Kentucky Fruit FactsMarch Newsletter 2019 http://www.uky.edu/hort/documents-list-fruit-facts

John Strang, Extension Fruit Specialist, Editor Daniel Becker, Extension Associate, EditorDenise Stephens, Newsletter Designer

Inside this Issue: Fruit Crop News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Upcoming Meetings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Fruit Grower Orchard Meeting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Captan Under EPA Review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 A Profile of Commerical Apple Production in KY . . .4 Pesticide Storage and Cold Weather. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Ways Bees Become Exposed to Pesticides. . . . . . . . . . 6 Pricing Speciality Crops: Resources & Tips . . . . . . .6 Reducing Risk to Pollinators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 New UK IPM Scouting Guide Available for Bramble Growers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Receiving Fruit Facts on the Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Fruit Crop News John Strang, U.K. Extension Horticulturist and Matt Dixon, U.K. Ag. Meteorologist Most growers are behind in their pruning programs because of the excessive rainfall this winter and few good days for working outside. The U.K. Ag. Weather Center reports that the state averaged 9.08 inches of rainfall for the month of February, which makes this the second wettest February since data were recorded beginning in 1895. The wettest year was 1989 with 9.85 inches of rainfall. Our average rainfall for February is 3.67 inches.

We have passed the winter months where our lowest temperatures are experienced and moved into the period where all fruit crops may be pruned as well as young trees. Some peach growers like to prune heavily to reduce thinning labor (masthead peach tree photo). I think that everyone can remember when the polar vortex slid into Kentucky at the end of January. Figure 1 shows the low temperature minimums for the first part of 2019. It felt cold, but fortunately we don’t think that it was cold enough to cause injury to our fruit crops over most of the state. In the most northern counties where temperatures dropped below 0˚F we would expect some damage to thornless blackberries and some injury to grapes, particularly those that are less hardy or stressed/weak. Fruit growers are concerned with the actual low temperature minimums which injure fruit plants and not with the wind chill which affects people and warm blooded animals.

Figure 1. Lowest temperatures (˚F) experienced across the state on January 30/31, 2019.

Upcoming MeetingsAll times EST unless noted

Mar. 6 Pruning and Grafting Class, Grayson County Extension Office, 123 Commerce Dr., Leitchfield, KY 42754. 5:00-8:00 p.m. CT. Contact 270-259-3492. Mar. 7 Fruit Tree Grafting Workshop, Woodford County Extension Office, 184 Beasley Rd., Versailles, KY. 6:00 p.m. Contact 859-873-4601. Mar. 11 Spring Viticulture Workshop, UK Horticulture Research Farm, 4320 Emmert Farm Lane, Lexington, KY 40514. 10:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. This workshop includes, Sprayer calibration demonstration, Pruning technique essentials and demonstrations, and Assessing and compensating for winter injury. There is no charge for the workshop. Register by emailing,

Patsy Wilson at patsy.wilson@uky.edu or text/call at 859-494-1657 and let her know how many will be attending. Mar. 12 Fruit Grower Orchard Meeting, Eckert’s Boyd Orchard, Lyle Allen, Megan Fields, Chris Eckert and Tom Dutkanych, 1396 Pinckard Pike, Versailles, KY 40383 Phone: 859-873-3097 10:00 a.m. See the full program below. Mar. 14 Fruit Tree Grafting Workshop 10:00 a.m. and Pruning Demonstration 1:30 p.m., Laurel County Extension Office, 200 County Extension Rd., London, KY 40741. Contact 606-864-4167. Mar. 15 Apple Grafting Workshop, Robinson Center for Appalachian Resource Sustainability, (Community Center, 40 Back St.) 130 Robinson Rd., Jackson, KY 41339. 6:00 p.m. Contact 606-666-8812.

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Figure 2. Growing degree day accumulations (base 50˚F) for 2019 and past years.

