Healthy Fruit, Vol. 27, No. 17, September 3, 2019
Jon Clements, Author (unless otherwise noted) and Editor
CONTENTS
Horticulture (apple maturity report)
Hawkeye’s corner (notes from the field)
UPCOMING MEETINGS
Attorney General Meeting on Overtime Ruling, Friday, September 13, 2019, 1:00pm, Nourse Farms in Whately
Farmers are invited to a meeting with State Representative Natalie Blais, The Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development’s office, and the Attorney General’s office to discuss the implications of the recent Chang Farm ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC). In March, the SJC ruled that workers involved in on-farm “preparation for market” activities are not exempt from overtime pay while doing tasks that are considered “preparation for market”. It had been the understanding for many years that market preparation was exempt from overtime requirements. This ruling has had significant implications for many farms across the Commonwealth. The Attorney General’s office is responsible for enforcing these policies. At the request of State Representative Natalie Blais, staff has agreed to meet with local farmers to give an overview of overtime rules and regulations and will do their best to answer questions to help you to understand the application of the ruling. The Attorney General’s office will do their best to answer questions and provide clarification on the grey areas that exist in regards to what constitutes “preparation for market” activities versus other farm tasks which are covered by the overtime exemption. Please note that the purpose of this meeting is not to discuss or argue the merits or logic of the SJC ruling as the ruling is beyond the control of these offices. Rather, this meeting is intended to help you gain a clearer understanding of the implications of the ruling and how it will be enforced. If you would like to attend please RSVP by September 9th, 2019 to lily.wallace@mahouse.gov Any questions, please contact Brad Mitchell, MA Farm Bureau, at (508) 481-4766
New England Vegetable & Fruit Conference, December 10-12, 2019, Manchester, NH. https://newenglandvfc.org/
THE WAY I SEE IT
Jon Clements
Couldn’t ask for much better weather to start the apple harvest, could we? In fact, NOAA’s 30-day outlook for September has changed significantly from the prediction made August 15 to the prediction made August 31 (see below), from better chance of warmer temperatures than average to equal chance of above or below normal temperatures respectively. (Unfortunately it also shows a likelihood of above average precipitation too.) Apple maturity testing from yesterday shows that things are moving along quickly and red skin color development exceeds expectations. Mac, Gala, and Honeycrisp harvest should be in full swing no later than next week in most locations. Using the starch-iodine test to help judge maturity is recommended, directions are here: http://fruitadvisor.info/tfruit/clements/articles/sitest.htm If you need iodine solution, let me know. Good luck out there...
HORTICULTURE
Jon Clements
Apple maturity report
All observations from UMass Orchard, Belchertown, MA unless otherwise noted. Target maturity numbers: red color, >50%; firmness, >14 lbs.; soluble solids, >12; DA, 0.60 to 0.40 for Honeycrisp, 0.65 for Gala, 1.00 for Golden Delicious, 1.15 to 1.00 for Red Delicious (higher DA = more "green"); starch index, 4-6.
Date | Variety | Drop | Diameter | Color | Firmness | Brix | Starch Index | DA Meter | Comments | Picture |
9/2 | Lindamac McIntosh | few | 3.2 | 65 | 18 (15-20) | 11.1 | 3-4, maybe 5? | 1.64 | OK if looking for a green-tasting Mac; otherwise wait until end of week or early next week; DA does not work on Macs | |
9/2 | Buckeye Gala | none | 3 | 95 | 20 (18-21) | 10.5 | 3-6, mostly 3-4 | 0.61 (0.20-0.95) | Wait until end of week to 1st pick | |
9/2 | Honeycrisp | few | 3.3 | 80 | 16 (14-18) | 12.7 | 4-7 | 0.48 (0.27-0.64) | Definitely ready for 1st pick based on nice red skin color | |
9/2 | Minneiska | nil | 3.3 | 70 | 17 (15-19) | 13.3 | 3-5 | 0.29 (0.18-0.36) | Nice, definitely start harvest and continue over next week (if you got them!) | |
9/2 | Akane | nil | 3.1 | 85 | 17 (15-19) | 12.6 | 6-7 | 0.38 (0.20-0.52) | Need to be picked ASAP | |
9/2 | River Belle (DS-22) | some | 4.3 | 55 | 16 (14-17) | 12.4 | 4-7 | 0.43 (0.25-0.60) | About as nice as I have ever seen them off top-worked trees, hint of bitter pit and water core showing up | |
9/2 | Ginger Gold | none | 3.3 | 0-25 | 18 (16-20) | 12.3 | 4 (3-5) | 0.61 (0.51-0.70) | Very nice, truly finally ready to harvest, does not starch test well | |
9/2 | Zestar! | few | 3.4 | 55 | 14 (11-15) | 13.5 | 3-7 | 0.40 | Won’t get any better, harvest now |
INSECTS
Jaime Pinero
No insect update this week...
