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Fruit Program News

SWD Update for week of June 9-15, 2013

June 9, 2013

This week we found 2 cases where a single female SWD was caught in traps, one in Hampshire County, one in Southern Berkshire County.
Covid-19 Guidance and Resources for Massachusetts' Fruit Farms

Information for fruit growers during the Coronavirus Spring of 2020 COVID-19 SPECIFIC INFORMATION NEW Massachusetts Dept. of Ag. Resources Farm Pick-Your-Own(PYO)/Agricultural Tourism Activities Bulletin Comprehensive MDAR Covid-19 Resource Page NEW Cornell Best Management Practices for U-Pick Farms During the COVID-19 Pandemic (from Cornell but contains very useful and relevant information for MA growers) NEW Farmers Guide to Direct Sales Software Platforms (National Young Farmer's Coallition) Considerations for Fruit and Vegetable Growers Related to Coronavirus & COVID-19 (Chris Callahan, UVM)

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New England Cider Apple Program at the NEVFC

Craft hard cider production -and consumption- has been on the rise in the United States. Not all apples are suitable for the craft cider market. There remains a dearth of cider-specific apples in production in the Northeast. Many of the varieties that possess the most desirable qualities for juice are considered too difficult to grow. Extension faculty and staff from UMass, UVM, and UMaine are working together to find the keys to solving these problems! Funded by Northeast SARE Research & Education Program LNE19-373.

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April Fruit Twilight Meetings

Fruit Twilight Meetings, April 11 (C.N. Smith Farm) and April 16 (UMass Cold Spring Orchard)

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MFGA Annual Meeting and UMass Extension Education Program

MFGA Annual Meeting and UMass Extension Education Program Thursday, January 10, 2019 9 AM to 3:30 PM Great Wolf Lodge, 150 Great Wolf Drive, Fitchburg, MA

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Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

While trap captures are begining to increase, Brown Marmorated Stink Bug populations remain below threshold for tree fruit crops. There is not, currently, any recognized population threshold in small fruit. See the New England Tree Fruit Management Guide or the New England Small Fruit Management Guide for more information.
Spotted Wing Drosophila Spray Tables for 2018

Fruit Growers should be scouting for Spotted Wing Drosophila in their fields and orchards now. Review labled spray materials for 2018 (courtesy of Mary Concklin, UConn Extension)

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2017 Program Survey

Every year we gather feedback from recipients of our programming to help us do a better job serving the fruit growers in Massachusetts and New England. We hope you'll take a few minutes to give us your feedback by taking a brief survey. The questions are general in nature and help us learn more about how you are receiving information from us, how helpful you find it, and how we might do better.

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Grape Disease Control for 2017 - Dr. Wayne Wilcox

Dr. Wayne Wilcox of Cornell University has released his annual grape disease control update for 2017. This is the most thorough discussion of all the issues related to disease management for grapes that is available for our region.

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Fire blight conditions bordering on EXTREME
As of Friday morning, May 8, 2015, the risk of getting fire blight as we move into the weekend is very high to extreme across most of Massachusetts. Depending on your state of apple or pear bloom, the application of streptomycin to open bloom is highly recommended, maybe even essential. We have numerous resources available for helping you manage fire blight in 2015:
Please take this situation seriously so we can minimize the amount of fire blight we have in 2015. By the middle of next week, the fire blight risk should be less severe. If you do get fire blight symptoms, please let us know -- jon.clements@umass.edu, 413-478-7219, or Daniel Cooley, 413-531-3383 -- as we are surveying for fire blight resistance to streptomycin in 2015.

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