UMass Extension Fruit Program

The UMass Extension Fruit Program's mission is to assist fruit growers with all aspects of horticultural and pest management. It is part of the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment within the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Massachusetts.

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug on the uptick in Massachusetts orchard

According to a recent (September 11, 2018) Healthy Fruit Pest Update, "UMass Extension has been tracking the invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys, since 2012. For the past six years, the number of BMSB captured in pheromone-baited traps had remained relatively low, until now. Trap-capture data for 2018 have shown that, this year, BMSB populations are greater than any of the six previous years. Suspected feeding injury by stink bugs (allegedly BMSB) has been reported in a couple of orchards. However, the actual levels of damage have not been quantified yet." Growers are encouraged to monitor/scout their situation and only use control measures where damage by BMSB is documented or trap catches exceed threshold. For more information, see Brown Marmorated Stink Bug.

UMass Summer Scholar Nicole Foley presents results at poster session

At a poster session for UMass CAFE Summer Scholars on September 12, 2018 at the UMass Amherst Campus Center, Nicole Foley presented the results of her study "Evaluation of plant-based materials for attractiveness to the invasive spotted wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii " UMass Extension Fruit Entomologist Jaime Pinero was Nicole's advisor. Here is the poster...Poster-Evaluation of plant-based materials for attractiveness to the invasive spotted wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii

2018 apple maturity report updated

2018 apple maturity report updated, 11-September

http://ag.umass.edu/fruit/2018-apple-maturity-report

All observations from UMass Orchard, Belchertown, MA unless otherwise noted

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