The Central Virginia Fruit School has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 11 at the Nelson Center in Lovingston. Registration will start at 8:30AM. Specialists will be covering the same topics listed in the original program. Contact Michael LaChance for more details or questions.
Tag Archives: Central Virginia
Nelson and Rappahannock County Fruit School Meetings are Cancelled
Due to the approaching snow storm, we have decided to cancel the Nelson and Rappahannock County Winter Fruit School meetings that were scheduled for Wednesday evening and Thursday, respectively. At this time, we still plan to hold the Roanoke and Winchester Fruit Schools as scheduled.
More details will be forthcoming regarding the rescheduling of these meetings.
Here is the link to the original Fruit School Meeting schedule.
Stay safe, and stay warm.
Dr. Greg Peck
Fruit Bud Damage from Cold Temperatures
Cold temperatures in the winter, such as we’re experiencing over the next couple-few days with a polar vortex can cause damage to plants, people, and livestock. 
At this time of year, fruit buds on our main tree-fruit crops (apple, peach, cherry, and pear) are still in their winter dormant state (endodormancy). During endodormancy, buds have a very low water content and tend to be more cold tolerant. However, absolute lows are not the only factor to consider. If warm temperatures precede a cold spell, then tree buds tend to be less cold tolerant and are more likely to be damaged. There is also considerable variation amongst species and cultivars. For this reason, critical temperature thresholds, like those developed for spring frost damage to flower buds, are not well defined. However, from an ongoing discussion among pomologists in the Eastern part of North America, the consensus seems to be that peach flower buds start to be damaged at -10F and complete crop failure and/or tree loss occurs at -20F. Cherry and plum flower buds are slightly more cold hardy than peach buds and damage will likely occur at -20F. Apple flower buds can withstand temperatures down to -25F. As of now, the forecast for most of Virginia does not show temperatures dropping below 0F. Hopefully, this means that fruit buds in Virginia will not be damaged by the polar vortex.
Plants are not affected by wind chills (plants do not lose heat to the wind). But people and animals will be impacted by the heat loss from the high winds that are accompanying this storm. I’ve seen several wind chill forecasts for Tuesday in the -10 to -20F range. If your pruning crews are outside, make sure they are dressed appropriately for the cold. Also, make sure that your farm animals at least have shelter from the wind. For more information on protecting farm animals and equipment from the cold, read Cory Childs’ (VCE-Warren Co.) blog post from earlier today.
Annual End-of-August Maturity Testing
This it the 28th year that researchers at the Alson H. Smith, Jr. AREC have recorded Golden Delicious and Red Delicious apple maturity data from orchards based in and around Winchester. Including 2013, data for Empire has been taken for twelve years and Gala for six years. In recent years, we have also added other commercially important cultivars to the analyses in order to generate long term averages. These data provide an interesting insight into the current season’s harvest, and can help growers make decisions on when to pick different blocks.
As discussed in a previous post, bloom date was about three weeks later than in 2012 and fairly close to the long-term averages. This should mean that harvest dates will be relatively “normal” or at least more similar to harvest dates in the late 1990’s through early 2000’s than they have been in the last several years.
As of this week, most growers in the Northern Shenandoah region are finishing up picking Ginger Golds, and have started picking Gala and Honeycrisp. Some growers in Central Virginia are finishing Gala and starting with Golden Delicious.
Many of the Golden Delicious blocks that we tested this week had very nice fruit finish, with minimal russet. Golden Delicious maturity was quite variable in the blocks that we tested, and it appears that some blocks will be ready to harvest within the next week, while others are probably 7-10 days away from being ready to harvest. The use of ReTain by some growers may explain some of this variability.
With the cool nights that we have experienced in August, red skinned cultivars have developed better than average color. However, be sure to check the starch and sugar levels before picking to be sure that the apples are mature enough to pick. Many Red Delicious apples that we tested this week had great color but very little starch degradation and soluble solids were only at 9-10 Brix.
