Northern Michigan FruitNet 2002
Weekly Update
James E. Nugent      Gary E. Thornton       William M. Klein
NW Michigan Horticultural Research Station
Michigan State University
July 16, 2002

GROWING DEGREE DAY ACCUMULATIONS through July 15th at the NWMHRS:
 
2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997
Base 42 1621 1767 1813 1963 1996 1503
Base 45 1382 1491 1516 1670 1697 1264
Base 50 1041 1081 1076 1237 1248 915

WEATHER
No rain this week has worsened the dry conditions. Evaporation was at a weekly high for the season of 2.09"

INSECTS & DISEASES
By Gary Thornton

Codling Moth – Trap catch declined to 1/trap at the NWMHRS. The first generation is over now, however, growers that have continued to have trap catches may require an appropriate insecticide 250 degree days base 50 after the threshold of 5 moths per trap was reached.

Apple Maggot – Adult flies have been caught in Oceana County, but we haven't caught any yet in the abandoned orchard we are monitoring near Suttons Bay.

Spotted Tentiform Leafminer – Trap catch averaged 328/trap. This is the beginning of the second generation. Several options exist to control this pest where necessary, including Provado or Actara (Actara also suppresses codling moth) at the high end of the appropriate rate. These materials will stay in the leaves and remain active for a month or more. They will also control green apple aphids, white apple leafhopper and potato leafhopper. Beware that potato leafhopper control will be short lived; Guthion or Imidan work best on this pest.

Cherry Fruit Fly – Trap catches increased this past week to an average of 13/trap in our research orchard. Alternate middle row sprays work fine in controlling this pest. Monitor preharvest intervals closely. If not harvesting a block, then controls are not needed.

Cherry Leaf Spot - Dry weather fortunately has slowed the advance of this disease. Approximately 9 days ago there was a moderate to heavy infection and symptoms should be starting to show on trees that were not adequately protected and still actively growing at that time. Once leaves mature, the time for an infection to appear increases to near 30 days. Postharvest applications of Bravo will be particularly important in orchards where leaf spot has been present this year. 

Brown Rot – Brown rot can be found on uninjured fruit, though infection levels are generally low. Despite relatively dry conditions, this disease can spread within clusters of cherries – particularly sweet cherries. Protectant sprays of Elite, Orbit or Indar all offer excellent control.

Potato Leafhopper – This pest is mostly a threat to young apples, plums, grapes, strawberries and occasionally raspberries. Contact insecticides work best for control. 

NAP NONHARVEST FACTOR FOR SWEETS CHANGED
By Jim Nugent

The nonharvest factor for sweet cherries has been changed by the State FSA committee. The factor for use this year will be 0.83 rather than the previous factor of 0.5. Payments are reduced to reflect savings in variable costs for not harvesting. This new factor represents a much more accurate assessment of the variable machine harvest costs used by Michigan sweet cherry growers. The 0.80 factor for tarts remains unchanged. Our thanks to the state FSA committee for adopting this change and to the state FSA administration and the local FSA committee for their support of this issue. 

It is possible to harvest a portion of the acreage enrolled in NAP without harvesting everything. But it is very important to communicate with your local FSA both before and after harvest to document what is and isn't harvested. This will allow FSA to appropriately prorate the nonharvest factor.

WEEKLY CIAB REPORT (Edited from information provided by Perry Hedin, CIAB)
 
Weekly Raw Product Report for
Week ending July 13, 2002
(millions of pounds)
District
2002
Week 1
2002
YTD
Diverted
Fruit
2002
Est.
2001
Total
NW MI
0.0
0.0
NA
3.0
180.3
WC MI
0.8
0.8
NA
6.0
84.1
SW MI
5.4
5.9
NA
5.5
30.2
NY
0.5
0.5
NA
15.0
14.6
OR
0.0
0.0
NA
2.5
2.2
PA
0.1
3.2
NA
3.4
3.5
UT
0.3
0.3
NA
4.0
12.0
WA
0.2
0.2
NA
17.0
26.5
WI
0.0
0.0
NA
4.0
12.7
Total
7.3
10.9
NA
60.4
366

PA has completed harvest. SW Michigan is over its estimate. A bit more production is expected this week. WC MI, NY,OR and WA have each made their first reports of harvest. It is far too early to know how these areas will pick out.
 

WEEKLY EVAPORATION and PRECIPITATION REPORT
 
Date
Evap/week
75% of Evap/week
Rainfall/wk at NWMHRS
Rainfall vs 75% of Evaporation
YTD
Rainfall vs
75%
Evaporation
YTD
Rainfall vs 100%
Evaporation
5/7
1.10
0.83
1.20
+0.37
+0.37
+0.10
5/14
0.99
0.74
1.04
+0.30
+0.67
+0.15
5/21
0.98
0.74
0.34
-0.40
+0.27
-0.49
5/28
1.22
0.92
0.90
-0.02
+0.25
-0.81
6/4
1.44
1.08
1.94
+0.86
+1.11
-0.31
6/11
1.28
0.96
0.14
-0.82
+0.29
-1.45
6/18
0.69
0.52
1.81
+1.29
+1.58
-0.33
6/25
1.65
1.24
0.94
-0.30
+1.28
-1.04
7/2
1.97
1.48
0.05
-1.43
-0.15
-2.96
7/9
1.91
1.43
0.49
-0.94
-1.09
-4.38
7/16
2.09
1.57
0
-1.57
-2.66
-6.47
Totals
15.32
11.51
8.85
      

ACTUAL AND PREDICTED DEGREE-DAY
ACCUMULATIONS SINCE MARCH 1, 2002 (*)

Please send any comments or suggestions regarding this site to: 

Bill Klein, kleinw@pilot.msu.edu
Last Revised: 7-17-02