Posts By Date
By Imed Dami, HCS-OSU
Last year, on July 31 2023, we had 1,571 GDD. This year, GDD were already at 1,948 on the same date, nearly 400 GDD higher in 2024 than in 2023, or the equivalent of 15-20 days earlier this year. As a result, we did our earliest berry sampling in the past 9 years. The following table summarizes the progress of sugars, pH, and acids in 2023 vs. 2024. It is clear that fruit ripening is progressing at a much faster rate this year. For example, we had similar Brix in Einset and Vanessa on August 14, 2023 that we had two weeks earlier on July 31, 2024; pH were lower and acids higher though this year than last year. We ended up harvesting Brianna 13 days earlier this year.
Fruit ripening progression of selected varieties in 2023 and 2024.
|
Variety |
Brix |
pH |
TA (g/L) |
|||
|
2023 |
2024 |
2023 |
2024 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
|
Brianna |
14.9 |
14.7 |
3.06 |
2.92 |
9.0 |
10.6 |
|
Einset |
16.0 |
15.9 |
2.90 |
2.83 |
8.5 |
9.5 |
|
Vanessa |
17.6 |
17.7 |
3.02 |
2.63 |
6.8 |
9.7 |
Berry collection in 2023: date -14 August, 1829 GDD. Collection in 2024: date – 31 July, 1948 GDD.
In the past 20 years, 2024 had the highest GDD with the exception of 2012 and 2010, both were exceptional years in terms of wine quality. In our case, not only the warmth (GDD) has advanced harvest but also low yield overall for several reasons (spring frost injury, herbicide drift injury, bird damage). Bottom line, be ready for an early harvest as early as two weeks or sooner.
By Melanie L. Lewis Ivey, Associate Professor, Extension Fruit Pathologist, Department of Plant Pathology
In June, the EPA completed the proposed interim registration review for mancozeb. Mancozeb is a broad-spectrum fungicide widely used by fruit, nut, and vegetable growers to control many fungal diseases. Mancozeb is a multisite fungicide, which means it targets several biochemical pathways in fungi. This mode of action makes it more difficult for fungi to develop resistance compared to fungicides that target a singlesite. However, the EPA has identified risks of concern to human health and non-target organisms from the use of mancozeb and thus proposed the following measures specific to fruit crops to “ensure mancozeb use does not present unreasonable adverse effects for human health or the environment.”
- Cancellation of mancozeb use on all types of grapes (including table, wine, juice, and raisin).
- For aerial applications to orchards that are adjacent to residential area a 25-foot buffer zone from the edge of the treated field will be required.
- Closed-cab equipment plus gloves will be required for the airblast applicator scenario for the airblast applicator scenario for all formulations for orchards and vineyards.
- The use of an APF10 respirator and closed loading systems for aerial, chemigation, and ground-boomapplications utilizing dry flowable, wettable powder, and water-soluble packet formulations.
- Increase in restricted entry intervals (REIs) for pome fruit from 24 hours to 4 days for all activities.
- Prohibition of hand-thinning pome fruit crops.
- Mandates on droplet size.
- Spray drift buffers for fields adjacent to aquatic habitats and conservation areas depending on the application method:
- Aerial applications – 50 ft
- Ground boom applications – 15 ft
- Airblast applications – 15 ft
The proposed deadline to submit comments to the EPA is September 16, 2024. This leaves very little time for the fruit industry to put together a strong argument for the retention of the registration of mancozeb for grapes and the retention of a 24- hour REI for apple and pears. The grape and tree fruit industries arestrongly encouraged to write a letter of request to extend the public comment period so that the industries have adequate time to develop a strong public comment. Requests can be emailed directly to Dr. Jean Overstreet (see contact information below). It is recommended that Mr. Ben Tweed be copied on the email.
A copy of the proposed interim registration review can be found at u.osu.edu/fruitpathology/fruitnews-2/.