New Fire Blight Monitoring Tool (PomeBlight) Now Available!

Friday, March 31, 2023

An automated, web-based tool designed by Perennia to help you monitor for fire blight infections is now available, and it's called PomeBlight. PomeBlight was introduced in a tutorial session yesterday and the recording is now available on our YouTube Channel.

Click to watch the video tutorial about PomeBlight. 

The following information is included in the video:
0:00 Introduction, Key Features, and Background
9:32 How to acquire a PomeBlight subscription 
11:30 Registration and setup of a Perennia online account 
13:47 Activating your PomeBlight subscription 
24:16 Using the PomeBlight model 
41:33 Advanced knowledge and use of the PomeBlight model

As I mentioned in the video, we have resources to help get you started. Please review the QuickStart Guide and Frequently Asked Questions. Please note that currently only Davis Instruments weather stations are supported and the weather forecast is provided by Environment Canada. Stations in Nova Scotia are automatically pre-populated, and if you are from another province please contact Michelle Cortens for further support.

You can learn more about PomeBlight and purchase an annual subscription from our Farm Data Tools website: www.farmdatatools.ca. You can also learn more about other tools and stay informed about new tools that are under development.



The models, including PomeBlight, can then be accessed from your online account at www.app.farmdatatools.ca





Reminder: Tutorial on New Fire Blight Tool (PomeBlight)

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Join Perennia’s Tree Fruit Specialist Michelle Cortens in a virtual tutorial for the new PomeBlight web application on Thursday, March 30 from 10:00-11:30 AM. PomeBlight is an automated, web-based tool designed by Perennia to help you monitor for fire blight infections. Register now on our website. If you have already registered, you will receive the meeting link soon.

How does it work?

Updates are made in real-time by using the data from Davis Instruments weather stations. The model calculations are based on the familiar MaryblytTM model with significant upgrades to user experience.


Say hello to the future.

  • Access the model on any device from the web.
  • Receive automatic weather and forecasts.
  • On-demand predictions and editable forecast.
  • Automated email and text alerts for infection risk, EIP value, and wind.

An annual subscription fee will apply to cover annual server and maintenance fees. A competitive price is offered this year for early adopters.



Introduction to PomeBlight: Registration Now Open!

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Join Perennia’s Tree Fruit Specialist Michelle Cortens in a virtual tutorial for the new PomeBlight web application on Thursday, March 30 from 10:00-11:30 AM. PomeBlight is an automated, web-based tool designed by Perennia to help you monitor for fire blight infections. Register now on our website.

How does it work?

Updates are made in real-time by using the data from Davis Instruments weather stations. The model calculations are based on the familiar MaryblytTM model with significant upgrades to user experience.



Published: 2023 Management/Spray Guides

Friday, March 10, 2023

The 2023 Management/Spray Guides are now available for download.

For a summary of changes, visit the previous post on March 7 or refer to the red text within the documents.

Click to Access

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2023 Updates to Management/Spray Guides

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

As soon as the tree fruit management guides are done being formatted they will be posted to our website and I will let you know when they are available. In the meantime, this article will highlight the key changes that you can expect to see in this year's guides. 

When the guides become available, all modifications mentioned below will be coloured red directly in the text for easy reference. Discard old editions of the pesticide spray guide publication each year. 


POME FRUIT GUIDE

Product(s)

Comments

Manzate Max / Dithane Rainshield / Penncozeb

UPDATED: Do not make more than 4 applications/ha/year. New 35 day re-entry interval for hand thinning. PHI of 77 days. Newly amended labels are in effect on November 19, 2022. 

Imidan

UPDATED: All hand thinning activities must be completed prior to application. Do not make more than two applications per year. PHI of 22 days. Newly amended labels are in effect on October 30, 2022

Magister

NEW: Miticide that also controls powdery mildew. Do not make more than one application per year.

 


ORGANIC APPLE GUIDE 

Product(s)

Comments

Purespray Green Oil

UPDATED: Labelled for control of codling moth, suppression of powdery mildew, and suppression of rosy apple aphid

 


STONE FRUIT GUIDE

Product(s)

Comments

Imidan

UPDATED: All hand thinning activities must be completed prior to application. Do not make more than one application per year. PHI of 17 days. Newly amended labels are in effect on October 30, 2022

ReTain

ADDED: Added use for promotion of fruit set in sweet cherry during bloom.

