Fruit and Vegetable News

Article written by Madeline Wimmer , UMN Extension Fruit Production Educator. Apples Photo: Apple maggot ( Rhagoletis pomonella ) on Dolgo crab apple Article: Cider apple production Grapes Growth stage update: Early- to mid-veraison  Bird management in vineyards Converting lyre to VSP Article: Identifying herbicide damage in grapes  Apples Photo: Apple maggot ( Rhagoletis pomonella ) on Dolgo crab apple Image: An apple maggot adult fly is on a Dolgo crab apple variety in Schafer, Minnesota.  Photo by Madeline Wimmer. If you’re new to trapping apple maggot flies, it’s important to know how to identify them to inform your management program. Adults can be distinguished from other adult flies by their black bodies and ‘F’-shaped pattern on their wings.  To learn more about apple maggot management, check out an article posted earlier this year in the UMN Fruit and Veg Newsletter, “ Preparing for apple maggot management in 2026 (organic and conventional practices) ,” and...

Article written by Madeline Wimmer , UMN Extension Fruit Production Educator. Images: 1a) Rigid, plastic mesh netting with 3/4in mesh demonstrating how netting can be lifted and temporarily clipped above clusters to make harvesting easier; b) close up showing a yellow garden spider for size comparison; c) netting clips can fasten any type of net and can be clipped below grapevines. 2a) An alternative over-the-row knit mesh netting is more flexible, can be applied mechanically (2b), and can additionally be clipped underneath vines to keep it in place. Birds are often the most damaging wildlife vineyards face. Bird pressure can change depending on a vineyard’s location and how close it is to a forest edge, wetlands, or corn, sunflower, or small grain field that often attract birds before and after harvest. Other variations that contribute to bird pressure include seasonal trends, grape variety, and bird species (i.e., not all bird species feed on grapes). When bird damage is severe, it c...

Authors: Natalie Hoidal & Marissa Schuh It's been hot - remarkably so. Crops are responding accordingly with slow fruit production and aborted flowers. Most of the state should get some rain tomorrow, but in some cases it may be too much rain at once, leading to splitting. Powdery mildew and corn earworm are showing up on schedule.  How does this growing season compare? The USDA tracks crop progress in a variety of commodity crops. Overall, commodity crops appear to be doing really well this year . And yet, it feels like everything is chugging along just a little bit more slowly this year. The tomatoes (in fields) have been producing, but have been slow to really put on a lot of fruit. We’re seeing cucumbers with hundreds of flowers, but only a handful of fruit. We don’t really have concrete data to support this observation, it’s just what we’re seeing as we visit farms. Aborted tomato flowers due to heat. Photo: Natalie Hoidal When we look at data from around the state, we ca...

  Article written by Madeline Wimmer , UMN Extension Fruit Production Educator Images: A few apple cultivars used for cider production at Keepsake Cidery’s orchard, including Centennial Crabapple (upper left), Ellis Bitter (upper right), and Foxwhelp (lower left), located near Northfield, Minnesota (Zone 5a). What makes an apple a cider apple? Classifying an apple as a cider apple can be somewhat subjective and based on the goals of a cider maker. Some traditional cider apple cultivars originate from regions historically known for their cider production, such as the United Kingdom and France where hard cider had their own specific standards.  However, in the United States, taste preferences for cider can vary widely based on flavor and other profile characteristics (see chart below). Dabinette or Ellis Bitter are two apple cultivars that are most often only used in cider, but what makes them distinct from other apples like a Honeycrisp or a SweeTango?  Cider apple breedin...

Author: Marissa Schuh While the peak of Japanese beetle activity was earlier this month, beetles are still out and feeding on raspberries, grapes, basil, and more. In many places where we see the beetles, we often see winsome fly -- a parasitoid fly species that kills adult Japanese beetles. Female flies lay their eggs on the pronotum (the middle, shoulder-like area) of Japanese beetles, a baby fly hatches, and then burrows into the Japanese beetle. This kills the beetle over the course of a week. While these flies aren't going to give us 100% control of Japanese beetle, natural enemies like this are a part of living long term with Japanese beetle. The white spot on the green pronotum of this Japanese beetle is a Winsome fly egg. Photo: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org The University of Minnesota is developing a research proposal focused on Japanese beetle management and the winsome fly. The proposed research will examine whether insecticide products or appl...

Article written by Madeline Wimmer , UMN Extension Fruit Production Educator   Images: Different herbicides lead to a range of symptoms in grapes including the fanning displayed on the left and shoe-stringing — a condition with the appearance of fabric puckering, or a tightened cupped look as seen on the right photo. Left photo credited to a Minnesota grower from Morrison County and right photo from a grower located in Washington County.  Grapevine foliage is highly sensitive to herbicide drift and tends to show more dramatic symptoms than some other crops. Experiencing drift, whether it originates from within or outside of a vineyard, can be a frustrating challenge for growers, and devastating when the damage is extensive.  What do herbicide damage symptoms look like? Herbicide symptoms can vary depending on which type of herbicide is involved. Additionally, the amount, concentration, droplet form (i.e., particle vs vapor), and weather conditions at the time of drift a...

Authors: Natalie Hoidal & Marissa Schuh Last week was brutal. Extreme heat and extremely poor air quality during one of the busiest weeks of the year means that this week, farmers are in major catch-up mode: hand pulling weeds that got away, harvesting garlic, planting final successions of fall crops, and just generally keeping things running. These last few days have provided some amazing relief, and while there will likely be more wildfire smoke ahead, NOAA is actually predicting fairly “normal” heat and precipitation conditions for the rest of the summer.  Much of the state is somewhere on the drought spectrum .  Many vegetables have shallow roots We’ve had a couple of calls this week where we are reminded just how shallow many of the roots of our vegetable crops are.  When thinking about things like weeding, irrigation, or even the collars we use to deter cutworms, remember that many vegetables, especially our transplanted ones, root shallowly in the soil....