Below are the data from this year’s end-of-August apple maturity sampling. In each year, the samples were taken around August 25 (August 26 this year) and consist of apples from the AREC and a few local growers. Thanks to Dave Carbaugh and Abby Kowalski for collecting and testing the fruit. Please refer to my post from last year if you need help interpreting the different maturity indices. You can also download a pdf of the 2013 Annual August Maturity Report.
|
Golden Delicious Maturity Report 1986-2013 |
|
|||||
| Year |
Background Color (1-4)* |
Firmness (lbs) |
Soluble Solids (ºBrix) |
Starch-iodine Index (1-8)** |
Ethylene (ppm) |
Bloom Date |
| 1986 |
2.2 |
19.5 |
12.7 |
|||
| 1987 |
20.0 |
12.2 |
||||
| 1988 |
18.6 |
11.0 |
1.5 |
|||
| 1989 |
17.7 |
10.3 |
2.0 |
|||
| 1990 |
18.0 |
10.5 |
1.6 |
|||
| 1991 |
1.8 |
19.7 |
12.0 |
2.1 |
||
| 1992 |
1.8 |
20.1 |
12.0 |
1.6 |
||
| 1993 |
1.9 |
19.8 |
11.6 |
1.5 |
||
| 1994 |
2.3 |
19.8 |
12.0 |
1.7 |
||
| 1995 |
0.9 |
18.8 |
10.9 |
2.1 |
||
| 1996 |
2.9 |
19.6 |
11.2 |
2.9 |
||
| 1997 |
2.0 |
21.8 |
11.7 |
2.0 |
||
| 1998 |
2.5 |
19.2 |
12.2 |
2.1 |
||
| 1999 |
1.9 |
20.3 |
11.7 |
1.4 |
||
| 2000 |
1.8 |
17.5 |
11.9 |
2.5 |
||
| 2001 |
1.9 |
20.1 |
11.0 |
1.4 |
||
| 2002 |
2.2 |
21.2 |
11.4 |
2.1 |
||
| 2003 |
2.6 |
20.3 |
11.1 |
1.2 |
||
| 2004 |
2.3 |
18.2 |
12.3 |
2.0 |
||
| 2005 |
1.8 |
20.1 |
11.4 |
1.7 |
||
| 2006 |
1.9 |
18.5 |
12.4 |
1.8 |
||
| 2007 |
1.6 |
18.0 |
12.3 |
1.6 |
||
| 2008 |
2.1 |
18.3 |
12.9 |
1.6 |
22-23 Apr |
|
| 2009 |
1.8 |
17.2 |
12.4 |
1.7 |
22-Apr |
|
| 2010 |
1.6 |
18.6 |
12.9 |
1.4 |
13-Apr |
|
| 2011 |
2.1 |
20.1 |
12.9 |
1.2 |
20-Apr |
|
| 2012 |
2.5 |
18.5 |
13.0 |
1.3 |
0.00 |
2-Apr |
| 2013 |
2.2 |
18.3 |
11.9 |
2.2 |
0.17 |
25-Apr |
| Mean |
2.0 |
19.2 |
11.9 |
1.8 |
17-Apr |
|
| Max |
2.9 |
21.8 |
13.0 |
2.9 |
25-Apr |
|
| Min |
0.9 |
17.2 |
10.3 |
1.2 |
2-Apr |
|
| * 1 = green, 2 = light green, 3 = yellowish green, 4 = yellow. | ||||||
| ** 1 = 100% starch, 5 = 60% starch, 8 = 0% starch. | ||||||
|
Red Delicious Maturity Report 1986-2013 |
||||||
| Year |
Red Color (%) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Soluble Solids (ºBrix) |
Starch-iodine Index (1-8)* |
Ethylene (ppm) |
Bloom Date |
| 1986 |
72.0 |
18.8 |
11.2 |
|||
| 1987 |
68.0 |
19.8 |
10.8 |
|||
| 1988 |
54.0 |
18.4 |
10.0 |
1.6 |
||
| 1989 |
69.0 |
18.6 |
8.7 |
1.6 |
||
| 1990 |
73.0 |
18.1 |
8.9 |
1.5 |
||
| 1991 |
69.0 |
18.8 |
10.4 |
1.6 |
||
| 1992 |
76.0 |
20.8 |
10.2 |
1.3 |
||
| 1993 |
68.0 |
21.7 |
9.5 |
1.7 |
||
| 1994 |
68.0 |
19.7 |
9.5 |
1.9 |
||
| 1995 |
68.0 |
19.2 |
9.1 |
1.6 |
||
| 1996 |
62.5 |
19.3 |
8.9 |
2.0 |
25-Apr |
|
| 1997 |
66.7 |
22.4 |
9.4 |
1.2 |
25-Apr |
|
| 1998 |
81.9 |
19.3 |
9.9 |
2.5 |
15-Apr |
|
| 1999 |
65.5 |
19.8 |
10.5 |
1.9 |
28-Apr |
|
| 2000 |
87.4 |
16.2 |
9.6 |
2.3 |
11-Apr |
|
| 2001 |
61.0 |
20.5 |
8.3 |
1.8 |
28-Apr |
|
| 2002 |
60.2 |
21.4 |
9.4 |
2.1 |
22-Apr |
|
| 2003 |
58.4 |
20.4 |
8.5 |
1.9 |
22-Apr |
|
| 2004 |
88.2 |
16.7 |
10.0 |
2.3 |
20-Apr |
