Nearly all growers have applied their 2 Altacors for cranberry fruitworm If you think you had a big flight of Sparganothis or have a history of trouble, an Intrepid or Invertid would be well timed next week. Delegate is another option, but would be best to save for end of the month or August if larvae are found.
High weevil numbers have been reported (9 is the summer population threshold). Honeybees are beginning to be moved out. If your bees are gone, and there is no bloom left on the bog, and you have many (25+) weevil, an Actara application might be warranted. Weevil can drill the pinheads but generally will move off the bog by the end of the month anyway.
Summer scale populations are turning up showing orangey or off color spots. If you have a suspected spot, contact Marty to drop off a sample (508-265-6921). We are finding tiny scale on the leaves and the berries at a number of sites that were not treated for scale in June. The next treatment window is around August 15.
We continue to be in dry period for most locations (some folks did get some rain this week but it was spotty), so monitor your soil tension to make sure you are keeping your vines well watered. Keep the water up in your ditches if you can.
Now is a good time to be putting out grass herbicides for control of poverty grass. It is a warm season grass and is starting to put on some growth now. ALWAYS be careful when applying herbicides (or other pesticides) in extreme heat. Avoid using crop oil during these conditions if possible; NIS is preferred.
QuinStar is a good option for yellow loosestrife control, but it has a 60-day PHI and likely has handler restrictions. Poast, used for grass control, also has a 60-day PHI. Chlorothalonil products and Stinger have a 50-day PHI. Callisto has a 45-day PHI. Select and Intensity (grass herbicides) have 30-day PHIs as does Roundup and Actara.
If you have patches of dodder, you can spray them with concentrated Callisto applications. We have the SLN label on our web site under Services/Pesticide Labels. Spraying before dodder flowers is much more effective than spraying after flowers or seed are present. Select and Intensity are good options to control poverty grass; treatment is best before the grass flowers!
If you are using fast-acting soluble fertilizer sources for the conventional cultivars, 30-40% of your N goes out at late set.
We are planning a zoom workshop 8-9 on Tuesday August 9 to cover issues of the day. Contact Robyn for link information.
