Apr 2, 2019

Deadline nears for orchard floor management workshop in Michigan

Michigan State University Extension and the Benzie Manistee Horticultural Society invite you to attend “Looking Below the Canopy: Orchard Floor Management to Minimize Orchard Pests and Optimize Fruit Quality.” This workshop will be held April 10, 2019, from 12-5 p.m. at the Blaine Christian Church, 7018 Putney Rd, Arcadia, MI 49613. This afternoon educational session will highlight weed control, orchard row middle management, soil health and root pruning as strategies for pest management and to optimize fruit quality.

The meeting will begin with lunch served at the Blaine Christian Church. Following the meeting, there will be a social hour with hors d’oeuvres and a tasting at St. Ambrose Cellars. The Benzie-Manistee Horticultural Society will hold their brief annual meeting prior to lunch at 11:45 a.m. and any members are invited to attend this meeting.

Registration is $35 per person, which covers lunch and hors d’oeuvres during the evening social hour. The deadline to register is April 5. To register, contact Jennifer Zelinski at 231-946-1510 or [email protected].

Agenda

Moderator: Emily Pochubay, MSU Extension

11:45 a.m. – Benzie–Manistee Horticultural Society Annual Meeting, Adam Putney, Benzie–Manistee Horticultural Society President

12:00 p.m. – Registration and lunch featuring guest speakers

12:35–12:45 p.m. – Farmer-to-Farmer Update, Brian Bourdages, Farmer-to-Farmer Contractor

12:45–1:00 p.m. – Presentations from the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Foundation Scholarship Award Recipients, Ryan DeMorrow, Cherry Bay Orchards, and Pete Nelson, HortSystems

Educational program

1:00–1:25 p.m. – How to calibrate your weed sprayer, Mark Longstroth, MSU Extension

1:25–1:50 p.m. – Identifying common orchard and glyphosate resistant weeds, Erin Hill, MSU Plant Diagnostics

1:50–2:10 p.m. – Understanding herbicide modes of action, Mark Longstroth, MSU Extension

2:10–2:35 p.m. – Orchard herbicide efficacy and alternatives to glyphosate, Bernie Zandstra, Department of Horticulture, MSU

2:35–2:50 p.m. – BREAK

2:50–3:15 p.m. – Orchard floor soil health management options for established and new tree fruit plantings, George Bird, Department of Entomology, MSU

3:15–3:40 p.m. – Nematodes and orchard replant disease, Marisol Quintanilla, Department of Entomology, MSU

3:40–4:05 p.m. – The potential for root pruning to manage tree vigor and promote fruit quality,Todd Einhorn, Department of Horticulture, MSU

4:05–4:25 p.m. – Grower Panel: On-farm experiences with root pruning, Mark Schiller, King Orchards; Francis Otto, Cherry Bay Orchards; and Mike Paradis, NikCol Farms

4:25–4:45 p.m. – Orchard floor management practices to reduce SWD populations, Nikki Rothwell, MSU Extension and AgBioResearch

4:45 p.m. – Fill out pesticide recertification credits and certified crop advisor credits.

5:15–6:30 p.m. – Hors d’oeuvres and local beverage tasting at St. Ambrose Cellars, 841 S Pioneer Rd, Beulah, MI 49617

The event is sponsored byMichigan State Horticultural Society, CHS, Nutrien Ag Solutions and Wilbur-Ellis.

– Emily Pochubay and Nikki Rothwell, Michigan State University Extension