SW Michigan 2005 Fruit Season

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September 19, 2005 Fruit Update

Mark Longstroth
Bill Shane
Al Gaus

Weather

The winter of 2004-2005 was a fairly normal Michigan winter. Sub-zero temperatures occurred several times; December, January and March. These cold snaps caused damage to some plantings especially young tree plantings one- or two-years-old and peaches less than 5-years-old. This winter injury was not due to absolute cold but to cold following a warm period during the winter. A cool March delayed bud break and April alternated between warm and dry and wet and cold. On April 22, a cold front that brought freezing temperatures, an inch of snowfall and a week of cold windy weather during bloom. There was a hard frost a week later on May 4 with lows into the mid 20s.  Warm, dry weather was the rule most of the growing season and soils were very dry by May. Rainfall was scarce in many areas especially closer to the lake and soils were very dry for most of growing season. By the end of the growing season drought stress symptoms were common throughout the region. Because of the dry growing conditions diseases were not a major problem and disease control was generally excellent due to lack of infection periods. Insect pest were a problem and many insects came early and produced an extra generation during the 2005 season. I have totaled rainfall for the MAWN weather stations in the region. July, August and September had significan rain but most of these were single storms that dropped their rain in a day and only provided moisture for a week or so, not enough to last a month until the next storm.

Southwest Michigan Precipitation Totals March 1 through September 18, 2005
Location	March	April	May	June	July	August	Sept.
SWMREC:	0.8	0.5	1.3	1.0	2.4	2.2	2.3
Bainbridge:	0.9	0.2	1.5	2.4	2.8	2.2	1.8
Hartford:	1.0	0.5	2.1	1.9	2.2	1.46	1.3
Grand Junction:	1.4	0.7	3.7	1.7	2.0	1.6	1.5
Fennville:	0.7	0.6	1.7	1.2	1.3	1.3	0.5

 

Southwest Michigan Growing Degree Day Totals March 1 through September 18, 2005				Grapes, from April 1
Location	GDD 42	GDD 45	GDD 50	GDD 50
SWMREC:	4114	3630	2862	2841
Bainbridge:	4176	3686	2912	2890
Hartford:	3838	3358	2603	2584
Grand Junction:	4150	3664	2900	2875
Fennville:	3898	3422	2672	2653

Tree fruit

The main limiting factor on tree fruit yields was the frost on May 4. This frost occurred after peach and sweet cherry bloom while tart cherries, plums, pears and apples were in bloom. Drought conditions kept disease pressure light but aphid and mite numbers are high in many crops.

Apricots had good to fair fruit set because they had generally completed bloom before the frost. Bacterial spot was a problem in some varieties.

Peaches suffered winter injury due to winter cold. Lower sites suffered the loss of fruit buds but trunk splitting was a common problem. Fruit set was light but in general yields and fruit size were good for most orchards. Bacterial spot was a problem for some varieties due the alternating weather in April, but was generally light. Oriental fruit moth flight started and stopped due to cold weather in late April, so that Berrien county growers needed to worry about split population peaks through the season. Mites and San Jose scale were problems late in the season. Prices were generally good because of poor peach yields in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.

Sweet Cherries had generally good fruit set and good yields with very little cracking due to rain. The major problem was bacterial canker.

Tart Cherries had just begun to bloom before the April 22 snowstorm. It appears that flowers that were pollinated before the snow set fruit but the flowers that opened later had very poor fruit set. Young 2 to 3 year old trees suffered damage and many collapsed in June and July. These trees were generally scattered in cold low spots in orchards.  Bacterial canker was a problem but cherry leaf spot never developed as a wide spread disease. Rose chafer and mites were a problem after harvest and some grower reported heavy feeding by oriental chafer in August.

Plums bloomed during the cold week between the April 22 snow storm and the May 4 frost so that fruit set was very light. Mites and leafhoppers were a problem.

Apples were at king bloom for the May 3 frost. Orchards located 10 or more miles from Lake Michigan suffered more than orchards closer to the lake or in frost-free locations. Fire blight was a significant problem for some growers. The affected orchards were older trees of susceptible varieties that had overwintering cankers in the orchards. Apple scab was not a major problem because of the dry spring. Necrotic Leaf Blotch was a common problem late in the season. European red mite exploded in July and many growers have applied one or more sprays to control this pest. Multiple late flights of codling moth (3 generations) and Oriental fruit moth (4 generations) in August and September were a problem. Small fruit size was a problem on sandy sites. Hot weather in July and August accelerated fruit maturity but hindered red color development in the fruit skin.

Pears bloomed during the cold week between the April 22 snow storm and the May 4 frost so that fruit set was very light and frost rings were present on the fruit. European red mites were a problem in pears, turning the leaves black and making growers think of fire blight.

Small fruit

The limiting factor on small fruit yields was the drought for most of the growing season. Drought conditions kept disease pressure was light but insects were still a problem.

Blueberries suffered little winter injury but there was tip dieback, which may have been phomopsis or winter cold injury. As the season progressed cane collapse due to Phomopsis was widespread especially in the northern growing regions. Growers irrigated from April on but drought really reduced yields. Early varieties had enough soil moisture for multiple pickings but mid season varieties in non-irrigated fields only yielded one picking. Growers with irrigation were usually able to size the smaller berries for later pickings. Non-Irrigated fields had burned up by the end of August and will take several years to recover. Generally diseases were well controlled. The bloom pests Cherry fruitworm and Cranberry fruitworm were delayed and continued to lay their eggs long past bloom. Tussock moth larvae were a problem is several fields, but Japanese Beetles numbers declined as they have for the last couple years indicating that populations have peaked and this pest is becoming more manageable.

Grapes were at bud burst to one leaf exposed when the snow and frost hit. Freeze damage was most severe in Southern Berrien County which was most advanced. Generally exposed clusters were damaged. Botrytis rot (brown shriveled flowers) showed up in some vineyards during bloom. Disease pressure this dry summer was light. We found powdery mildew symptoms on Concord fruit but not much downy mildew.  Phomopsis and black rot were generally hard to find. Fruit rot symptoms of black rot were found but leaf symptoms were scarce. Rose chafers and grape berry moth were the significant bloom pests and Japanese Beetles was a problem late in the season.  Drought symptoms were common in May with significant wilting of the vines during the day, but drought symptoms became less obvious later in the season due to timely rains or the grapes abilities to extract water from deep in the soil profile. Fruit set was heavy but berry size was small. Conditions in the late summer were ideal for ripening grapes and fruit quality was excellent for both juice and wine grapes.

In Strawberries there were no unusual problems. Heat moved the harvest quickly along and after renovation plants were slow to take off and grow. Potato leafhopper stunted many plantings.

In Raspberries growth was poor as the season began but generally plants recovered and yields were good. White druplets from the heat was a common problem.