Transcript The apple orchard

This Season’s Challenges
Powdery mildew on rosemary
Pests in apple orchard
Crop-nibblers: slugs & beetles
Blight in tomatoes
Powdery Mildew on Rosemary
Powdery Mildew on Rosemary
PROBLEM - In winter rosemary plants in
hoop house infected with powdery mildew.
Powdery Mildew on Rosemary
 Rosemary a Mediterranean plant
 Likes
temp and
humidity
 Rosemary overwintered in hoop house
with plastic row covers
 Covers maintain temp above freezing
but also humidity
 Ideal conditions for fungal growth
Powdery Mildew on Rosemary
Economic Impact
• Cut rosemary sold to restaurant supplier at $5.50 per ½ lb
• At current rate of 120 lb/mo, monthly rosemary income $1,350
• Rosemary plants also sold at $15 per flat, but market variable
(and as yet largely untested, due to fungus)
• Maximum possible loss from fungus if entire crop destroyed:
= $1,500 per month
Powdery Mildew
Mildew on
Powdery
onRosemary
Rosemary
HYPOTHESIS - Powdery mildew might be controlled by:
1. Changing watering methods
2.
air circulation around plant leaves
3. Anti-fungal sprays
i. Sulfur-lime
ii. Serenade
iii. Baking soda
Powdery Mildew on Rosemary
Seven different conditions (60 plants each):
Outside
Fan
Bottom-up Watering
Control
Sulfur-lime spray
Serenade spray
Sodium bicarbonate spray
Powdery Mildew on Rosemary
The Greenhouse
OUT 3
OPEN
FAN
FAN3
FAN 4
S
H
A
D
O
W
S
I
D
E
FAN
FAN 1
FAN 2
BAS 1
B-U 3
B-U 4
SER 3
SUL 3
BAS 3
SUL 1
ROSEMARY
PLANTS
CON 3
ROSEMARY
PLANTS
SER 1
CON 1
B-U 1
B-U 2
S
U
N
S
I
D
E
SUL 2
SER 4
BAS 2
CON 4
SER 2
SUL 4
CON 2
BAS 4
O
U
T
1
GH-FAN
O
U
T
4
OUT 2
Powdery Mildew
Mildew on
Powdery
onRosemary
Rosemary
Results:
Powdery Mildew
Mildew on
Powdery
onRosemary
Rosemary
Results:
Pests in
in the apple
Pests
apple orchard
orchard
• Orchard on 1 acre slope
• Cultivars: Liberty, Pristine,
Williams Pride, Priscilla, Redfree,
Goldrush, Jonafree & Prima,
(resistant to scab, fire blight and
powdery mildew)
• Rootstocks: Most cultivars
planted on M.7 rootstock
(resistant to fire blight and root
diseases)
Pests in the apple orchard
Apple Moths
Oriental Fruit Moth
Codling Moth
Tufted Apple Bud Moth
Oblique-banded Leaf Roller
Pests in
in the apple
Pests
apple orchard
orchard
Apple Moths
 Pheromone traps for each moth in orchard
 Number of moths counted each week
 Entrust, Dipel and Surround sprays timed accordingly
Pests in the
the apple
appleorchard
orchard
Apple Moths
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Codling Moth
Oblique Banded
Leaf Roller
Oriental Fruit
Moth
8/7/2004
7/31/2004
7/24/2004
7/17/2004
7/10/2004
7/3/2004
6/26/2004
6/19/2004
6/12/2004
Tufted Apple Bud
Moth
6/5/2004
Number of Moths per Trap
Moth Population Fluctuations in Apple Orchard
Pests in the apple orchard
Apple Moths
Comparison of Kretschmann Farm data with PSU Experiment Station data
Codling Moth Population Fluctuations
Oriental Fruit Moth Population
Fluctuations
Kretschmann
Farm
Biglerville
Oblique Bande d Le af Rolle r
Population Fluctuations
Tufted Apple Bud Moth Population
Fluctuations
Other pests in apple orchard
Apple Maggots
Plum Curculio
Mites
European
Apple Sawfly
Sticky red spheres
placed in orchard
to attract maggots
Dormant oil spray
used in spring to
reduce mite eggs
Crop nibblers: Slugs
Don’t cause significant crop losses in
mature plants, but have caused
cosmetic damage to large proportions
of several crops (lettuce, basil,
cabbage, radicchio)
CSA subscribers are more forgiving of
produce imperfections than wholesale
markets, but Don wants to provide high
quality produce to all customers
The solution to slug-nibbled
cabbage: SAUERKRAUT!
Crop nibblers: Japanese beetles
Population grew in end of July
Most prevalent in basil patch
Pheromone traps installed for control
Crop nibblers: Flea beetles
Primarily affect mesclun, but also
many other crops
Row cover reduce damage
Stunt growth of seedlings and give
mature plants lacy look
Seedlings dusted with rotenone
Eggplant no longer planted because
of severe infestation
Blight on tomatoes
Blight on tomatoes
- Cool, wet summer: ideal conditions
for blight spread
- Began spraying copper hydroxide as preventative in early July
- First signs of blight in mid-July: mix of early and late blight?
- Poses significant threat to tomato crop and to potatoes if
spreads. Thus far it has stunted some plants but not visibly
damaged yields