Fruit and Vegetable News

Bill Hutchison, Eric Burkness, Anh Tran, Dominique Ebbenga & Suzanne Wold-Burkness MN Extension IPM Program, Dept. of Entomology, University of Minnesota Fig. 1. Spotted wing drosophila male (left), with characteristic spots on the wings, and female (right), with serrated ovipositor (egg-lay device). Photo: Sheila Fitzpatrick, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Pacific Agri-Food Research Center, Agassiz As noted previously, our earliest SWD trap catch dates this year occurred with single adult flies caught in forest edge locations adjacent to crops; the earliest catch was May 23rd at Hastings. Since July 8th and during the past week, SWD numbers for traps located in berry crops (mostly blueberry, summer raspberry) increased substantially. One exception to this is the Hastings site, where only wine grapes are grown; berries are still very small and green (not attractive to SWD, but the fly is present). The following table summarizes the average weekly trap catch for ea...

Annie Klodd, Bill Hutchison, Eric Burkness, and Dominique Ebbenga For an introduction to Japanese beetles, read: https://www.fruitedge.umn.edu/pests/jb Review of Pesticide Options Adult Japanese beetle. Photo: Jeff Hahn. Japanese beetles release an aggregation pheromone to attract others. Therefore, early control is important to reduce aggregations (“feeding frenzies”) of beetles on trees. Several repellants and anti-feedant products work by slowing aggregation, and have residual activity between 2-3 weeks: Neonicotinoids: Assail, Belay, Wrangler/Alias/Montana (Actara is not as effective, and has a 35 day PHI)  Neem oil: Does not effectively kill adults, but will reduce immigration into the orchard (can be tank-mixed with a conventional insecticide). Apply in the evening or night, not in the middle of the day. Aside from Assail, the above products do not provide immediate knockdown of Japanese beetles. For immediate knockdown of beetles, one of the following may...

Authors: Bill Hutchison, Eric Burkness, Anh Tran, Dominique Ebbenga & Suzanne Wold-Burkness MN Extension IPM Program, Dept. of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul campus As noted previously , our earliest SWD trap catch dates this year occurred with single adult flies caught in forest edge locations adjacent to crops. The earliest catch was May 23rd at Hastings. The traps in our network are effective at catching both male and female flies (Fig. 1).  Since July 8th, and during the past week, SWD numbers for traps located in berry crops (mostly blueberry and summer raspberry) increased substantially: up to 191 and 176/wk at Forest Lake and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, respectively. One exception to this is the Hastings site, where only wine grapes are grown; berries are still very small and green, and not attractive to SWD. Spotted wing drosophila male (left), with characteristic spots on the wings, and female (right), with serrated ovipositor (egg-lay devic...

Author: Natalie Hoidal. Interviewee: John Loegering. In  episode 24 of What's Killing My Kale ,  Natalie talked with wildlife biologist John Loegering about vertebrate pest management. They discussed a four pillar IPM approach to wildlife management both in packshed areas and in fields, and talked about balancing the competing interests of supporting wildlife habitat while keeping animals out of the field.  John made a short list of resources for those interested in learning more, which can be found here .  You can listen to and download the episode here.   What's Killing my Kale is also available on iTunes.

Author: Natalie Hoidal This week I've visited multiple farms with patches of wilting cucurbits, mostly summer squash and zucchini. If you notice this happening on your farm, there are a few potential causes: 1. Squash vine borer Squash vine borer ( Melitta curcurbitae ) lays its eggs at the base of plants in the cucurbit family, and larvae bore into the stem, which blocks water flow to the rest of the plant. Check wilting plants for small holes near the base of the stem; you'll often see frass as well, which has the consistency of w et sawdust and is typically green or orange. To check for certain, you can take a knife and slice along the stem. If larvae are present they should be easily detectable. Tips for managing squash vine borer - this is from the yard and garden site, but it includes helpful information for commercial growers as well. Image: Natalie Hoidal, squash vine borer adult Photo: Rupinder Singh, Bugwood, squash vine borer larvae 2. Bacter...

