Author: swright

Tree Fruit Newsletter — October 3, 2023

Maturity Report and Guest Article by Kendra McClure Maturity Report McIntosh: Both strains are past the stage to pick for storage based on starch index and signs of fruit drop during limb shaking. Trees at Highmoor Farm had about 20% fruit drop with a good shake of the limbs. Cortland: Cortland is at a stage […]

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Spotted Wing Drosophila Alert and Berry Notes — September 29, 2023

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 trap counts continue to rise in most locations this week, as we would expect at this time in the season, especially with the relatively mild weather […]

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Tree Fruit Newsletter — September 21, 2023

Maturity Report McIntosh: Not much change in maturity indicators in the spur type strain, but flavor and texture have improved. Both strains are still ok to pick for storage based on the lack of fruit drop during limb shaking. McIntosh is susceptible to superficial scald when stored longer than three months. If applied within five days […]

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Spotted Wing Drosophila Alert and Berry Notes — September 21, 2023

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 trap counts were higher in nearly all locations this week, most notably in a field where spraying had been stopped. Although these numbers are relatively low […]

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Tree Fruit Newsletter — September 13, 2023

A tropical storm or hurricane is expected in the area this weekend. Strong winds will likely knock fruit off trees and cause fruit bruising when the wind blows branches around. Winds could be strong enough to blow over trees. Best of luck to everyone this weekend. Maturity Report McIntosh. Starch breakdown continued with a small […]

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Spotted Wing Drosophila Alert and Berry Notes — September 15, 2023

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 trap counts in the past few weeks have been relatively low for this late in the season and that trend continued this week, with trap catches […]

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Spotted Wing Drosophila Alert and Berry Notes — September 8, 2023

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 trap counts have remained relatively steady for several weeks, which is unusual for this late in the season.  Past experience has typically shown significant increases in […]

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Tree Fruit Newsletter — September 6, 2023

Maturity report followed by some announcements Apple Maturity at Highmoor Farm McIntosh: A small decrease in starch since last week, and a very small drop in Delta reading. Flavor is still sour. Honeycrisp: A drop in both starch and Delta reading, but it’s still early for Honeycrisp, unless you have the early-ripening strain. Color is […]

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Tree Fruit Newsletter — August 31, 2023

Apple Maturity at Highmoor Farm Paulared apples taste great this week. Zestar was not tested this week. McIntosh was firm and sour in today’s taste tests. Some of your customers may prefer it this way, but it is not ready to harvest for storage. One of our blocks had seedless apples, probably killed by the […]

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