|
| 2005 |
73.7 |
18.7 |
9.2 |
2.0 |
24-Apr |
|
| 2006 |
63.8 |
18.7 |
10.7 |
2.0 |
16-Apr |
|
| 2007 |
81.1 |
18.1 |
11.0 |
1.7 |
22-Apr |
|
| 2008 |
86.6 |
18.1 |
9.4 |
2.0 |
22-Apr |
|
| 2009 |
79.2 |
17.5 |
10.2 |
1.9 |
24-Apr |
|
| 2010 |
65.9 |
18.2 |
11.5 |
1.7 |
8-Apr |
|
| 2011 |
67.5 |
19.8 |
11.5 |
2.1 |
21-Apr |
|
| 2012 |
92.1 |
18.2 |
11.9 |
1.8 |
0.03 |
29-30-Mar |
| 2013 |
91.3 |
18.4 |
9.8 |
2.0 |
0.25 |
23-Apr |
| Mean |
72.1 |
19.1 |
9.9 |
1.8 |
0.1 |
20-Apr |
| Max |
92.1 |
22.4 |
11.9 |
2.5 |
0.3 |
28-Apr |
| Min |
54.0 |
16.2 |
8.3 |
1.2 |
0.0 |
29-30-Mar |
| * 1 = 100% starch, 5 = 60% starch, 8 = 0% starch. | ||||||
|
Gala Maturity Report 2008-2013 |
|
|||||
| Year |
Red Color (%) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Soluble Solids (ºBrix) |
Starch-iodine Index (1-8)* |
Ethylene (ppm) |
Bloom Date |
| 2008 |
93.5 |
18.3 |
13.6 |
5.6 |
21-Apr |
|
| 2009 |
86.8 |
17.5 |
13.4 |
4.5 |
22-Apr |
|
| 2010 |
78.0 |
16.3 |
14.9 |
6.4 |
9-Apr |
|
| 2011 |
77.5 |
19.4 |
13.7 |
4.9 |
19-Apr |
|
| 2012 |
91.1 |
18.0 |
13.2 |
4.1 |
7.13 |
29-30-Mar |
| 2013 |
91.1 |
18.0 |
12.4 |
5.4 |
1.71 |
23-Apr |
| Mean |
86.3 |
17.9 |
13.5 |
5.2 |
4.4 |
15-Apr |
| Max |
93.5 |
19.4 |
14.9 |
6.4 |
7.1 |
23-Apr |
| Min |
77.5 |
16.3 |
12.4 |
4.1 |
1.7 |
29-30-Mar |
| * 1 = 100% starch, 5 = 60% starch, 8 = 0% starch. | ||||||
|
Empire Maturity Report 2002-2013 |
|
|||||
| Year |
Red Color (%) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Soluble Solids (ºBrix) |
Starch-iodine Index (1-8)* |
Ethylene (ppm) |
Bloom Date |
| 2002 |
42.0 |
25.3 |
10.4 |
2.1 |
||
| 2003 |
60.4 |
21.9 |
9.6 |
1.7 |
||
| 2004 |
78.1 |
17.2 |
10.9 |
2.2 |
||
| 2005 |
55.3 |
20.3 |
10.1 |
1.9 |
||
| 2006 |
46.0 |
19.7 |
10.7 |
2.1 |
||
| 2007 |
64.0 |
17.9 |
10.6 |
2.1 |
||
| 2008 |
66.3 |
18.2 |
11.0 |
2.1 |
21-Apr |
|
| 2009 |
52.4 |
16.6 |
10.9 |
1.1 |
20-Apr |
|
| 2010 |
44.3 |
18.1 |
10.7 |
1.8 |
||
| 2011 |
49.8 |
19.7 |
11.2 |
2.0 |
||
| 2012 |
85.9 |
19.2 |
12.5 |
1.7 |
0.01 |
29-Mar |
| 2013 |
63.0 |
18.6 |
10.6 |
1.5 |
0.04 |
21-Apr |
| Mean |
59.0 |
19.4 |
10.8 |
1.9 |
0.0 |
15-Apr |
| Max |
85.9 |
25.3 |
12.5 |
2.2 |
0.0 |
21-Apr |
| Min |
42.0 |
16.6 |
9.6 |
1.1 |
0.0 |
29-Mar |
| * 1 = 100% starch, 5 = 60% starch, 8 = 0% starch. | ||||||
|
Maturity Report – Other Varieties 2011 |
||||||
| Cultivar |
Red Color (%) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Soluble Solids (ºBrix) |
Starch-iodine Index (1-8)* |
||
| HoneyCrisp |
66.2 |
15.8 |
13.0 |
5.1 |
||
| Idared |
17.0 |
19.9 |
11.1 |
1.2 |
||
| * 1 = 100% starch, 5 = 60% starch, 8 = 0% starch. | ||||||
|
Maturity Report – Other Varieties 2012 |
|
|
||||
| Cultivar |
Red Color (%) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Soluble Solids (ºBrix) |
Starch-iodine Index (1-8)* |
Ethylene (ppm) |
Bloom Date |
| Fuji Early Strain |
65.5 |
16.7 |
14.7 |
4.1 |
0.03 |
5-Apr |
| Fuji Late Strain |
26.0 |
20.9 |
12.1 |
2.1 |
0.03 |
5-Apr |
| Idared |
36.7 |
17.0 |
12.3 |
1.3 |
0.00 |
2-Apr |
| Rome |
