Fruits
Grape berry moth pressure lower in 2015
With July going past quickly and early August approaching, it is time to alert growers to the approaching window for protecting clusters from the third generation of grape berry moth. For the most southern parts... more »
Predicted 2015 apple harvest dates
The predicted harvest dates are now available at all locations on theMichigan State University Enviro-weather website. In general, 2015 predicted harvest dates are roughly a few days behind normal and a few days ahead of... more »
Industry veteran rides the waves
Gary Pullano, associate editor for Fruit Growers News, is blogging this week from the International Fruit Tree Association's Regional Summer Tour in Washington state.Washington state apple grower Jim Doornink survived the turn-of-the-century (21st, that is)... more »
Disease Update: Rots wreaking havoc on stone fruit
The extremely wet weather over the last month has triggered rot issues in both sweet and tart cherries. As a result of the volume of fungal spores flying around and the persistent warm wet conditions,... more »
IFTA tour story ripe with industry progress
Gary Pullano, associate editor for Fruit Growers News, is blogging this week from the International Fruit Tree Association's Regional Summer Tour in Washington state.When you gather 170 people from seven countries, including those from nine... more »
Increase of spotted wing Drosophila in berry crops
Monitoring for spotted wing Drosophila (SWD) over the past week has revealed an upswing in the catches of SWD in monitoring traps. Numbers have gone from a few per trap to some catching more than... more »
Blueberry fruit rot severe this year
Anthracnose (also called ripe rot) in blueberry, has been quite severe this year, especially in highly susceptible varieties such as Bluecrop, Bluetta, and Blueray. Anthracnose in blueberry is caused byColletotrichum species, the very same troublesome... more »
MSU: Spotted wing drosophila, brown marmorated stink bug report
This is the fourth weekly report of the Michigan State University Extension spotted wing drosophila (SWD) monitoring network. A total of six females and seven males were captured from six out of more than 130... more »
MSU’s Jim Flore named Cherry Industry Person of the Year
Michigan State University (MSU) horticulture professor Jim Flore was honored as Cherry Industry Person of the Year on July 7.Flore received the honor at the MSU Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center, where public tours are... more »
Ceremonial ‘First Pick’ marks the start of the Michigan blueberry harvest season
The Michigan blueberry harvest is once again about to launch into full swing and local growers are working long hours to ensure that the blueberries are picked, packed and available to consumers, retailers, restaurants, and... more »