Alson H. Smith, Jr. AREC (Winchester) Public Open House

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Greg Peck

July 21, 2014

Winchester, VA—The faculty, staff, and students at Virginia Tech’s Alson H. Smith, Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center and Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Frederick County Office will be hosting a public open house on August 16 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The Center’s scientists will provide an overview of their research projects and outreach efforts through hands-on activities, posters, and guided tours of the experimental vineyards and orchards.

This is an open event—all are welcome! Come meet the scientists who work at the Center. Cold drinks and locally made desserts will be provided. The open house will be held rain or shine.

Contact: For more information contact Debra Marple at: 540-869-2560 or dmarple@vt.edu.

About the The Alson H. Smith, Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center: This Virginia Tech laboratory serves Virginia’s commercial fruit and value-added, horticultural food crops industries through research, educational programs, development of sustainable production systems and technologies, and increased public knowledge of horticultural opportunities and benefits. Please visit our website to learn more about our current research and information on tree fruit and grapes. http://www.arec.vaes.vt.edu/alson-h-smith/

Directions: The facility is located at 595 Laurel Grove Road, Winchester, VA 22602.

From I-81: take the Stephens City exit (Exit 307). Go west into Stephens City on Fairfax Street. Proceed straight through Stephens City onto Rt. 631 (Fairfax Street becomes Marlboro Road). Continue west on Marlboro Road for approximately 3.5 miles. When Marlboro Road dead-ends at a “T”, turn right (north) onto Middle Road (Rt. 628). Proceed on Middle Road for 1.5 miles. Turn left (west) onto Laurel Grove Road (Rt. 629). Travel 0.8 miles to the Center, which will be on your left.

If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact Debra Marple (AHS AREC) at (540-869-2560 X19*) during business hours of 7:30 am and 4:00 p.m. to discuss accommodations five days prior to the event. *TDD number is (800) 828-1120.

2014 AHS AREC Open House-Save the Date Flier <pdf>.

Virginia Cooperative Extension programs and employment are open to all, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, genetic information, marital, family, or veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. An equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

Central Virginia Orchard & Tree Fruit Day Tour – July 15, 2014

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Greg Peck

We have a fantastic day tour of several Central Virginia orchards scheduled for Tuesday, July 15, 2014. The tour will include high density (tall spindle) apple orchards, vineyards, retail markets, a packing operation, a cidery, a box lunch, and an evening meal on top of Carter Mountain overlooking Charlottesville, Virginia. We will likely be traveling by coach from the Shenandoah Valley and there will be other transportation and carpooling options planned as the need dictates. If you are interested in this day tour, please complete the registration on the attached brochure and send in the registration fee of $15.00/each by July 1, 2014.

Feel free to contact me for additional information or any clarifications.

We continue to thank our Tree Fruit Program Sponsors for making this educational tour possible. Please see the attached flyer listing our many faithful industry partners.

Download the registration form: Central VA Tour Brochure <pdf>

Mark Sutphin

Associate Extension Agent | Agriculture and Natural Resources, Horticulture | Unit Coordinator (Frederick)

Virginia Cooperative Extension – Frederick County Office | 107 North Kent Street | Winchester, VA 22601

https://www.facebook.com/pages/VCE-Northern-Shenandoah-Valley-Agriculture-and-Natural-Resources/183932085102951

9:30 am Stop 1: Silver Creek Orchards (The Flippin Family)

John & Ruth Saunders

5529 Crabtree Falls Highway, Tyro, VA

11:30 am Stop 2: Saunders Brothers (box/sandwich lunch)

Bennett Saunders & Family

2717 Tye Brook Highway, Piney River, VA

1:30 pm Stop 3: Crown Orchard Packing House*

Chiles Family

5861 Piedmont Apple Ln., Covesville, VA

3:00 pm Stop 4: Albemarle Ciderworks

Charlotte Shelton & Chuck Shelton

2545 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden, VA

5:00 pm Stop 5: Carter Mountain Orchard (catered supper)

Chiles Family

1435 Carters Mountain Trail, Charlottesville, VA

The itinerary above is the proposed schedule and subject to change.

* This is a GAP certified packing house and will require all visitors to abide by the following policies: guest sign-in, long pants must be worn, and no jewelry

MaluSim Carbohydrate Model for May 27, 2014

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Greg Peck

I ran a MaluSim model using data from the weather station located at the Alson H. Smith, Jr. AREC in Winchester. This will be the last model run for the year.

No forecast data was used in this run. Based on the output, I would expect chemical thinners that were applied May 14-16 to have an average response, while thinners that were applied on and after May 17 to have minimal effect. The effectiveness of thinners is greatly influenced by fruit size, so if the model showed a carbohydrate status that was greater than 20 g per day, and fruitlets were greater than 15 mm at the time of application then chemical thinners may not have been particularly effective.

