting.
Elderberries in full bloom
1
Weekly Berry Call – June 22, 2011 Wind damage observed in thornless blackberries in western NY. From Marvin Pritts: “Thornless blackberry canes are very tender before they become woody. They are very susceptible to wind damage. Winds cause rocking canes to form a ring of suberized tissue at their base where they attach to the crown. Movement of nutrients and water to the upper portion of the cane becomes restricted, causing tips to collapse. Canes often snap off at this weakened point.
Wind damage to canes of Doyle thornless blackberry
‘Patriot’ blueberries were observed in western NY having significant differences in berry size in the same clusters. An explanation for this was a ProGib application by the grower who was worried about fruit set. When ProGib is applied it sets the fruit precluding bees from pollinating. Gary Pavlis from New Jersey indicates blueberry growers only apply ProGib as a total last ditch effort in seasons when no bees were brought in or the weather during bloom was extremely poor for pollination i.e. cold temperatures (40 to 50F) and very windy conditions. Even then they typically wait to make a ProGib application until 2/3 of the corollas have started to turn reddish purple and drop (v.s. white corollas dropping indicating full pollination). To verify this as a cause of the problem, he suggests when the fruit ripens, you cut and count seeds in both the smaller and larger berries. Small berries with roughly 0 to 7 seeds per fruit were probably set by the ProGib. Small berries with 10 to 12 or slightly more seeds are probably a result of poor pollination. Fruits with 18 to 30 or more seeds are a result of good pollination.
2
Weekly Berry Call – June 22, 2011 Oneida County GDD 86/50 is 705 up to 18 June 2011. 0.4” rainfall this past week; still picking strawberries. Ontario, Canada Harvesting early varieties of strawberries; yields down. King berries looked good then berry size fell off. ‘Wendy’ showing problems with sunscald due to lack of adequate canopy. Raspberries have a beautiful crop, heavy crop load. Some plantings going down to Phytophthora root rot from earlier wet weather. Blueberries are chugging along. Now 3+ weeks without rain – very dry; growers irrigating. Rain in the forecast for the next 4 to 5 days. Stephentown, Eastern NY Strawberry harvest continuing; ‘Wendy’ and other early varieties done, ‘Ovation’ just starting; tired of dealing with wet berries! The strawberry season has been compressed with many of the varieties being harvested at the same time. King berries had good size, but secondaries and tertiaries have been a little disappointing. Berries are holding up well overall . Grower is not – 3 predictions of hail necessitated application of floating row cover over berries. Hopefully not more such predictions before the end of harvest. Blueberries still have great looking crop – sizing well just lately.
Troubleshooting: Literature/anecdotal reports suggest use of evaporative cooling (short 5 to 15 min. bursts of overhead irrigation) on warm days for strawberries… Any reports in the literatures of water droplets on berries causing sunscald by intensifying light on fruit surfaces? Possible negative effect during the heat of the day? Not a lot of research/data on this topic. Probable benefit received from using this technique is extra water on crop during periods of high water stress.
Sunscald on strawberries No Pristine application at bloom on blueberries – now what in terms of anthracnose management? Apply Pristine now? Does it have systemic activity? Will it burn out any latent infections? From Dr. Kerik Cox: “Good question(s). Pristine has limited systemic kickback activity (14 hours). I wouldn’t count on it to burn out any infections that happened 4 weeks ago, but it’s a good idea to apply Pristine when the fruit starts to color to prevent potential secondary spread of the disease to fruit without latent infections.” U‐pick customer reported she developed a rash similar to poison ivy after picking strawberries at my operation. Scoured the field, no poison ivy to be found?! Only weeds found were prickly lettuce, dandelion, oxalis, wild radish – could any of these be the culprit – other suggestions? Discussion: Check for poison parsnip (wild parsnip); an invasive weed species also causing contact dermatitis (skin rashes); this weed is becoming more widely established in NYS. Another possibility is allergy to strawberry foliage. Other call‐in participants reported various degrees of allergic reactions to strawberry foliage observed in themselves or summer field workers. Symptoms of these allergic reactions were reported to be similar to those caused by poison ivy.
