Fire blight in Roanoke and many other locations in VA predicted or already occurred

Greetings,

     Please find below an email I just received from our new plant pathologist, Dr. Srdjan Acimovic, regarding the fire blight situation in different Virginia locations. Dr. Srdjan will communicate his recommendations directly to you through his blog when he officially starts his job with Virginia Tech by the end of May 2021.

I am not sure are the weather stations accurate i.e. functioning properly in the airports or orchards, but there is a fire blight infection predicted for today and tomorrow in Charlottesville, and there were three fire blight infections in Roanoke on 4/8, 4/9 and today 4/10, and the same is in Lynchburg. I hope the growers are on top of looking the EIP model in NEWA daily during bloom and caught this and already applied on 4/9 streptomycin + Regulaid in Roanoke and Lynchburg. It they did not, I would still recommend to apply this mix today on anything in bloom. In Charlottesville they need to apply streptomycin 17% @ 1.5 lb/A + Regulaid 1 pt/100 gal today or tomorrow (24 h after the infection on 4/10) on anything that is in bloom. As I recommend on my talks earlier in Feb & March, growers should look at the EIP in NEWA daily. In Manassas, fire blight infection is predicted for 4/12, in Rustburg there is an infection today 4/10, and there was an infection block from 4/6-8. I hope they protected against that block. In Staunton there is an infection today 4/10, in Washington (G cellars) there was an infection 4/7. In Newport News there is an infection tomorrow 4/11, In Norfolk there is an infection today 4/10 and 4/11. In Richmond infection occurred yesterday 4/9, and it still warrants an application of strep+ Regulaid today when another infection is predicted also. In Staunton infection is predicted today, they can spray up to 24 h after infection today. Same spray mix recommended above will work. 

Now, for all the locations that did not apply streptomycin on time in Roanoke and Lynchburg (for infection 4/8) they should immediately apply 12 oz/100 gal of Apogee or equivalent rare of Kudos, at 2-3 days from the infection on 4/8, and they should still apply streptomycin + Regulaid mix above today or tomorrow for infection today. They can mix all three, Apogee, strep, Regulaid. If no Regulaud accessible use LI700, but Regulaid is preferred. 

More frost damage recorded in Apples and Sweet Cherries in Winchester

Our digital temperature data loggers placed in four different blocks in the AHS Jr. AREC’s research farm indicated that we were hit by killing freezing temperatures in the mornings of Friday (April 2) and Saturday (April 3), with the latter being more aggressive and long-lasting. In fact, the lowest we received on Friday was 24oF, but on Saturday, our trees were hammered by temps as low as 21oF for more than 30 min. 21 oF for 30 min or more are enough to kill 90% of apple flower buds at ‘tight cluster’, ‘first pink’ and ‘full pink’.  Today (April 5), we collected flower clusters from Gala, Fuji, Pink Lady, Red Delicious, Zester, and Honeycrisp. Except for Zester, all the cultivars are only moving from tight cluster to first pink. Zestar with flowers at ‘full pink’ showed 65% mortality. Other cultivars showed 45% (Fuji), 45% (Gala), 42% (Pink Lady), 15% (Red Delicious) and 5% (Honeycrisp). Unsurprisingly, king blossoms showed far more damage than side flowers. As for sweet cherries, we have recorded 93% flower mortality for flower buds at different stages (mostly first white and first bloom). Luckily and -to some extent- unexpectedly, our ‘Sunhigh’ peach flowers showed less than 25% flower despite being at the pink to the first-bloom stage. I have attached some images below to show some examples of frost damages we detected in apples and sweet cherries.

