Fruit and Vegetable News

Author: Matthew Gullickson . In late summer, just as fall-bearing raspberries are starting to ripen, researchers from the University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) are attempting to protect the berry crop from destruction. Their main concern is to protect the fruit from a recently established invasive insect pest, spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), which feeds on many kinds of soft fruit including raspberries.  A male Spotted-wing drosophila fly with distinctive wing markings. Photo: UMN FruitEdge SWD began appearing in Minnesota in 2012. Since its arrival, this pest has been responsible for significant damage to berries with major economic losses in Minnesota and nationwide. Adult SWD lay eggs in ripening fruit, which later hatch and feed on the flesh of the fruit, which results in unmarketable, mushy fruit with unwanted maggots inside at the time of harvest. SWD populations grow quickly; it takes just over a week to develop from egg to adult, and...

Author: Laise Sousa Moreira. If you are like many Americans, you love grapes. Table grapes are the third most consumed fruit in the U.S., but growing this delicious fruit is a real challenge in regions with extremely low temperatures. Seedless table grapes. Photo: Laise Moreira. Minnesota has a harsh winter and short growing season which creates obstacles for growers to produce grapes year after year or if any at all. Currently, most of the seedless cultivars available in the market were developed for warm climates, dry conditions, or mild winters, which is not the case for the climate here in Minnesota. There are a few cultivars that are being tested here in Minnesota at the University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center. Many of these come with restrictions such as burying vines in the ground every year before the winter because these cultivars are not hardy enough to survive the extremely low temperatures during dormancy (time while the plant is not growing). Thus, se...

Author: Anne Sawyer Believe it or not, spring will come. In spite of the snow that's recently swamped much of the state, the soil will soon be warming and it'll be time to plant before we know it. Before you put anything in the ground, however, you should consider doing a soil fertility test to provide optimum nutrition for your plants and avoid unnecessary fertilizer applications. The most reliable way to determine how best to fertilize is to do a soil test.