3
Weekly Berry Call – June 22, 2011
Poison Ivy (Toxicodenron radicans)
Poison Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)
4
Weekly Berry Call – June 22, 2011 Weather Data for Week Ending Sunday, June 19, 2011
Temperature (oF) Station High
Low
Avg
Dep. from Norm
Growing Degree Days Precipitation Base 50o 1/ (Inches) 1/ Dep. Dep. Dep. Week Season from Week from Season from Norm Norm Norm
Hudson Valley 827 ‐0.8 84 48 66 ‐2 113 +252 0.17 Albany 678 ‐0.29 84 46 64 ‐2 96 +202 0.46 Glens Falls 882 +0.42 83 48 66 ‐2 116 +257 1.30 Poughkeepsie Mohawk Valley 478 ‐0.77 78 47 60 ‐2 74 +130 0.34 Boonville Champlain Valley 579 +0.10 83 47 64 ‐3 99 +92 0.86 Plattsburgh St. Lawrence Valley 588 ‐0.18 83 46 63 0 96 +171 0.59 Canton 654 ‐0.49 86 45 66 +2 111 +201 0.28 Massena Great Lakes 704 ‐0.69 81 50 65 ‐2 105 +167 0.15 Buffalo 564 ‐0.79 77 44 61 ‐3 76 +151 0.19 Wales 657 ‐0.76 83 48 65 ‐2 103 +102 0.08 Niagara Falls 725 ‐0.62 83 48 66 0 110 +181 0.08 Rochester 596 ‐0.31 83 43 63 0 94 +183 0.32 Watertown Central Lakes 859 ‐0.61 84 46 66 0 116 +326 0.30 Dansville 707 ‐0.77 82 48 66 +1 111 +194 0.14 Geneva 710 ‐0.74 81 44 63 ‐4 93 +179 0.17 Honeoye 666 ‐0.53 80 42 62 ‐3 86 +207 0.38 Ithaca 763 ‐0.80 82 50 65 0 110 +250 0.11 Penn Yan 893 ‐0.58 84 50 67 +2 119 +342 0.33 Syracuse 543 ‐0.75 77 46 61 ‐2 77 +166 0.29 Warsaw Western Plateau 613 ‐0.56 80 41 62 ‐2 84 +196 0.35 Angelica 731 ‐0.81 82 46 64 ‐2 97 +239 0.10 Elmira 564 ‐0.73 79 41 60 ‐2 75 +242 0.31 Franklinville 632 ‐0.65 79 45 62 ‐1 86 +250 0.47 Jamestown Eastern Plateau 679 ‐0.48 78 47 63 ‐2 91 +205 0.36 Binghamton 607 ‐0.35 80 49 62 ‐2 88 +174 0.63 Cobleskill 553 ‐0.69 80 47 61 ‐3 76 +148 0.29 Morrisville 634 +0.34 83 46 62 ‐2 87 +200 1.32 Norwich Oneonta Coastal 597 +0.54 81 52 65 ‐2 106 +203 1.38 Bridgehamton 991 +1.51 84 59 70 ‐2 144 +164 2.35 New York 1/ Season accumulations are for April 1st to date. Weekly accumulations are through 7:00 AM Sunday Morning
5
11.81
+3.09
11.08
+2.42
12.38
+2.11
17.30
+5.29
16.05
+8.40
13.90
+6.00
11.08
+3.95
14.51
+6.22
14.01
+4.00
12.44
+4.13
1.75
+3.52
11.65
+4.65
10.60
+2.46
11.27
+3.00
11.33
+3.16
14.70
+6.09
9.71
+1.44
12.93
+3.96
15.88
+6.26
14.93
+6.94
12.98
+4.71
17.11
+7.57
16.34
+5.67
16.78
+8.01
11.63
+2.03
13.00
+3.59
15.86
+6.12
10.31
+0.19
12.34
+2.48
