Cooperative Extension at Highmoor Farm

In this newsletter: Observations Announcements Orchard Observations Peaches are at the pit hardening phase. Hopefully, fruit thinning is nearly complete by now. This supposedly helps with brown rot control later on. Breaking up fruit that are clustered or in close contact will also help with spray coverage, disease and pest control. My initial thoughts on […]

In this newsletter: Return Bloom Sprays Summer Tour Announcement Return Bloom Sprays Some orchard blocks may have a higher than normal crop load which can inhibit the formation of flower buds. Fruit trees form next year’s flower buds in the summer beforehand. With a heavy crop, the fruits exude a hormone from their seeds that […]

In this newsletter: Chemical Thinning Apples with Accede® The Bottom Line, a newsletter from Cornell Univ. Extension Chemical Thinning Apples with Accede As we approach the end of the chemical thinning window, fruitlets become resistant to thinning with 6-BA (Maxcel) and NAA. A new thinner became available recently that has some thinning action when the […]

In this newsletter: Chemical Thinning at Early Fruit Set Observations Chemical Thinning at Early Fruit Set King fruit diameter is averaging 7 mm for McIntosh and Cortland, and 6 mm for Honeycrisp at Highmoor Farm. Based on the signs of initial fruit set on Macs, my guess is that we need to thin more aggressively […]

In this newsletter: Highmoor Farm Bud Stages Chemical Thinning at Early Fruit Set of Apple and Pear Starting Calcium Sprays Orchard Observations Highmoor Farm Bud Stages McIntosh apples – full bloom and just starting petal fall Honeycrisp apples – full bloom Pears – petal fall Sweet and sour cherries – a mix of petal fall […]

In this newsletter: Highmoor Farm Bud Stages Chemical Thinning at Petal Fall Bloom thinning using lime sulfer Highmoor Bud Stages McIntosh apples – king bloom Honeycrisp apples – late in the pink stage Pears – full bloom Sweet and sour cherries – full bloom Peaches and Plums – full bloom and petal fall depending on […]

Highmoor Bud Stages McIntosh apples – late half-inch green Honeycrisp apples – quarter-inch green Sweet cherries – green tip Peaches – Green calyx and red calyx, depending on variety Pears – budburst and green cluster, depending on variety Promalin® for Frost Protection Promalin applied within 24 hours after a freeze can increase apple fruit set […]

Highmoor Farm Bud Stages McIntosh apple trees are at half-inch green as of April 25, and Honeycrisp is at green tip. Pears are at half-inch green, and peaches are at the red calyx stage.  The cold temperatures have us all worried about freeze damage, so I am resending the hardiness numbers for each bud stage.  […]

Highmoor Farm Bud Stages McIntosh apple trees are at green tip as of April 15. Pears and stone fruits are also past the initial bud swell stage and are showing yellow and green tissue. The level of hardiness in our flower buds is not precisely known since it can vary from year to year and […]

Peach Flower Bud Survival — update by Dr. Renae Moran Peach flower bud survival at Highmoor Farm is less than expected considering the mild winter temperatures. It could be that some of the varieties in my collection started bud growth too soon this winter, a problem that is common when temperatures stay above freezing most […]