Growers should compare the results of their chemical thinning program with the modeled carbohydrate status to determine if the model accurately predicted the level of thinning you expected from your applications.

I would appreciate hearing from growers about how they used the model to make chemical thinning decisions. Both positive and negative feedback is appreciated. You can use the comment feature in the blog site, or just send me an email.

Download the full report:

Winchester VA MaluSim 5_27_14

Central Virginia In-Orchard Meeting to be Held on June 3 at 7K Farms in Rustburg

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Greg Peck

From Michael LaChance:

May 23^rd, 2014

To People Interested in Virginia Fruit Production:

The fifth in-orchard production meeting of the 2014 Central Virginia Orchard Meeting series will be held on Tuesday, June 3^rd at 11:00 a.m. at 7 K Farms, located at 837 Red House Rd, Rustburg, Virginia 24588. The event is hosted by farm manager Bill Beni and the rest of the staff at this most interesting entrant into the Virginia fruit industry. It is open to all but will be especially interesting to new and established fruit growers, people considering conversion of some of their acreage to higher value crops, and regional decision makers. You will have an opportunity to tour the farm and have your questions addressed by our hosts and Drs. Chris Bergh, Greg Peck and Keith Yoder, Extension tree fruit specialists based at the Alson H. Smith Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center near Winchester.

If you are bringing specimens of insects pests or plant disease for diagnosis and control recommendations, please follow good sanitation practices by putting the material in sealed plastic bags and properly remove your material away from the host orchard after the meeting.

The program begins at 11:00 a.m. so plan on arriving sometime soon after 10:30 a.m. This is an excellent opportunity to see:

This rapid development of over 200 acres of commercial fruit in central Virginia
Use of “sleepy eye” propagation technique
Meeting the need for adequate irrigation and deer control
Innovative high density fruit tree training

A nice lunch for everyone is being prepared plus water and other cold drinks will be provided that day. Register by Thursday, May 29. To assist us with our planning Please contact either Lucinda MacRae at the Nelson County Extension Office: 434 263 4035 / lmacrae@vt.edu or 7 K Farms main office. Your contact there is Melanie Mahone, (434) 332-4460 / mel7kfarms@centurylink.net.

Directions from Lynchburg: Rustburg is located southeast of Lynchburg. Take Route 501 off of Highway 29 and continue 10 miles to the stoplight in Rustburg, turn left onto Hwy 24 toward Concord and travel 0.5 miles to the next stoplight and turn right onto Red House Road. Travel 0.8 miles to the farm entrance, extra signage will be put up to help you.

Please email us, fax or phone us today so we can get a head count for this very informative meeting. For more information on Extension programs to assist with your fruit growing interests go to: www.anr.ext.vt.edu/tree-fruit/

Sincerely,

Michael W. Lachance

Extension Agent

If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact the Nelson County Extension Office at (434)263-4035 to discuss accommodations five days prior to the date of the meeting.

‘Sleeping eye’ describes a summer-budded rootstock cut above the dormant scion bud and stored for planting in a nursery or orchard.
ADVANTAGES	DISADVANTAGES
A good quality tree can be produced in one season as opposed to two for a summer- budded tree	Costs more than twice that of unbudded rootstock
Simpler for grower than benchgrafting, yet can produce a tree of similar quality in same period of time	Quality of root and bud important for success of this method

Source: http://www.al.gov.bc.ca/treefrt/product/Tree_Fruit_Home_Nurseries.pdf

Late thinning of apple, return bloom, and peach hand thinning

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Greg Peck

LATE (“RESCUE”) THINNING

Where late (14-25 mm) thinning is still possible growers can use the following materials and combinations of materials in order of greater thinning potency:

ethephon (0.5 -1.5 pints/100 gal)
ethephon + carbaryl (1 pint)
ethephon + carbaryl + oil (1 quart)
ethephon + carbaryl + oil + NAA (5 ppm)

Ethephon applications can cause over thinning, so use the lowest rates and tank mix with the least number of other materials unless significant fruit removal is desired.

PROMOTING RETURN BLOOM IN APPLE

Ethephon (sold under the trade names Ethrel and Ethephon 2) can promote flower bud formation when applied from petal fall to about 6 to 8 weeks after full bloom. The greatest effect is from applications made 0 to 4 weeks after bloom. However, since ethephon can cause substantial fruit thinning, multiple weekly applications at rates 1/2 that of the thinning rate are recommended starting when fruitlets are greater than 30 mm. When possible, it is best to wait until after “June” drop has occurred. At a minimum, wait 7-10 days after the last thinning application before starting ethephon return bloom sprays. Additionally, do not apply ethephon to trees that are stressed or trees that are low in vigor.