Frost damage in apple and sweet cherry

The weather forecasting predicted below freezing temperatures this past Friday (April 2nd) and this morning (Saturday, April 3rd) in the Winchester area (22602). The temperature data as it appears now on the weather network show 2h of 29 oF on Friday morning, 3h at 26 oF and 1h at 25 oF this morning. All these temperatures are above the threshold that causes 90%-kill for flower buds, but can certainly result in 10% damage for apples, sweet cherries, and peaches. To get a better idea of how much damage has occurred after the Friday frost, my research team and I collected flowers from two apple cultivars, a peach cultivar, and a cherry cultivar and evaluated flower viability after 9h of frost (around 3:00 pm, yesterday/Friday). Unfortunately, our data showed 46% and 56% mortality rate in Pink Lady apple and ‘Ebony Pearl’ sweet cherry, respectively. We observed 0% damage in the flowers of ‘Honeycrisp’ apple and ‘Sunhigh’ peach. It’s worth noting that the 46% damage observed in ‘Pink Lady’ flowers is from the King flowers only. We haven’t examined any of the side flowers because they were relatively smaller and hard to observe. It’s also important to know that ‘Pink Lady’ is at the ‘first pink’ stage now, whereas ‘Honeycrisp’, like most of our apple cultivars, are still in the ‘tight cluster’ stage. The majority of our sweet cherry and peach cultivars are at the ‘white bud’ and ‘Pink’ stage, respectively. We will examine these cultivars again tomorrow, Sunday, April 4th, to determine the final percentage of damage after the two frost events. Knowing this information is crucial before starting blossom and fruit thinning. Below are some images to show the extent of frost damage in different species. 

We used a sharp razor blade to prepare longitudinal sections of sweet cherry flowers at the ‘white bud’ stage. Notice the green style and ovary tissues in the middle, as indications of flower viability. We assessed the damage for 30 flowers collected from different branches and trees.
Longitudinal sections of ‘Pink Lady’ apple flowers at the ‘first pink’ stage. More than 30 king blooms were assessed for damage after 9h of a frost event that occurred on Friday, April 2, 2021 in Winchester, VA.
Longitudinal sections of ‘Ebony Pearl’ sweet cherry flowers at the ‘white bud’ stage. Blossoms were assessed for damage after 9h of a frost event that occurred on Friday, April 2, 2021 in Winchester, VA.
Longitudinal sections of ‘Sunhigh’ peach flowers at the ‘Pink’ stage showing alive flower styles and ovaries after a frost event that occurred on April 2nd, 2021.

DA readings refer to the level of chlorophyll (green color) in the fruit’s mesocarp, just below the skin. As the fruit ripens, chlorophyll levels decline, and so do DA readings. Starch index, fruit firmness, and, to some degree, Brix values are commonly used to determine the level of fruit maturity and harvest date for most commercial apple varieties. Generally speaking, fruits intended for CA should be picked at starch index (3-5), firmness (> 16 lb), and DA reading (around 0.60). Apples intended for fresh consumption should be harvested at starch index (5.5-7), firmness (13-16 lb), DA reading (0.35), and Brix (12-14%). 

Sherif M. Sherif, Assistant Professor of Horticulture at Virginia Tech, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, AHS Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center
595 Laurel Grove Road, Winchester, VA 22602
Tel. 540-232-6035, Email: ssherif@vt.edu

Apple Fruit Maturity Report-Winchester-Sep 16, 2020

DA readings refer to the level of chlorophyll (green color) in the fruit, just below the skin. As the fruit ripens, chlorophyll levels decline, and so do DA readings. Starch index, fruit firmness, and, to some degree, Brix values are commonly used to determine the level of fruit maturity and harvest date for most commercial apple varieties. Generally speaking, fruits intended for CA should be picked at starch index (3-5), firmness (> 16 lb), and DA reading (around 0.60). Apples intended for fresh consumption should be harvested at starch index (5.5-7), firmness (13-16 lb), DA reading (0.35), and Brix (12-14%). 

Sherif M. Sherif, Assistant Professor of Horticulture at Virginia Tech, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, AHS Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center
595 Laurel Grove Road, Winchester, VA 22602
Tel. 540-232-6035, Email: ssherif@vt.edu

Apple Fruit Maturity Report-Sep 9, 2020

DA readings refer to the level of chlorophyll (green color) in the fruit, just below the skin. As the fruit ripens, chlorophyll levels decline, and so do DA readings. Starch index, fruit firmness, and, to some degree, Brix values are commonly used to determine the level of fruit maturity and harvest date for most commercial apple varieties. Generally speaking, fruits intended for CA should be picked at starch index (3-5), firmness (> 16 lb), and DA reading (around 0.60). Apples intended for fresh consumption should be harvested at starch index (5.5-7), firmness (13-16 lb), DA reading (0.35), and Brix (12-14%). 
Fruits collected from 19 apple varieties grown in the AHS Jr. AREC, Winchester, VA, on Sep 9, 2020 to assess fruit maturity indices.

