Facts for Fancy Fruit 2001-13 Purdue University Fruit Growers Newsletter October 17, 2001 Crop Conditions: Frost occurred across much of the state on October 6 and 7 with temperatures in the upper 20s in some areas. While this ended the season for cold tender plants, most fruit crops will hold their leaves and continue to ripen fruit (if it hasnÕt been harvested) and harden off for winter. Grape harvest has been completed in most areas. Apples harvest continues and recent cooler weather has been excellent for fruit coloring. More hail was experienced in the central parts of the state around Indianapolis as recently as 2 weeks ago. Despite this apple harvest has gone well for those who avoided the hail. Fall raspberry harvest is winding down, but the last few harvests have seen excellent fruit quality. PierceÕs Disease Confirmed in Kentucky: There is potential bad news for Indiana grape growers from the state down under. Researchers in Kentucky have investigated and confirmed a case of PierceÕs Disease in grapes near Owensboro in northwest Kentucky. PD normally is not found as far north as the Ohio River valley because it is not believed to be able to survive the cold temperatures. Infections may occur as leaf hoppers carrying the bacterium are moved northward with summer winds, but any bacteria that successfully infect plants die during the coming winter, effectively ÒcuringÓ the vines of the infection. For some reason, this apparently has not happened in this case and the vines are showing typical symptoms of PD that occur 2-3 years after the initial infection. We donÕt know what to expect, but we are urging any grape grower who has vines showing symptoms of PD to contact us so that we can have the plants sampled and evaluated for the pathogen. PD infected vines show marginal leaf necrosis, leaf drop leaving the petiole, and uneven maturation of the shoots. A good discussion can be found on the website at http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/xylella/. A similar strain of the same pathogen causes leaf scorch on a number of shade trees in this region, so it is unclear why PD has not been found on grapes sooner. WeÕll keep you posted on what we find and hopefully have more information at the winter meetings. (Bordelon) EPA Releases Report On Minor Use Pesticides And New Web Page: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a Report on the Minor Uses of Pesticides, mandated by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996. The report describes actions taken by EPA to increase communication with minor use stakeholders and to expedite registrations for minor use pesticides. For example, EPA has designated a minor crop advisor and a public health coordinator to increase responsiveness to minor use concerns. The report also describes the coordinated approach between EPA, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for dealing with minor use issues during FQPA implementation. EPA in partnership with USDAÕs Interregional Research Project 4 (IR-4) has aggressively sought to increase pesticide registrations for minor uses, registering 814 new uses in 1999 and 901 in 2000. Over 80% of the new use registrations have been for reduced-risk pesticides. Minor use priorities for re-registration and tolerance reassessment have been guided by recommendations from the EPA/USDA Tolerance Reassessment Advisory Committee (TRAC) and the Committee to Advise on Reassessment and Transition (CARAT), both established to provide EPA and USDA advice on strategic approaches for pest management planning and tolerance reassessment while implementing FQPA. EPA has also created a new minor use web page, http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/minoruse/ which provides links to the report and related information on the AgencyÕs minor use activities and partnerships with other agencies. Copies of the Report on Minor Use Pesticides may be obtained on the new minor use web site or by calling 1-800-490-9198. Minor uses of pesticides are those for which the total United States production for a crop is fewer than 300,000 acres, or those uses that do not provide sufficient economic incentive for a registrant to support initial or continuing pesticide registrations. Minor uses of pesticides occur on fruits and vegetables and for control of disease vectors, such as mosquitoes, ticks, cockroaches, rodents and disease-causing organisms. From EPAÕs Office of Pesticide Programs 10/09/01 http://www.epa.gov/pesticides USDA Buying More Apples: The USDA has announced it will buy over 350,000 cartons of apples for food programs and the school lunch program between October 15 and December 26. These purchases will be carried out under the Agricultural Risk Protection Act that provided $200 million for the purchase of produce from industries suffering from low prices over the last few years. (Hirst) Return Bloom Fund: The Return Bloom Fund has been successful