A single ethephon application can be used at a high rate (up to 900 ppm). However, more consistent results are often obtained from multiple (3-4) applications made at 10-14 day intervals using lower rates (150-300 ppm). One common, and often effective strategy, is to make two applications in June and two applications in July.

Another strategy is to make 2-4 applications of ethephon at 150 ppm tank mixed with NAA at 5-10 ppm (or 2.5-5 ppm when tank mixed with spray oil). This approach has been beneficial for strongly biennial cultivars.

Sensitivity to ethephon is very different amongst cultivars, thus it is important to choose a rate specific to each variety. Do not exceed 8 pints per acre per year. If trees are over-cropped ethephon may not effectively give adequate return bloom the following season. Higher soluble solids and lower starch levels at harvest may be expected with some cultivars, particularly with high rates and/or late season applications. No loss of firmness has been detected with ‘Red Delicious’ at the optimum harvest date.

Ethephon sprays can reduce tree growth (dependent on timing and amounts used) and thus may not be desirable for young non-bearing trees if maximum tree growth is desirable.

HAND THINNING PEACHES

Hand thinning peaches to 6-8 inches apart on the branch will result in increased final fruit size and help prevent limb breakage. This activity will be most effective when completed over the next couple-few weeks. Hand thinning peaches later in the season will not have as much of an impact on final fruit size.

MaluSim Carbohydrate Model for May 22, 2014

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Greg Peck

On Thursday, I ran the MaluSim model for Winchester.

As I suggested in my last post, the strongly negative carbohydrate balance forecasted for May 20 and 21 were a product of poor cloud cover forecasting. In fact, since May 16 the carbohydrate status has been in the positive range. Chemical thinning applications made from May 17 through the next several days will likely have an moderate to poor response. Now that fruitlets are 15 to 20 mm in diameter, NAA and 6-BA will have minimal thinning efficacy. Growers who need to thin additional fruit from their trees should consider ethephon applications.

Table 1. Fruitlet sizes at the Alson H. Smith, Jr. AREC in Winchester, VA.

Variety	12-May	15-May	20-May	22-May
Empire	10.4	12.2	15.1	17.9
Fuji	7.0	9.0	12.1	14.8
Gala	8.7	11.3	13.9
Goldens	8.0	9.5	12.7	14.9
Idared	8.1	9.5
Pink Lady	9.2	11.0	13.6	16.6
Red Delicious	8.0	10.1	11.4
York	7.9	10.7	13.8	16.1

As I did for the Central Virginia models, I will run one more season recap model early next week.

Download the full report:

Winchester VA MaluSim 5_22_14

MaluSim Carbohydrate Model for May 19, 2014

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Greg Peck

On Monday, I ran the MaluSim model for Winchester and a season recap for the Central Virginia region.

For the Winchester area, the carbohydrate status has been in the -20 to 20 g CHO/day range since May 15. This means that thinning sprays made between last Thursday and today are predicted to have an average response. For the next couple of days, the model is showing a significant carbohydrate deficit. This is being caused by the cloudy weather that is predicted, as neither day nor night temperatures are forecast to be very high. Cloud cover remains the hardest variable to forecast. If the next two days are sunnier than forecast, or if the rain showers occur at night, then I would not expect the actual carbohydrate balance to go into such a low deficit. However, if the weather forecasts that I used in the model are accurate, then growers should avoid thinning on Wednesday. Either way, the best predictor of the potency of chemical thinners is the 2 days before, day of, and 3 days after (2+4-day) running average (the black line). As you can see, the running average remains between 0 and 20 g CHO/day, meaning that chemical thinners will have an average response.

For the Central Virginia region, I’ve run a recap of the season using weather station data through Monday, May 19. Growers should compare their thinning results to the carbohydrate status at the time they made their application to see how well the model predicted the potency of thinners this year. From my experience, using the MaluSim model as a forensic tool can really help explain why chemical thinners work so differently from one year to the next. As I repeatedly have said, the most difficult part of using the MaluSim model to make real time decisions is having accurate weather data to use as inputs. As I mention above, cloud cover can really impact the carbohydrate status in the tree, and thus the responsiveness of thinners, but it is the hardest variable to forecast. Additionally, weather can be very local. We experienced this issue with the major differences between Tyro and Piney River weather forecasts. We also saw a lot of variable temperature data, with several days between May 8 and 14 being 5 or more degrees Fahrenheit warmer than forecast.

Even with these issues, I hope that the model is providing useful information that helps you make sound management decisions. If you have any feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

I will continue to run the Winchester model until fruit size is too big to thin with NAA and 6-BA.