A fixed copper application from the dormant to the green tip stage on apple and dormant to bud swell stage on pear is recommended particularly if fire blight was a problem last season. This kills overwintering fire blight bacteria on the outside of the trees and substantially reduces the population. Stone fruit benefit from a fixed copper spray to peach in late fall or early winter before buds swell for peach leaf curl and bacterial spot control; on plum during the dormant period for peach leaf curl, bacterial spot, black knot and plum pockets con-trol; and cherry during the dormant period for bacterial canker control. If you had problem with San Jose Scale, the dormant period is the best time to apply a dormant oil spray to obtain better tree coverage and smother this pest on apple, pear, peach and plum. Superior oil also kills over-wintering European red mite eggs on all of these tree fruit crops. If you have San Jose scale pretty well under control in your apples wait until green tip to apply since this provides better control of aphids and mites. Look for several days in a row where the temperature will be above 40˚F to spray oil and thoroughly cover the trees.

Figure 2 shows Growing Degree Day (GDD) accumulations for this season and several previous seasons including the particularly early 2007 season where the Easter Freeze occurred. The faster growing degree days accumulate the more rapidly trees bud out and bloom. I consider 2018 to be an average season with respect to fruit harvest dates. So this year we are running slightly behind the 2018 season.

Mar. 16 Plasticulture Strawberry Grower Meeting, Oak Grove Farms, Owned and operated by Zach Erhard, 33 Old Highway 31E, Bethpage, TN 37022. Sessions from 9:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. CST will cover production, fertility, disease, frost protection, soil moisture and new varieties. 12:30-1:30 p.m. Lunch; 1:30 p.m. Farm Tour. RSVP to Danny Van Meter by email if you plan to attend to determine numbers for lunch at vanmeterfamilyfarm@gmail.com Mar. 18 Fruit Tree Pruning Demonstration 1:00 p.m. and Grafting Workshop, 3:30 p.m., Russell County Extension Office, 2688 S. Hwy 127, Russell Springs, KY 42642 Contact 270-866-4477. Mar. 19 Fruit Tree Grafting Workshop, Harrison County Extension Office, 668 New Lair Rd., Cynthiana, KY 41031. 6:30 p.m. Contact 859-234-5510; E-mail: DL_CES_HARRISON@EMAIL.UKY.EDU Mar. 20 Fruit Tree Pruning Demonstration, Breathitt County 1:00 p.m. Contact 606-666-8812 for directions. Mar. 28 Fruit Tree Grafting Workshop, Adair County Extension Office, 409 Fairground St., Columbia, KY 42728 1:00 p.m. CT Contact: 270-384-2317. Apr. 4 Fruit Tree Grafting Workshop, Jessamine County Extension Office, 95 Park Dr., Nicholasville, KY 40356. 6:00 p.m. Contact 859-234-5510. Apr. 16 Fruit Tree Grafting Workshop, Simpson County Extension Office, 300 North Main St., Franklin, KY 42134. 5:00 p.m. CT Contact 270-586-4484. Apr. 27 Kentucky Nut Growers Association Spring Meeting, Hardin County Extension Office, 201 Peterson Dr., Elizabethtown, KY 42701, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Contact Danny Ganno Phone 270-860-8362; email: danganno@yahoo.com May 2 Fruit Grower Orchard Meeting, Hinton’s Orchard and Farm Market, Jeremy and Joann Hinton, 8631 Campbellsville Rd., Hodgenville, KY 42748 10:00 a.m. Phone 270-325-3855. May 18 Regional Pecan Grafting Workshop, Vaughn Family Pecan Farm, 120 W. Craig Rd., Scottsburg, IN 47170. Start 9:00 a.m. EDT. Open to anyone interested in nut tree propagation and learning field and bench grafting techniques. Speakers include Dr. William Reid, Emeritus Pecan Research and Extension Specialist, Kansas State

University and Missouri State University and Ralph Voss, Clinton County Illinois pecan grower who managing 250 acres of pecans. Registration includes a catered lunch $14.00 per person. Check or money order must be received by May 1, 2019 payable to Indiana Nut Growers Assoc. Please include names and addresses of attendees. Phone: 812-752-4929. For more information go to: https://www.infga.org/ June 13-15, Riverhills Elderberry Conference, Lincoln University Carver Farm and Local Farms, Jefferson City, MO Registration and program information coming soon at: https://www.riverhillsharvest.com/comprehensive-elderberry-workshop-s Jan. 6-7, 2020 Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Conference, Embassy Suites Hotel, 1801 Newtown Pike, Lexington, KY 40511. Contact John Strang Office phone: 859-257-5685; Email: jstrang@uky.eduSprings, KY 42642 Contact 270-866-4477.