 

 


THINNERS AND GROWTH REGULATORS GUIDE 

Product(s)

Comments

MaxCel

UPDATED: Now a 28-day PHI.

 


 

WEED MANAGEMENT GUIDE 

Product(s)

Comments

Lorox herbicide

CANCELLED: Product cancelled in tree fruit. Last date of use was November 5, 2022.

Serene herbicide (Acetic acid 20%)

NEW: May be an organic option. Do not apply after budbreak unless using a hooded or shielded application equipment and applicator can ensure spray drift will not come in contact with fruit or foliage. Controls annual weeds and suppresses perennial weeds.

 




Resource: 2023 Fungicide Decision Table

Thursday, March 2, 2023

Mancozeb, the active ingredient in the widely used products Manzate, Dithane, and Penncozeb underwent a review by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency. As a result of this review, the products have had their labels updated to include significant changes that came into effect on November 2022. 

The new label for a mancozeb product states that apple trees: 
  • May be treated with a maximum of only 4 applications each year.
  • Have a re-entry interval (REI) for hand thinning of 35 days.
  • Have a pre-harvest interval (PHI) of 77 days.
In conjunction with last year's changes to captan and other product label updates, I recognize that your decision making becomes even more complicated. I highly recommend that you create a spray plan for the upcoming season (that is open to modification) instead of making decisions in the moment. Planning ahead is becoming even more important with the reduced options and limitations.

I have compiled a '2023 Fungicide Decision Table' to summarize the remaining fungicide options including activity on summer diseases, compatibility with oil, REI, PHI etc. Thank you to Erika Bent with Agricultural Pest Monitoring (APM) and Danny Davison with Scotian Gold for their review and excellent suggestions.

(Please click the image to access the full size file for printing.)


NSFGA Spring Workshop Addresses Mancozeb

Please save the date for the NSFGA spring workshop that will be held on March 28th and March 29th. 

March 28th, 9:00am-12:00pm
Learning Session
Waterville Fire Hall
* virtual option available
Current topics include a presentation and panel on mancozeb label changes as well as a research update from Keith Fuller on replant disease.

March 29th, 9:00am-10:30am
Pruning demo: "Pruning for vigor: too much and too little"
CAP Farms, Grafton
Session will be held at CAP Farms in Grafton, and will be a demonstration on how to manage pruning in challenging blocks.



Resource: Summary of Nova Scotia Crop Load Management Studies

Friday, February 24, 2023

Local research is the best evidence to inform our decisions, and we have a rich history here in Nova Scotia! I have recently explored the local studies on crop load management to summarize and share. I do not recommend changing your thinning program if it already works. Your on-farm experiences are just as valuable. However, newer growers or growers looking to change their practices need a point of reference to make decisions.

Local testing of chemical thinning products is essential because thinning activity is sensitive to weather and tree factors that are unique to production regions. Much of our local research on crop load management as far back as 1951 is no longer relevant because products and varieties have changed. Thankfully we can still draw from studies done from 2002 to 2012.

I have compiled the results for Honeycrisp and Gala using registered products only. The summaries are described and shown below but for easy access to the large tables, download the document, "Summary of Nova Scotia Crop Load Management Studies".



Honeycrisp


Honeycrisp - Blossom Thinners

Blossom thinners are used with the intention of reducing fruit set early in development. All of the materials used for blossom thinning work by preventing pollen germination and flower fertilization. The timeframe is very narrow for using blossom thinners to successfully keep king fruitlets while removing side fruitlets. 

There is debate about whether blossom thinning is practical, especially in regions like ours that have inconsistent weather conditions at bloom. Blossom thinning is likely useful in only some years. 

It is apparent in several local studies on Honeycrisp that blossom thinners do reduce fruit set (Table 1). However, measurements later in the season show inconsistent effects on crop load, harvest fruit size, and red colour coverage. What is clear is that secondary thinning is necessary after blossom thinning. Likely the main role of blossom thinning in our region is to reduce fruit set early to promote annual bearing.

