PEST PRESSURE HIGHER IN LATE SEASON CORN Corn Earworm and Fall Armyworm Numbers Rise Following Recent Rain Situation Cooler nights and shorter days have slowed development of late corn. Supply has been spotty as many later plantings matured earlier than expected. Some rain last weekend brought only a little respite from the severe drought we […]
Read more
Maturity Report Peaches Peach varieties we picked this week include: PF23, Blushingstar, Veteran, Contender, Harrow Beauty and Glowingstar. We have only a few varieties left to pick: Messina, Autumnstar and Selena. Plums European plums are in the process of ripening. We picked Castleton and Rosy Gage. Long John will be ready next. Apples McIntosh harvest […]
Read more
David Handley, Vegetable and Small Fruit Specialist; James Dill, Pest Management Specialist, Phil Fanning, Assistant Professor of Agricultural Entomology, Christina Howard, Maine New Farmers Project Manager Spotted wing drosophila fruit fly trap counts were little changed from last week. Sites that are no longer spraying because harvest is complete are seeing higher numbers than sites […]
Read more
PEST PRESSURE REMAINS MODERATE Corn Earworm and Fall Armyworm Still a Threat to Late Silking Corn Situation The sweet corn season is winding down at most sites, as Labor Day is now behind us, and the very warm temperatures through much of the summer led to early maturity of later plantings. We have pulled our […]
Read more
Maturity Report Peaches Peaches we are picking this week: Coralstar, PF17 Ripening of varieties has been out of the normal sequence this summer. Check varieties ahead of schedule because some seem to be ready to pick before expected. Apples McIntosh harvest indices are listed in the table below. Consider these values as the baseline because […]
Read more
David Handley, Vegetable and Small Fruit Specialist; James Dill, Pest Management Specialist, Phil Fanning, Assistant Professor of Agricultural Entomology, Christina Howard, Maine New Farmers Project Manager Spotted wing drosophila fruit fly numbers are rising at all sites this week. Some of the increase may be due to growers no longer spraying because they have finished […]
Read more
PEST PRESSURE FOR LATE CORN MODERATE Labor Day Supply Looks Good Despite Drought Situation Despite little to no relief from the drought throughout the state this week, most farmers are going into the Labor Day weekend with a good supply of corn with good quality. Later planted corn has matured rapidly under warm growing conditions […]
Read more
In this newsletter: ReTain Reminders Fruit Maturity ReTain Reminders To extend the harvest, ReTain can be applied 28 to 7 days before anticipated first pick. For orchards in southern Maine, we are about about 21 days from first pick on Macs and Honeycrisp. ReTain can extend the harvest window by preventing preharvest fruit drop. I […]
Read more
David Handley, Vegetable and Small Fruit Specialist; James Dill, Pest Management Specialist, Phil Fanning, Assistant Professor of Agricultural Entomology, Christina Howard, Maine New Farmers Project Manager Spotted wing drosophila fruit fly numbers are rising at most of our trapping sites this week, although the increases are relatively moderate for this point in the season (see […]
Read more
CORN EARWORM PRESSURE HIGHER Fall Armyworm Counts Also Higher This Week Situation There has been no relief from drought conditions in most of southern and coastal Maine this week. Farmers continue to irrigate whenever and wherever possible, but many face depleting water resources. Poor tip fill, ear size and other quality issues can result from […]
Read more