Hello Fruit Growers,
The April twilight meeting is this Thursday, April 22 at Erik Eacker’s farm at 830 South Road, East Greenwich, RI 02818. The meeting starts at 5:30. After a farm tour and outdoor program, we will go to Schartner’s Bald Hill Nursery building on Route 102 for an indoor meeting and food. The meeting cost $20 for RI Fruit Grower Association members. You can pay your $20 dues at the meeting to Sandie Barden.

Yesterday I found apple scab lesions on the underside of older fruit cluster leaves in two orchards. Orchard Radar predicted first scab lesions visible on April 17. I tell you, Orchard Radar is good. See Orchard Radar from the Apple IPM website:
https://www.uri.edu/research/ipm/

Check your orchard for scab now. I’ll bring the samples I found to the twilight meeting so you can see what very early scab looks like. If you aren’t sure what you have – bring a sample to the meeting on Thursday. If you find scab now apply a fungicide – use a full rate of Syllit, Flint, Sovran, or Captan. Don’t use Captan if you’ve applied oil within the past 7 days.

I found many hatched European red mite nymphs yesterday – and many of them hatched several days ago. According to Orchard Radar, egg hatch should have begun April 11 in Providence County and April 15 in Newport County. Once eggs start to hatch, oil applications are less effective. Look on the underside of fruit cluster leaves that grow close to main scaffold limbs. These leaves generally have the most red mites early in the season. Especially check Red Delicious and Empire, or any trees that had red mites last year. You can collect 10-15 clusters, put them in a plastic bag and bring them to the meeting. I can look at them for red mite nymphs.

I think it is too late to apply oil to control European red mite eggs now. If you weren’t able to make a good oil application, there are many miticides available. They are expensive but very effective. Early season miticides include Apollo, Onager, Savey or Zeal.

The only apple growing area in the state where I have found winter moth larvae is Cumberland. I’ve looked in other locations, but not all locations. I hope to get to Tiverton and Little Compton this week to see if there are winter moth caterpillars in orchards. If you find little green caterpillars in flower buds or leaves, apply an insecticide now before the flowers open. Imidan is probably the best choice for an insecticide.

2010 New England Tree Fruit Management Guides will be available at the Twilight meeting. The cost is $30 and the book covers apples, pears, peaches/nectarines, apricots, plums/prunes. If you aren’t at the meeting and you want a book, let me know and I will get one to you.

Heather