39.8 |
22.5 |
12.3 |
1.5 |
. |
12-Apr |
| York |
41.8 |
22.4 |
10.7 |
1.0 |
0.00 |
3-Apr |
| * 1 = 100% starch, 5 = 60% starch, 8 = 0% starch. | ||||||
|
Maturity Report – Other Varieties 2013 |
|
|
||||
| Cultivar (number of orchards tested) |
Red Color (%) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Soluble Solids (ºBrix) |
Starch-iodine Index (1-8)* |
Ethylene (ppm) |
Bloom Date |
| Cameo (1) |
33.5 |
18.1 |
10.2 |
1.7 |
0.53 |
N/A |
| Fuji Early Strain (2) |
80.3 |
16.3 |
13.6 |
4.3 |
1.51 |
25-Apr |
| Ginger Gold (2) |
3.9** |
16.0 |
12.8 |
3.5 |
0.00 |
24-Apr |
| Idared (6) |
41.1 |
17.5 |
10.1 |
1.2 |
0.12 |
23-Apr |
| Jonagold (1) |
35.5 |
18.7 |
11.8 |
2.8 |
0.00 |
23-Apr |
| Rome (1) |
21.2 |
24.6 |
9.2 |
2 |
0.00 |
1-May |
| York (1) |
53.5 |
24.4 |
9.4 |
1 |
1.20 |
25-Apr |
| * 1 = 100% starch, 5 = 60% starch, 8 = 0% starch. | ||||||
| ** 1 = green, 2 = light green, 3 = yellowish green, 4 = yellow. | ||||||
Pre-Harvest Orchard Meeting hosted by Drumheller’s Orchard
Please make plans to attend the Pre-Harvest Orchard Meeting on Wednesday, August 14th, at the Drumheller Orchard, south of Lovingston, Va. We will begin the informational portion of the program at 11:00 a.m. Please bring a bag lunch for the meeting. Dessert and beverages will be provided.
Topics at the meeting will include the current status of pests and diseases and maximizing returns through harvest quality and storage considerations.
Directions to Drumheller Orchard, 1130 Drumheller Orchard Ln, Lovingston, VA 22949. Phone: (434) 263-5036; Website: http://drumhellersorchard.com
- Drumheller Orchard is located in Nelson County between the villages of Lovingston and Colleen. From Lovingston, go south on Route 29 approximately 2 miles
- At the main entrance to the Nelson County High School (construction in progress) turn right and make an immediate left on Route 741 (Drumheller Orchard lane) and proceed roughly ½ mile to the end of the road.
- We will be gathering at the packing shed
Michael W. Lachance
VCE-Agriculture and Natural Resources
Nelson County Unit
8445 Thomas Nelson Highway
Lovingston, VA 22949
434 263 4035
FAX 434 263 4367
Lachance@vt.edu
AREC to Host Field Tour and Twilight Meeting
The faculty and staff of Virginia Tech’s AHS Jr. AREC and Virginia Cooperative Extension invite you to a Field day and Twilight Meeting on Thursday, July 18, 2013. In addition to a traditional twilight meeting, there will be a comprehensive tour of the research plots at the AHS Jr. AREC. Growers from throughout Virginia, as well as nearby states are invited to attend. Please note that the mealtime is earlier than in past years.
2:30pm – 5:15pm: Tour of Research Orchards (Entomology, Horticulture & Pathology) – Meet at the main building
5:30pm – 7:00pm: Catered Supper & Seasonal Updates – Equipment Shed
Registration is required. To ensure that you are provided with a meal, you must email Mark Sutphin at mark.sutphin@vt.edu or call his office: (540.665.5699) before noon on Monday, July 15th.
