Author: swright

Tree Fruit Newsletter — September 10, 2024

Maturity Report Peaches Peaches we are picking now: Blushingstar, PF23 and Messina Apples McIntosh has developed some sweetness and should be good for immediate sales, if you have not already started selling them. At this stage, they should also be good for long-term storage, although susceptible to storage scald. Storage scald is prevented by fogging […]

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Spotted Wing Drosophila Alert and Berry Notes — September 6, 2024

David Handley, Vegetable and Small Fruit Specialist; James Dill, Pest Management Specialist, Phil Fanning, Assistant Professor of Agricultural Entomology, Christina Howard, Maine New Farmer Project Manager Spotted Wing Drosophila: Fly counts in our vinegar/yeast traps this week climbed higher in most locations (see table below). Fall raspberries, blackberries and late blueberries are still plentiful and […]

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Tree Fruit Newsletter — September 6, 2024

Maturity Report Peaches Peaches we are picking now: Coralstar, Veteran and Glowingstar Apples McIntosh is beginning to taste ready. However, the dark green peel color indicates it’s too early to pick for storage yet. Honeycrisp is showing signs of ripening in some blocks and has acceptable flavor. It is not ready to harvest for storage, […]

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Tree Fruit Newsletter — August 30, 2024

Maturity Report Peaches Peaches we are picking now: Coralstar and PF17 Coralstar is the better of the two varieties we picked this week. We have it in two different orchards where it ripens a week apart, so we will still be picking it next week. Veteran, PF23 and Blushingstar should be ready soon. We also […]

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Spotted Wing Drosophila Alert and Berry Notes — August 29, 2024

David Handley, Vegetable and Small Fruit Specialist; James Dill, Pest Management Specialist, Phil Fanning, Assistant Professor of Agricultural Entomology, Christina Howard, Maine New Farmer Project Manager Spotted Wing Drosophila: Fly counts in our vinegar/yeast traps this week were lower in nearly all locations (see table below). This is likely a result of cooler temperatures and […]

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Tree Fruit Newsletter — August 26, 2024

In this newsletter: Maturity Report Observations Announcements Maturity Report Peaches Peaches we are picking now: Raritan Rose, Frost Peaches we will pick next: Coralstar, PF17, Veteran Coralstar is ripening ahead of schedule because our trees have a very light crop load. Apples Paulareds at Highmoor Farm have been harvested. We do not have Gingergold, but […]

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Spotted Wing Drosophila Alert and Berry Notes — August 23, 2024

David Handley, Vegetable and Small Fruit Specialist; James Dill, Pest Management Specialist, Phil Fanning, Assistant Professor of Agricultural Entomology, Christina Howard, Maine New Farmer Project Manager Spotted Wing Drosophila: Fly counts in our vinegar/yeast traps continue to rise in nearly all locations (see table below). We strongly recommend protective sprays be applied to all ripening […]

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