Annie Klodd and Natalie Hoidal gave a webinar on July 1, covering the wet weather, implications for vegetable farmers, and what farmers can still do to maximize productivity after weather setbacks. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/HvfeZoEEGGI The link to the YouTube video is also available on MISA's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ MinnesotaInstituteforSustainab leAgriculture/   Thank you to the Farmer's Market Aggregation Project and MISA for prompting and organizing this webinar. Precipitation % Normal map of Minnesota, showing precipitation levels between 10-100% above the 30-year average for 2/3 of Minnesota. Image: Weekmaps by MN DNR.

Author: Natalie Hoidal, University of Minnesota Extension - Horticulture Colorado potato beetle (CPB) seems to be hitting Minnesota farmers especially hard this year. This article provides an overview of organic management approaches - for some background reading on the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), and recommendations for growers using synthetic pesticides, please consult the VegEdge page on CPB.  Colorado potato beetles in Forest Lake, Minnesota. All four larval stages are represented. Photo: Natalie Hoidal Biology and life cycle Adapted from VegEdge Colorado potato beetles are an important economic pest of potato and eggplant, though they can feed on all plants in the Solanaceae family. CPB overwinters in the soil in Minnesota, most often in field margins, but also directly in fields. The first generation of adults emerges from the soil around the time that potatoes are emerging. They feed briefly on young potatoes, and then lay eggs ...

Bill Hutchison, Dominique Ebbenga, Eric Burkness, and Annie Klodd Minnesota Extension IPM Program, Dept. of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul University of Minnesota Extension - Horticulture Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) is an invasive species first detected in Minnesota in 1968. In recent years, JB adult activity has been most active in the Twin Cities region, but the beetle is also found in southeast MN, and in selected counties in central MN. In recent years, Japanese beetle (JB) populations have been increasing significantly, primarily in the southeast, and particularly in the 7-country metro. Fruit growers have noticed heavy infestations on a variety of crops, including: raspberry, blueberry, apples, plums and wine grapes. Japanese beetle adult (Jeff Hahn, UMN Extension) Japanese beetle grub , and white grub (often “c-shaped” in soil) (Jeff Hahn, UMN Extension) Japanese Beetle Emergence and Overwintering Survival Beginning July 1st, the first JB a...

Author: Natalie Hoidal, Interviewee: Anthony Hanson In episode 23  of our fruit and vegetable podcast  What's Killing My Kale?  we talked to Anthony Hanson, an Extension post-doc who has been creating degree day maps for various insect pests in Minnesota. Anthony explained how fruit and vegetable growers can use these maps to help make pest management decisions.  Click here to listen to the episode.  You can listen to it now, or download it to listen later. Degree day maps for various MN insect pests can be found on VedEdge .  You can find all previous episodes on  FruitEdge . What's Killing My Kale?  is a podcast production of the University of Minnesota Extension, sponsored in part by the University of Minnesota Integrated Pest Management program. Co-hosted by Extension Educators Annie Klodd and Natalie Hoidal, the podcast focuses on innovative and timely pest management topics in fruits and vegetables, and sometimes ventures into ...

Authors: Bill Hutchison, Eric Burkness, Anh Tran, Dominique Ebbenga & Suzanne Wold-Burkness MN Extension IPM Program, Dept. of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul campus Our earliest spotted wing drosophila trap catch dates this year occurred with single adult SWD flies caught in forest locations adjacent to crops; the earliest catch was May 23rd at Hastings. We did not see any substantial increase in numbers until this past week, and especially for the period 6/28 to 7/1; both within crop fields and adjacent wooded areas. It’s clear that SWD did not take time off for the 4th! SWD Adults on ‘Jewel’ black raspberry, southeastern MN (2017), S. Wold-Burkness. Trap catch highlights - What to Watch For With 5 locations reporting this past week, reflecting a range of crops and fruit maturity, we observed totals of 58, 32, 5 and 2 (per 3 traps), at Houston Co., Hastings, Rosemount and Forest Lake, respectively. At Waverly, we also had a big increase to 40 flies (5 ...