On May 20, I ran the MaluSim carbohydrate model for Winchester and Central Virginia. This will be the last MaluSim posting using forecasted data for the season. Sometime in the week or two I will post a season recap using only recorded data.
In Winchester, as predicted, we have been experiencing hot and cloudy weather over the last few days. Thinning applications made from late last week through Monday will likely be fairly active, with some easy to thin cultivars (e.g. Red Delicious) potentially having significant fruit drop. However, from Tuesday through the end of the coming week, growers should expect an average response from their thinning applications.
In Central Virginia, there was a similar trend but with somewhat cooler daytime temperatures, the carbohydrate deficits were less severe. Similar to Winchester, thinning applications made over the next several days should have a fairly typical response.
Peck Winchester VA MaluSim 5_20_13
Peck Central VA MaluSim 5_20_13
Fruitlet sizes and growth rates at the Winchester AREC:
- Empire: 19.1 mm; 1.5 mm/day
- Fuji: 13.6 mm; 1 mm/day
- Gala: 13.8 mm; 0.8 mm/day
- Pink Lady: 14.1 mm; 0.9 mm/day
- Red Delicious: 13.8; 0.9 mm/day