Please note that lime sulphur is more likely to cause foliar damage than ATS, but it might be considered an organic option.

Table 1: Summary of Nova Scotia crop load management studies on Honeycrisp with blossom thinners at full bloom (FB).
Note: Click on the image for larger view.


Honeycrisp - Petal Fall Thinners

The caustic materials used for blossom thinning are no longer expected to work after flowers are successfully fertilized, and it was shown in the local study that ATS applied at early petal fall did not reduce fruit set or have any other influence (Table 2).

The materials used for fruitlet thinning are plant growth regulators, also known as chemical thinners. Thinners used during the petal fall window are expected to have significant opportunity to improve fruit size and quality because fruit development is still early. Local studies show that conservative petal fall treatments did not improve fruit quality but that more aggressive treatments did (Table 2). However, there may be hesitancy to thin aggressively during petal fall because the fruit set cannot be predicted yet and early thinning is a risk. 

Although the conservative treatments like Fruitone alone, MaxCel alone, and Sevin alone did not improve fruit quality, they did generally reduce fruit set (Table 2). They could be considered an alternative approach to blossom thinning to promote annual bearing.

The product combinations of MaxCel + Fruitone or MaxCel + Sevin resulted in more large and extra large fruit that is undesirable for Honeycrisp.

Table 2: Summary of Nova Scotia crop load management studies on Honeycrisp with petal fall (PF; 4-6 mm) thinners. Please note that most of this petal fall thinning data is supplied by one trial in 2011 and that conclusions would be more robust from multiple years of study.
Note: Click on the image for larger view.


Honeycrisp - Fruitlet Thinners (7-14 mm)

The fruitlet stage is the traditional time to apply thinners. By this time, it is possible to observe how many fruitlets are growing after fertilization and those growing fruitlets have the potential to set. Fruit set is still not guaranteed at this point and will be affected by the weather and the strength of the competing fruitlets. However, thinning action must be taken by now if it has not already been done.

In almost all of the local studies, product combinations reduced fruit set and crop load and increased harvest size and colour (Table 3). Fruitone + Sevin is our industry standard and showed fairly consistent local results. MaxCel 100 PPM + Sevin resulted in more large and extra large fruit that is not desirable for Honeycrisp.

Table 3: Summary of Nova Scotia crop load management studies on Honeycrisp with fruitlet (7-14 mm) thinners.
Note: Click on the image for larger view.


Honeycrisp - Rescue Thinners and Nibble Thinning

By late fruit set, thinning is considered a rescue operation and unfortunately there are no reliable options yet. Local research found that MaxCel applied late actually increased fruit retention (one year of study)(Table 4).

Finally, perhaps a nibble thinning approach is taken by thinning at multiple stages of fruitlet development. Local research showed that ATS applied at full bloom then Sevin at petal fall thinned and increased fruit size. Adding to this ATS + Sevin program MaxCel at 10 mm caused overthinning.

Table 4: Summary of Nova Scotia crop load management studies on Honeycrisp with rescue (15-30 mm) thinners and the nibble thinning approach (multiple stages).
Note: Click on the image for larger view.


Gala


Gala - Blossom and Fruitlet Thinners

Fewer studies have been done with Gala and in only two years of study. The blossom thinner ATS decreased crop load and resulted in less small fruit in the fruit grading distribution (Table 5). For fruitlet thinning, Fruitone alone and Fruitone + Sevin decreased fruit set and crop load, usually without increasing fruit size (Table 5). The combination of MaxCel + Sevin thinned AND increased fruit size (Table 5). 

Using the blossom thinner ATS and then the fruitlet thinner MaxCel + Sevin was more aggressive than either alone and did increase fruit size at harvest (Table 5). The 50% reduction in crop load was significant but may be desired on a small fruited variety like Gala.

Table 5: Summary of Nova Scotia crop load management studies on Gala with blossom thinners (FB; full bloom), fruitlet development (7-14 mm), and the nibble thinning approach (multiple stages).
Note: Click on the image for larger view.

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