Sherif M. Sherif, Assistant Professor of Horticulture at Virginia Tech, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, AHS Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center
595 Laurel Grove Road, Winchester, VA 22602
Tel. 540-232-6035, Email: ssherif@vt.eduFacebookTwitterEmailShare

Apple Fruit Maturity Report-Sep 2, 2020

The DA reading indicates the level of chlorophyll (green color) in the mesocarp of the fruit, just below the skin. As the fruit ripens, chlorophyll degrades and DA readings decline accordingly. Starch index, fruit firmness and, to some degree, Brix values, are used either alone or in combination to determine the harvest date for most commercial apple varieties. Generally speaking, fruits for CA should be harvested at starch index (3-5), firmness (> 16 lb), and DA reading (0.60). For fresh consumption, fruits at starch index (5.5-7), firmness (13-16 lb), DA reading (0.35) and Brix (12-14%) would be ready for harvest.
Starch iodine test was conducted on Sep 1, 2020, for 19 apple cultivars grown at the AHS Jr. AREC, Winchester, VA. Starch values were estimated according to the Cornell starch index (1-8). The recipe for the starch iodine test was described in a previous post ((https://blogs.ext.vt.edu/tree-fruit-horticulture/2012/08/23/harvest-maturity-resources/)

Sherif M. Sherif, Assistant Professor of Horticulture at Virginia Tech, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, AHS Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center
595 Laurel Grove Road, Winchester, VA 22602
Tel. 540-232-6035, Email: ssherif@vt.edu

Apple Fruit Maturity Report-Aug 21-2020

The assessments of fruit maturity parameters were conducted at the AHS Jr. AREC, Winchester, VA.  
Fruits for CA storage should be harvested at starch index (3 – 5), firmness (> 16 lb), and DA reading (0.60). Fruits intended for fresh consumption should be picked at starch index (5.5 – 7), firmness (13 – 16 lb), DA reading (0.35) and Brix (12-14%).
Starch iodine tests for 19 apple cultivars grown at the AHS Jr. AREC, Winchester, VA. Starch values were estimated according to the Cornell starch index (1-8). The recipe for the starch iodine test was described in a previous post ((https://blogs.ext.vt.edu/tree-fruit-horticulture/2012/08/23/harvest-maturity-resources/)

Sherif M. Sherif, Assistant Professor of Horticulture at Virginia Tech, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, AHS Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center
595 Laurel Grove Road, Winchester, VA 22602
Tel. 540-232-6035, Email: ssherif@vt.edu

Apple Maturity Report-Winchester-Aug 19, 2020

Greetings,

Below is the apple maturity report for the Winchester/Fredrick county area. We measured fruit firmness (lb), fruit color, total soluble solids (Brix), and starch conversion rate (1-8 index) for 11 apple cultivars grown in the AHS Jr. AREC’s and we will keep sending similar reports throughout the harvest season to help you decide the optimal harvest date for your cultivated blocks. More varieties will be added to or dropped from the table below as we move through the harvest season. We have assessed fruit firmness, Brix, and starch index according to the methods we described previously in another blog post (https://blogs.ext.vt.edu/tree-fruit-horticulture/2012/08/23/harvest-maturity-resources/). We used a DA meter to assess fruit coloration. The DA device measures the chlorophyll content in the fruit, just below the skin. As the fruit ripens, chlorophyll degrades, and DA readings decline accordingly. Starch index, fruit firmness and, ‘to some degree’, Brix values, are used either alone or in combination to determine the harvest date for most commercial apple varieties. In Table 2, you will find the estimated firmness and starch index values at which apples should be harvested for Controlled atmospheres (CA) storage or fresh consumption. If you don’t see your variety in the list, you can generally pick your fruits at starch index (3-5), firmness (> 16 lb), and DA reading (0.60) for CA storage. But if the crop is intended for fresh market, then wait until the starch index (5.5-7), firmness (13-16 lb), DA reading (0.35) and Brix (12-14%). Again, there are varietal differences, so it’s always recommended to use more than one maturity index to determine the optimal harvest time.

The values represent the average of 5 fruit/each variety.
The starch-iodine test for Gala and Honeycrisp apples- Aug 18, 2020
This table was adapted from the Michigan State University website

Sherif M. Sherif, Assistant Professor of Horticulture at Virginia Tech, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, AHS Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center
595 Laurel Grove Road, Winchester, VA 22602
Tel. 540-232-6035, Email: ssherif@vt.edu