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 AREC, which will be on your left. Parking is available in front of the building.
Drs. Keith Yoder, Chris Bergh, and Greg Peck will be providing seasonal updates at dinner and will be available for discussions and concerns regarding the growing season.
**Please save the date of Tuesday, August 27, 2013 for a joint Twilight Meeting with WVU Extension at Orr’s Farm Market in Martinsburg, WV.**
Many thanks to all of our faithful sponsors for making this event possible!
AgroFresh
Bayer CropScience, L.P.
Bowman Andros Products, LLC
Certis USA, LLC
Crop Production Services
Dow Agro Sciences
DuPont Crop Protection
First Bank & Trust
Frederick County Farm Bureau
Frederick County Fruit Growers
Gowan Company LLC
Helena Chemical Company
Knouse Foods Co-Op., Inc.
MidAtlantic Farm Credit
National Fruit Product Company
Nichino America
Peterson Farms, Inc.
Southern States
Suterra
Syngenta Crop Protection
Trece, Inc.
Valent USA
Valley Fertilizer & Chemical Company
Virginia Cooperative Extension
Virginia Farm Bureau
Winchester Equipment Company
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
Phone – 540.665.5699 | Fax – 540.722.8380 | Cell – 540.398.8148 | Email – mark.sutphin@vt.edu | http://offices.ext.vt.edu/frederick/
Serving the counties of Frederick, Clarke, Page, Shenandoah, & Warren
Upcoming Meetings
The next in-orchard meeting will be held on Wednesday June 12 at 11AM in Fauquier County at Stribling Orchard with a post meeting visit to Heartland Orchard. For more information, contact Kenner Love: klove@vt.edu or (540) 675-3619.
On June 18 at 11AM, we’ll be meeting at Tommy Fitzgerald’s Orchard in Central Virginia. The address is 621 Dillard Hill Road, Lowesville, VA 22967. The main office phone number is (434) 277-5051.
Google map location: http://goo.gl/maps/1UB47
For more information, contact Michael Lachance: lachance@vt.edu or (434) 263-4035.
At both meetings there will be updates from Dr. Peck (horticulture), Dr. Yoder (plant pathology), and Drs. Bergh and/or Pfeiffer (entomology). Horticultural topics will include predicting harvest maturity, pre-harvest drop control, and sampling leaves for nutrient analyses.
These meetings are open to anyone who has an interest in commercial tree-fruit production. A full listing of the tree-fruit meetings being held in Virginia can be found by clicking on the Upcoming programs & events link on the Tree fruit extension and outreach website.
Additionally, the International Fruit Tree Association (IFTA) is still accepting registration for the upcoming Study Tour in and around Adam’s County Pennsylvania. The organizers have put together a fantastic program and growers are highly encouraged to attend.
MaluSim Carbohydrate Models: 2013 Season Recap for Winchester and Central Virginia
Attached are the final MaluSim carbohydrate models that I will run for 2013.
Please print out a copy of the below pdf file to add to your records. Later in the season, I will be asking for feedback from you about how you used the model, how well the model predicted thinner response in your orchard, and if I should continue running the model in future years. Please feel free to send me additional feedback at anytime.
MaluSim Carbohydrate Models for May 20: Winchester and Central Virginia
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
MaluSim Carbohydrate Models for May 16: Winchester and Central Virginia
MaluSim models were run on May 16 for Winchester and Central Virginia.
As I spoke about at the Winchester breakfast meeting on Thursday morning, the Winchester forecast is calling for warm and cloudy weather starting today and running through most of next week. From many year’s of research, we know that these are the conditions under which there is a fair amount of natural thinning and that chemical thinners can be particularly active. When the weather data is run through the MaluSim model, we see that there is a carbohydrate deficit between -40 to -60 g CHO/day predicted for the next 10 days. This means that chemical thinners that are applied over the next several days will likely be fairly active. With this in mind, growers should consider reducing rates and/or not using a surfactant. Growers with blocks that sustained freeze damage on Tuesday morning, should consider further reducing rates. As always, you should be checking your trees and making decisions based upon the conditions in your own orchard.
For Central Virginia (Piney River), the carbohydrate deficits over the next week will remain in the negative, but not be as low as the Winchester area. This means that chemical thinners applied from today through the weekend will likely be slightly aggressive when used at standard rates. Growers should be regularly checking their blocks for current conditions. By now, you should be able to see some effect of the cloudy weather that the region experienced early last week.
Here are the pdf files that contain the weather data and the MaluSim models:
Peck Central VA MaluSim 5_16_13
Peck Winchester VA MaluSim 5_16_13