Fruit Grower Orchard Meeting Tuesday, March 12Eckert’s Boyd OrchardChris Eckert, Owner, Lyle Allen, Orchard Manager; Megan Fields Market Manager1396 Pinckard Pike (Pinkard if using Google directions)Versailles, KY 40383Lyle Mobile: 618-407-5953Megan Mobile: 859-509-7228Website: https://www.eckerts.com/versailles

Program:All times EST10:00 a.m. Registration & Tour of Eckert’s Boyd Orchard - Lyle Allen & Megan Fields11:00 Insecticide & Herbicide Spray Guide Changes - John Strang11:30 Spring & Fall Flowers for your Farm Market - Steve Berberich11:50 Lunch will be available at cost for those that preregister. Preregister for lunch by calling Pam Compton at 859-257-2909 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. EDT weekdays by Monday, March 11 and give her a count for the Fruit Grower Meeting at Eckert’s Boyd Orchard.

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12:45 p.m. Fruit Research Update from Neighboring States - Nicole Ward Gauthier1:15 Raccoon and Bear Control - Matt Springer1:45 Grower Round Table Discussion - Matt Gajdzik, moderator

Captan Under EPA Review

Captan is under review by the EPA. If you depend on this fungicide and want to continue using it for fruit production it would be good to leave a comment on the EPA site by March 15 at https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2013-0296 This fungicide plays a significant part in our Kentucky spray programs and is very important in slowing the development of microbe fungicide resistance.

A Profile of Commercial Apple Production in Kentucky

By Kim Leonberger, Extension Associate and Nicole Ward Gauthier, Extension Plant Pathologist

Apple production in Kentucky is small, from less than 1 acre to just over 40 acres, yet profitable. Cash value of Kentucky apple production is valued at $24.4 million to $40.6 million per year. Apple orchards are distributed throughout Kentucky and play an important role in providing access to local foods. However, apple growers face a number of challenges such as diseases, insects, weeds, wildlife, and abiotic factors. In order to combat these issues, producers utilize a range of practices, tools, and technologies to protect yield. The document A Profile of Commercial Apple Production in Kentucky 2017, https://ipmdata.ipmcenters.org/documents/cropprofiles/KY_Apple_CropProfile.pdf (Figure 3) provides an overview of apple production in the Commonwealth (Table 1), as well as common pathogens and pests and their management. Information on production areas, grower practices, and diseases of concern are also included

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In commercial orchards disease management includes applications of fungicides and/or bactericides. Chemical applications can be costly and add to pro-duction costs. Thus, chemical applications timed only during infection periods and critical times can result in fewer applications per season. Table 3 presents the infection periods and critical times for chemical appli-cation in commercial orchards.

Figure 3: Profile of Commer-cial Apple Production in Kentucky 2017

Table 1. Kentucky apple production by variety

Table 2: A survey of Kentucky growers resulted in the following rating of disease importance and management challenges.

Table 3: Infection periods and critical times for fungicide/bactericide application in com-mercial orchards in Kentucky.

Pesticide Storage and Cold WeatherBy Ric Bessin, U.K. Extension Entomologist

Pesticides are a significant investment for many agricultural producers, and cold weather during storage can ruin some pesticides. Pesticides also must be stored properly and in a secured place to meet regulations and keep persons and the environment safe. Winter months are also a good time to make sure your pesticide inventory is up-to-date and complete. Here are a few guidelines to follow.

Specific Storage Requirements Specific storage needs for pesticides are usually found near the beginning of the label in the STORAGE and DISPOSAL section. You need to read this section and follow those requirements carefully. Store pesticides in their original containers. Many dry materials should be stored in a cool, dry location, with good ventilation. Partially used bags of dry formulated pesticides can be stored in clear, sealable plastic bags to keep moisture out to avoid clumping or caking. Many liquid pesticides must be stored above a specific temperature to avoid crystallization, separation, or active ingredients falling out of solution. It may not be possible to re-suspend these materials so that the chemicals can be used in the future. These temperature requirements for storage are found on the individual pesticide labels and will vary by product.

Storage Area Pesticides must be stored in a locked area, either a locked cabinet or room with signage indicating this is a pesticide storage area. This should be away from children, untrained adults, and animals. The area should be well-lit and ventilated. I prefer to store pesticides in plastic bins so that if a jug ruptures or a bag tears, the pesticide spill would be contained. It is also good to store herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides separately, as well as storing dry materials separate from liquids. Keep a current inventory of your pesticides, this will let you manage ordering new products more effectively.