DISEASES
Liz Garofalo
Cooler, drier conditions are forecast for the coming week. Great news! Reduced temperatures and moisture means reduced disease pressure and more comfortable picking conditions. NOAA’s forecast for Belchertown as of 9/3 looks beautiful:
The rest of the state looks much the same, rain possible Wednesday and Friday, otherwise, Saturday looks like it’s shaping up to be a great day for pick your own!
SMALL FRUIT UPDATE
Sonia Schloemann
Crop Conditions: Strawberries - Day Neutral varieties are still being harvested now. Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) and Botrytis Gray Mold are the main concerns. Keep fields thoroughly picked and remove cull fruit to help minimize the impact of these problems. Spray recommendations can be found in previous Berry Blasts and by looking at the NE Small Fruit Management Guide. Plasticulture fields are being planted now. Planting should be completed by mid Sept. and it’s important to apply row covers to provide some extra time for root and crown development heading in to the fall. June bearing varieties set next year’s flower buds at this time of year. A nitrogen application now (up to 30-40 lbs actual N/acre) can help plants store energy in crowns and set fruit buds. Some leaf diseases and insect problems can linger and cleaning them up now will help plants enter dormancy in a healthy state. Also scout fields for weed problems that can be addressed in the fall. You can read more about this below and also in the previous issue of IPM Berry Blast Brambles: Spent floricanes should be removed from summer fruiting types. This allows sunlight penetration into the remaining primocanes and helps fruit bud initiation on the full length of the canes. No fertilizer should be applied at this time. Monitor for two-spotted spider mite and control if necessary. Fall raspberries are still in production. Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) populations are high now and require sustained control through frequent and thorough harvest, sanitation and weekly spraying of recommended materials. Botrytis fruit rot infections are a concern where there is a lot of carryover inoculum as the days shorten and evening dew periods lengthen or if wet weather returns. See New England Small Fruit Guide for recommended materials and rates. Blueberries: Scout fields for weeds to prepare for late season management strategies. Flag bushes with foliage that turns red prematurely to see what the cause could be. Root damage or systemic problems could be the reason. Where Blueberry Scorch or Blueberry Stunt are suspected so they can be rogued out after leaves fall. Digging them out before foliage has fallen can disrupt leafhoppers or other vectors that can move these diseases to uninfected bushes. Finally, only non-nitrogen fertilizer applications should be made this late in the season if leaf tissue tests indicate deficiency.
See the most recent IPM Berry Blast for more expanded fall check lists for small fruits.
Late summer planting of organic plasticulture strawberries. (Photo: S. Schloemann at Red Fire Farm in Montague MA)
HAWKEYE’S CORNER (notes from the field)
Liz Garofalo
Brown marmorated stink bug has begun to show up in ghost traps we have set out in MA orchards. One orchard in Worcester County had 10 BMSB, another orchard in Middlesex county had one BMSB, both observed in ghost traps. Currently, there is no IPM threshold for the ghost trap. There is a provisional threshold of ten BMSB in the tedders traps, and when scouting the perimeter canopy, the action threshold is one BMSB per 100 feet.
GUEST ARTICLE
No Guest Article this week...
FACEBOOK ME
USEFUL LINKS
27th Annual March Message (2019) to Tree Fruit Growers (Google Doc)
UMass Fruit Advisor: http://umassfruit.com
Scaffolds Fruit Journal: http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/scafolds/
Network for Environment and Weather Applications (NEWA): http://newa.cornell.edu
Follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/jmcextman) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/jmcextman)
The next Healthy Fruit will be published on or about September 17, 2019. (Maybe. It might just be an apple maturity report. Or it might come sooner!) In the meantime, feel free to contact any of the UMass Fruit Team if you have any fruit-related production questions.
