SW Michigan Fruit Update

2006 Growing Season Summary

Weather

The 2005 – 2006 winter was relatively mild. Early December was cold and snowy but January was mild. February and March were seasonably cold. A cold snap occurred in mid February. Temperatures were close to 60 on the 16^th and near zero on the 18^th and 19^th. This caused some damage to fruit buds especially peaches and Niagara grapes. There was little snow cover after the New Year, but soils had adequate moisture.

Spring got off to a quick start with warm temperatures for most of April, and bud development was about a week ahead of normal. On April 26, a hard freeze hit SW Michigan during cherry bloom with lows from 29 to 20 degrees. High sites had temperatures in the upper 20’s while low areas had lows near 20 in some areas. Tree fruit were blooming and were all hurt by the freeze. Juice grapes and some blueberries were hit very hard. Several long cold, rainy periods in Mid May, allowing several diseases to get started as growers struggled to reapply fungicides and maintain protection. June was warm and dry and soils were dry by the end of June. July was hot and dry so that drought stress symptoms were developing in mid July. Scattered thunderstorms and hail were common in late July and August. This restored soil moisture for most sites and also caused fruit damage in some areas. The end of August was cool and wet with some areas receiving up to 5 inches of rain by the end of the month.

Harvest conditions so far have been good.

General Insect Activity

Japanese beetles numbers are declining. Picture wing fruit flies such as cherry fruit fly, apple maggot and blueberry maggot were a problem for some growers. Apple maggot and blueberry maggot emerged in great number in August when soil moisture was good. Oriental fruit moth and codling moth continue to be significant problem.

Tree fruit

Apricots were hit hard by the April 26 freeze and only the best sites had a crop.

Peach suffered some winter fruit bud loss on lower, colder sites and these sites also suffered losses to the April freeze. The crop was light and fruit size was good. Generally fruit quality was good. Split pits and split skins were problems during early harvest. Peach scab or rusty spot was fairly common. Brown rot was a problem at harvest in some orchards, and is some cases the final harvest was abandoned. Oriental fruit moth was not a major problem. Pheromone disruption of the first generation of Oriental fruit moth is becoming common, as is pheromone disruption of greater and lesser peach tree borers. Thrips were a problem in some blocks. San Jose scale is a problem for some growers and oil applications should probably be applied next spring.

Sweet cherrieswere in the shuck and were hit hard by the April freeze. Growers with good sites still had a crop. Bacterial spot was common and a problem for some growers.

Tart cherries were in full bloom for the April 26 freeze but suffered little damage. Montmorency tart cherries had a heavier than average crop with good fruit size. Cherry leaf spot was not a serious issue for most growers and most orchards kept their leaves well past harvest.

In Plums, Oriental plums were lost to the April freeze. European plums suffered less damage.

Apples were beginning bloom and suffered varying loss to the April frost. The frost did a good job thinning the crop and growers then removed the smaller fruit with their thinning sprays. Larger fruit size compensated for the light crop. Generally apple scab was not a problem. Fire blight was a relatively minor disease in 2006. Oriental fruit moth and codling moth continue to be significant problems for apple growers and several growers reported finding worms in apples at harvest. MSU entomologists continue to find more apple blocks with codling moth populations having a high tolerance for organophosphate insecticides. Growers incorporating new chemistries and pheromone disruption in their control schedules generally report good success and decreased moth populations. Cool wet weather in August caused good color and size development before harvest. There was some damage due to hail in late August and these blocks were harvest for juice.

The Pear crop was light due to the spring frost. There were no major problems but some small growers had problems with pear rust mite and pear blister mite.

Small fruit

Blueberries varied widely in 2006. 2005 was a drought year and those plantings that were not irrigated in 2005 had few flower buds. Many growers had irrigated heavily in 2005 and kept good soil moisture into October and these fields had heavy bloom. Some plantings were hit by the April 26 freeze. Cold rainy periods in April and May caused botrytis leaf blight, phomopsis tip dieback and mummy berry shoot strike infections in fields were fungicide sprays were missed. Preharvest estimates were for a record crop. Harvest moved quickly with most varieties a week or more ahead of normal. A long rainy period in the middle of bloom, reduced pollination, and fruit yields for some growers. There were no significant insect or disease control failures. Japanese beetle numbers continue to decline from their peak several years ago. Hail in late August reduced the Elliot harvest. Severe hail in Southern Allegan caused extensive damage to the bushes in some fields.

Grapes suffered from the April 26 freeze. Juice grapes were hit very hard. Grape shoots were one to two inches long and had several leaves out. Many vineyards had secondary buds pushing and these were also killed. The juice grape crop was reduced to only about a quarter of the state average, only a few hundred acres with normal yields. Thousands of acres suffered a crop loss of 75% or more. Vineyards on flat ground whether it was high or low suffered extensive damage. Vineyards on slopes with good air drainage suffered less damage. Many growers cut back on pesticide applications to save money. This caused significant disease problems late in the season. Downy Mildew became a significant and widespread in August. Phomopsis was also a problem in juice grapes. Leafhoppers were not a problem this year. Grape berry moth was common and continues to be the major insect problem in grapes. Rainy weather in late August and September caused problems with bunch rots in wine grapes.

Strawberries suffered some loss to the April freeze. Growers protected against the freeze with sprinklers, but in some causes the flowers still froze. This could be due to turning on the sprinkler system too late when temperatures are already near freezing or a simple failure of the system to protect down below the low 20s. Strawberry harvest was in late June and finished before July 1. Growth after renovation was slow due to the dry conditions. Stunting due to Potato leafhopper was common.

Brambles suffered some loss due to winter color and the cold snap in February that killed some overwintering canes. Crops for summer raspberries, black raspberries and blackberries were good with good quality and size. Fall raspberries were also good but fruit rots due to rain and heavy dews were a problem.

Cranberries were little affected by the spring freeze and the crop looks excellent.

Miscellaneous

Plum pox strain D was found in a plum trail at SWMREC in late July during the course of the MDA annual plum pox survey. In extensive follow up testing, the MDA has tested over 44,000 trees since late July and still has found only one positive tree. This extensive testing will continue until the first frost and probably resume early next year.

More growers are becoming interested in organic fruit production and several growers are making concerted efforts to move some plantings through the organic transition phase and secure organic certification.