Madeline Wimmer - UMN Fruit Production Extension Educator This article marks the beginning of the 2025 UMN Fruit Updates, where information is gathered and shared in real time about current happenings and production requirements for fruit crops in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. These articles are released regularly throughout the growing season, and readers can receive notice of new articles by subscribing to the UMN Fruit and Veg News newsletter email alerts. While apples and grapes are a large focus of this series, we’ll also include updates on other Minnesota-grown fruit crops—such as strawberries, raspberries, pears, plums, blueberries, honeyberries, and currants—based on field conditions and emerging needs throughout the season. Fruit management topics in this series include: tracking plant growth and fruit ripening stages; horticultural management options to improve fruit quality; integrated pest awareness sections that identify and describe various insect and disease-causing o...
Madeline Wimmer- UMN Fruit Production Extension Educator Pest management strategies can vary widely depending on farm scale, production goals, and growing practices—whether organic, conventional, or somewhere in between. Throughout the UMN Fruit Update series, we’ll reference pest management approaches that reflect this diversity. To help you stay informed and supported throughout the season, we’ve compiled a list of key resources that serve as practical tools and guides for managing pests in Minnesota’s apple and grape systems. Resources for apple pest management 1. Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide A multi-state collaborative guide that is updated once every few years and can be used to find information about multiple fruit crops, including apples. This document is available as a pdf on the Purdue University website (link in heading). Apple growers should refer to the following pages for apple pest management information: Page 13 : Beginning of apple content and apple insect ...