Summer 2020

SMALL FRUIT NEWS – Vol. 20, No. 3
Published four times annually, Small Fruit News is sponsored by the Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium (SRSFC), www.smallfruits.org.

 

  • Dr. Gina Fernandez, Small Fruit Specialist at NC State University This list was developed by Dr. Gina Fernandez, Small Fruit Specialist at NC State University. Chores and timing may be somewhat different in your area or for your cropping system. Plant growth and development Fruit development for floricane-fruiting types Rapid primocane growth Flower bud development…

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  • Wayne Mitchem

    Wayne E. Mitchem, Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium Coordinator, Tree Fruit Weed Management Extension Associate, (704) 472-4369 Corteva Agriscience has issued a supplemental label for Trellis SC (isoxaben) herbicide use in newly planted and bearing caneberries.  Trellis already has approved uses for weed control in blueberry, grape, and a few other fruit crops.  Trellis SC…

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  • Southern Fruitcast

    Dr. Aaron Cato, IPM Specialist, University of Arkansas The Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium is an expansive source for unbiased information and news for small fruit growers and county agents across the Southeast. The consortium’s website features production and IPM guides that are updated yearly by specialists across the region, webinars relating to a plethora…

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  • Dr. Eric T. Stafne, Extension and Research Professor, Mississippi State University I like to watch movies. In fact, I watch part of one every morning while riding my stationary exercise bike. The other day I was watching one and a character said, “What you don’t know about me could fit inside the Grand Canyon” (this…

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  • Jayesh B. Samtani, Assistant Professor and Small Fruit Production Specialist, and Danyang Liu, Ph.D. Candidate, Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Tech. We are just about done with our strawberry season for 2019-20 growing season and like me, most of you are already beginning to think about the next strawberry crop cycle. Those…

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  • Douglas G. Pfeiffer, Dept. Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg VA 24060, dgpfeiff@vt.edu. Since its introduction and spread in the US from 2008-2012, spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), SWD has presented a huge problem for berry growers.  SWD is a difficult pest to control.  Because of its high fecundity and number of generations, there is a…

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  • By Guido Schnabel and Madeline Dowling, Clemson University Anthracnose fruit rot, caused by Colletotrichum fungi, is an explosive disease of strawberries and other small fruits that is capable of wiping out an entire crop. The usual gray mold control program can help control anthracnose disease, but when that fails, anthracnose spreads like wildfire and it…

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  • By Jonathan E. Oliver, Will H. Hemphill, and Phillip M. Brannen, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia Introduction Among the diseases affecting blackberry production in the southeastern U.S., one of the more unusual disease issues is orange cane blotch (OCB). OCB disease of blackberry was first reported in Arkansas in 1997 (Holcomb et al.…

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  • Dr. Phil Brannen, Extension Fruit Disease Specialist, Plant Pathology, University of Georgia Many of the fungicides utilized for Botrytis management are no longer efficacious due to resistance development in this fungus. Now is a great time to collect Botrytis samples for fungicide-resistance testing. While the funds last, Botrytis resistance testing is free for wine grape…

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  • Dr. Sara Villani, Extension Specialist (Apple and Ornamental Plant Pathology), North Carolina State University On January 12, 2020 (before large gatherings came to a halt), blackberry stakeholders from states across the Southern U.S. gathered in Savannah GA to develop a Pest Management Strategic Plan (PMSP) for Blackberries in the Southern U.S.. Led by Dr. Gina…

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