Download the full reports:

Central VA MaluSim 5_19_14

Winchester VA MaluSim 5_19_14

MaluSim Carbohydrate Model for May 15, 2014

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Greg Peck

Fruit in the Winchester area is at the ideal size for chemical thinning.

Thinning applications made on Monday through Wednesday of this week will likely see an excessive amount of thinning, especially if fruit was 8-12 mm in diameter. Thinners that were applied on Thursday will likely have a moderate to strong response. Thinners applied Friday (if it stops raining!) through the weekend will have a normal to weak response. If the weather forecast holds, growers should consider slightly increasing rates and using a surfactant for thinning applications made over the weekend. I’ll run another MaluSim model on Monday.

Table 1. Fruitlet sizes (mm) at the Alson H. Smith, Jr. AREC in Winchester.

Variety	12-May	15-May
Empire	10.4	12.2
Fuji	7.0	9.0
Gala	8.7	11.3
Goldens	8.0	9.5
Idared	8.1	9.5
Pink Lady	9.2	11.0
Red Delicious	8.0	10.1
York	7.9	10.7

Download the full Winchester report:

Winchester VA MaluSim 5_15_14

Fruit in the Central Virginia region is now beyond the size where chemical thinning with 6-BA or NAA is effective. If additional thinning is needed, growers should use ethephon. While these late or “rescue” thinning applications are not very responsive to the carbohydrate status modeled with MaluSim, ethephon does tend to be more active when applications are made on hot days. I will run a season recap for the Central Virginia region in a few days (I was having technical issues accessing the weather station data).

MaluSim Carbohydrate Model for May 12, 2014

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Greg Peck

Fruitlets in the Central Virginia area are quickly sizing up (reports are in the 12-18 mm range), and growers have only a couple-few more days to use NAA and 6-BA products for thinning. In the Winchester area fruitlets are just entering the 10 mm thinning window, but with the hot weather over the past few days it is likely that fruit will be growing at a rapid pace (greater than 0.5 mm per day).

Table 1. Fruitlet sizes at the Alson H. Smith, Jr.AREC in Winchester.

	Fruit diameter (mm)
Cultivar	12-May
Empire	10.4
Fuji	7.0
Gala	8.7
Goldens	8.0
Idared	8.1
Pink Lady	9.2
Red Delicious	8.0
York	7.9

In Central Virginia, the MaluSim model is showing a moderate carbohydrate deficit for the next three days, and then the carbohydrates balance shows positive values through the weekend. A large deficit that was predicted to occur over the past weekend never materialized, largely because there was more sunlight than forecasted. Additionally, as the expanding leaf surface transitions from being a carbohydrate sink to a carbohydrate source the model will continue to show a positive carbohydrate balance. Growers should target blocks that require more aggressive thinning on Tuesday and Wednesday at normal or slightly reduced rates (unless trying to thin larger fruit) and then target blocks with lighter starting crop loads towards the end of the week.

In Winchester, bud break was 6 days later than in Central Virginia, meaning that many leaves are still sinks for carbohydrates and more severe deficits occured over the past few days. However, as the Winchester area enters into the thinning window, less severe carbohydrate deficits are predicted to occur. Growers should start thinning their earliest blooming cultivars on Tuesday evening or Wednesday and then move to more lightly cropped blocks towards the end of the week and over the weekend.

Click below to download the full pdf reports:

Central VA MaluSim 5_12_14

Winchester VA MaluSim 5_12_14

ALERT! MaluSim Carbohydrate Model for May 9, 2014

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Greg Peck

Central Virginia growers, please take note. For the MaluSim model, I have been using weather forecast data for Tyro, VA from Intellicast.com. It was pointed out to me today that the data from that location is significantly cooler than other locations in the region. I have rerun the model using Intellicast.com data from Piney River, VA. While only 5 miles apart geographically, the two forecasts are very different, with Piney River being 5-8F warmer than Tyro. Why that is the case, I do not know. I make no claim to be a weather forecaster!

Bottom line is that you need to look at the details of the weather data that I am using in the model by downloading the pdf file. <<Central VA MaluSim 5_9_14>>. Compare these data to your own location to make sure that they represent your conditions. As I have repeatedly said every time I discuss the MaluSim model, the output data is only as good as the weather forecasts that are used as inputs.

Using the Piney River forecasts, the MaluSim model is predicting a much greater CHO deficit than Tyro. If temperatures are going to be in the 80sF at your location for the next couple-few days, then consider reducing rates or waiting until cooler temperatures return next week. Also, remember that the greatest thinning activity is obtained when fruitlets are between 8-12 mm. Waiting until fruitlets are 12-16 mm will result in less severe thinning. But once fruit gets closer to 20 mm, they become much less likely to be thinned by NAA or 6-BA applications.