Fruit and Vegetable News

 Article written by Madeline Wimmer, UMN Extension Fruit Production Educator.  Apples Article: Tracking apple maggot populations and considerations for organic management Article: Training young free-standing apple trees Grapes Deer damage and management Downy mildew: Identifying oil spots and management Replacing trellis in-line posts  Day-neutral strawberries Article: Organic Day-neutral Strawberry Insecticide Efficacy for Tarnished Plant Bug General fruit Drought monitor update UMN Extension Fruit Crop Reporting Tool Apples Article: Tracking apple maggot populations and considerations for organic management Image: Apple maggot adults are attracted to red sticky ball traps, which can be more effective when combined with a lure on the inside.  Apple maggot is a pest ( Rhagoletis pomonella ) that is less common in commercial orchards, but still relevant for many, and can lead to fruit tunneling, distortion, and drop in severe cases when left unaddressed. In Minneso...

  Authors: Natalie Hoidal & Marissa Schuh Gosh it was hot yesterday.  Temperatures look like they will continue to be in the 80s for much of Minnesota for the foreseeable future. The NOAA seasonal outlook released last week calls for equal chances of above or below average temperatures, and below average precipitation for the rest of the season. More of the state has been put into the "abnormally dry" category by the US drought monitor , but you have been getting so much field prep and planting done that you probably already knew that. Adjusting to heat This first heat wave of the year is tough. Our bodies are not acclimated to the heat, and the shift from sweatshirt weather to 90 degrees doesn’t just feel brutal, it can actually be dangerous. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (2018) provides the following recommendations for acclimating your body to heat: For new workers, the schedule should be no more than a 20% exposure on day 1 and an increa...

Article written by Madeline Wimmer, UMN Extension Fruit Production Educator.    Image: An apple maggot trap is red like a ripened fruit, which attracts apple maggot adult flies, which can be enhanced with a lure that gives off fruity scents. Traps are used to monitor apple maggot adult flies, but are not effective at controlling them by themselves.  Apple maggot is a pest ( Rhagoletis pomonella ) that is less common in commercial orchards, but still relevant for many, and can lead to fruit tunneling, distortion, and drop in severe cases when left unaddressed. In Minnesota, we are still early with regards to when apple maggot will emerge, which means this is a good time to take inventory of traps and products used for management.  The USA National Phenology Network previously maintained an apple maggot forecasting tool on its website displaying data for the current day and a six-day forecast; however, this tool is not currently available. So, what alternatives are the...

Authors: Natalie Hoidal and Marissa Schuh . UMN Extension Educators. Revised and updated 2026. Cucumber beetles show up in Minnesota every year. This article provides a brief overview of cucumber beetles along with recommended management strategies you can use after your cucurbits are planted. Cucumber beetles: an overview Cucumber beetle, Gerald Holmes, Bugwood Striped cucumber beetles, Acalymma vittatum, are a common insect pest of cucurbits. While they are almost always present, in some years they are worse than others. Striped cucumber beetle overwinters as an adult, typically in debris or field margins near cucurbit plantings. They tend to become active in early June in the southern part of the state, and become active further north in mid to late June. As soon as cucumber beetles locate your cucurbit fields, they begin to mate and lay eggs at the base of plants. Larvae emerge underground and feed on plant roots, so they are not easy to detect until after they pupat...

  Article written by Madeline Wimmer, UMN Extension Fruit Production Educator.    Images: Bramley Seedling (England 1809) apple variety being trained, initially using a heading cut during dormancy to promote shoot growth, followed by shoot manipulation done this week (left image). Clothespins and similar products come in various sizes and the trunk diameter should in part determine which ones are used (right image). Image taken at The Garden Lab located in Rochester, Minnesota (Zone 5a).    Apple tree height and the number of years to fruiting (precocity) depend largely on the rootstock an apple variety is grafted onto. Establishment is the process of caring for a tree after planting to maintain its health, while training relates to encouraging a specific tree shape for the benefit of its health and production. This article goes into concepts of pruning and branch manipulation for free-standing tree establishment. While pruning is done during the dormant s...

Article written by Will Pradel, Matthew Gullickson, Mary Rogers of the University of Minnesota. About tarnished plant bug (TPB) Tarnished plant bug (TPB,  Ligus lineolaris ) is a strawberry pest to manage for Midwest growers, especially for organic production systems. TPB feeds on developing strawberry seeds (achenes) as well as the surround parts of the young strawberry buds, flowers, and fruit.  Their damage leads to "catfacing" deformations (apical seediness), which reduces strawberry yield and marketability. Since day-neutral strawberries continuously bear fruit throughout the season, TPB damage can be exceptionally devastating when populations are not well-managed. University of Minnesota research trials In the summer of 2024, an insecticide spray trial was conducted at the University of Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Three OMRI-listed insecticides were applied to organic day-neutral strawberries individually and in rotation to assess...