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 This will be the final issue of the Spotted Wing Drosophila Alert for the 2023 season. Spotted wing drosophila counts declined substantially in all of our trapping locations this […]
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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PEST PRESSURE MODERATE AS SEASON WINDS DOWN Earworm and Fall Armyworm Threaten Remaining Corn This will be the final issue of the Sweet Corn IPM Newsletter for the 2023 season. I would like to thank all the growers who participated in the program this year, and our team of IPM scouts, including Chantal Cyr, Ethan […]
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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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