in not only supplying funds for much needed equipment, but also in leveraging funds from other sources. Recent examples of this include a new mower to take care of research plots at the Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center in Vincennes, and a John Deere Gator for use at the Hort. Farm here in West Lafayette. Also, we are currently investigating the purchase of a new orchard sprayer for the Meigs farm to take care of experimental apple, peach, and grape plantings. The Return Bloom Fund contributed between 10- 50% of the cost of these pieces of equipment, but was nonetheless instrumental in facilitating these purchases. As you all know money talks, and for a relatively small investment we were able to secure funding from other sources towards the cost of these equipment purchases. From the fruit team at Purdue, we say a big Thank You to contributors to the Return Bloom Fund for your continued support. (Hirst) National Apple Crop Down: The US apple crop is expected to be down to 215 million boxes this year, the smallest crop since 1988. Estimates for the Washington crop are over 20% lower than a year ago, mainly attributable to removal of orchards, hail damage and lack of rain. California is expecting their crop to be down by over 50% while Michigan and Pennsylvania are expecting to be slightly up compared with a year ago. In other countries, both Canada and Europe are expecting smaller crops this year. (Hirst) MSU Bramble School 2002: The MSU Bramble School 2002 will be held Thursday, January 10, 2002. The school will be held at the Holiday Inn Kalamazoo West in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This intensive one-day school is designed to help anyone interested in brambles learn more about all aspects of bramble production and pest control. Educational notebooks and a lunch will be provided. Dr. Marvin Pritts, Department of Horticulture, Cornell University will be the featured speaker for this school. Dr. Pritts will be joined by several MSU experts in presenting a comprehensive educational program. Topics that will be covered include physiology; varieties; nutrition; postharvest disease susceptibility; control of insects, diseases, and weeds; and marketing. Dr. Pritts will also present a half-day workshop on Friday, January 11, 2002 at the same location as the MSU Bramble School. He will discuss his findings as to the feasibility of producing raspberries in the greenhouse in the winter. Detailed information and a registration packet will be available in late October. For more information on this school or to be added to the mailing list contact: Al Gaus, 616-944-4126 (gausa@msue.msu.edu); Bob Tritten (tritten@msue.msu.edu), 810-732-2177; or Gary Thornton (thornton@msue.msu.edu), 231-946-1510. Source: MSU Fruit Crop Advisory Team Alert, September 25, 2001 Indiana Horticultural Congress: Planning is currently underway for next yearÕs Hort Congress that will be held January 28-30, 2002 at the Adams Mark Hotel in Indianapolis. We are starting to develop the program for the various groups and welcome your input. Once again beginner workshops on Apple Growing, Grape Growing, and Wine Making will be held on Monday January 28. Sessions on new crops are also being planned. If you have ideas or topics you would like to be covered, please let us know soon. Remember, the congress is for the participants, not the organizers, so let us know what you want. Upcoming Meetings: November 27, 2001 - Illinois-Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Conference. Holiday Inn in Bettendorf, Iowa (Quad Cities). For more information, contact the Rock Island County (IL) Extension office at 309-796-0512, or the Scott County (IA) Extension office at 563-359-7577. January 28-30, 2002 Ð Indiana Horticultural Congress. AdamÕs Mark Hotel, Indianapolis. Watch for more details in the future. Visit www.hort.purdue.edu January 10, 200 - MSU Bramble School. Holiday Inn Kalamazoo West, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Contact Al Gaus, 616-944-4126 (gausa@msue.msu.edu); Bob Tritten (tritten@msue.msu.edu), 810-732-2177; or Gary Thornton (thornton@msue.msu.edu), 231-946-1510 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bruce Bordelon, 1165 Dept. of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1165, 317/494-8212, e-mail: bordelon@hort.purdue.edu Peter Hirst, 1165 Dept. of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1165, 317/494-1323, e-mail: hirst@hort.purdue.edu Paul Pecknold, 1155 Dept. of Botany & Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1155, 317/494-4628, e-mail: Pecknold@btny.purdue.edu Rick Foster, 1158 Dept. of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1158, 317/494-9572, e-mail: Rick_Foster@entm.purdue.edu Disclaimer: Reference to products in this publication is not an endorsement to the exclusion of others that may be similar. 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