Ways Bees Become Exposed to Pesticides

By Ric Bessin, UK Extension Entomologist

Bees can be exposed to pesticides by several different routes and we will look at those common routes. (1) One that comes to mind first is contamination of flowers that bees visit. These are applications made to plants in flower. These plants could be crops to be protected or just unwanted weeds in flower that pollinators are visiting, or applications of systemic insecticides just prior to flowering. If the pesticide is not toxic or of low toxicity to pollinators then the risk is very low. But if the material is toxic to bees, then we have created a risk to pollinators. So one solution to this problem is switch to pesticides with low/no toxicity to bees when making applications to plants in bloom. Some insecticide labels require applicators to alert owners of bee colonies located within 5 miles of an application 48-hours before applications made to plants, crops, or weeds in bloom. There is a web application on the Kentucky Department of Agriculture website to help applicators notify beekeepers when required to do so by the insecticide label (https://www.kyagr-apps.com/Pollinator/). This online program is anonymous — applicators will not know where bee colonies are located and beekeepers will not know who has made an application. This 48-hour advanced notice gives beekeepers a chance to protect their colonies before applications to blooming plants. Figure 4. Pesticides posing the greatest risk to honey bees have this icon on the label to alert pesticide applicators to additional restrictions (Photo: Ric Bessin, UK).

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Figure 5. It takes about five minutes to use the KDA on-line registry tool to warn nearby beekeepers, when required by the label, about an insecticide application.

(2) Another route of exposure for honey bees is pesticide drift over honey bee colonies themselves. Pesticide drift is a serious problem and should be avoided for many reasons. Basically, drift is offsite movement of pesticides from an area of application to any unintended site. This is typically movement of small spray droplets downwind. Applicators should always consider how to minimize drift with all pesticide applications. Applicators should postpone applications when wind conditions favor movement of drift toward honey bee colonies. Beekeepers can help to protect their colonies by locating them where there is a buffer between colonies and areas likely to be treated with pesticides. The buffer may be tall vegetation or just some distance from crop fields to colonies. Beekeepers must avoid locating their colonies immediately adjacent to fields that are routinely sprayed with pesticides. (3) Pesticides can also contaminate water sources for pollinators, so applicators should also avoid drift onto water sources for bees. Likewise, beekeepers need to locate clean water sources for their bees away from areas regularly treated with pesticides.

Pricing Specialty Crops: Resources and Tips By Brett Wolff, UK Center for Crop Diversification

At the Center for Crop Diversification (CCD), many of the specialty crop producers we talk with are direct marketers. One of their most common questions is “how much should I sell my

products for?” For those interested in pursuing larger commercial markets, the question is slightly different: “what kind of price might I expect?” These are more complicated questions than they seem, as market type, geographical location, weather conditions, credence or other attributes (certified organic, heirloom, etc.), customer willingness to-pay, and several other variables play a role in determining price. There are a few go-to resources that can help a grower get a sense of the typical price for their products. Center for Crop Diversification price reports for farmers markets and produce auctions in this region are the single most popular resource we offer. We update and add new reports to the site multiple times per week during the season, and we have archived reports going back to 2004. In an nusual year like 2018, one with skewed harvest timelines, users can look back at previous reports to see what prices look like in more typical years. Last year we released a 3-Year Average Report for Kentucky Farmers Markets and Produce Auctions.

Quick tips: • Make sure the prices you are looking at are from a geographically and demographically similar market to yours — it’s easy to get drawn in by dollar signs and price higher than your customer base is willing to pay. • Consider more than one report or market when making pricing decisions. Is it early in the season? Late? It is possible that the price you are seeing on the report was too high or too low and you’ll see an adjustment the following week. • Farmers market prices do NOT tell us sales volumes. It’s entirely possible that a reported price for a market is too high or too low. Use the reports as a starting point for your own prices, but pay attention to your sales. Selling out by 9 a.m.? Your price may be low or you might want to grow more. Nobody’s buying? You may be priced high, quality may be an issue, or maybe people in your market just don’t want that product. • Auction prices are fairly variable day to day, so keep that in mind if you are planning to market there. • Use these reports in conversations about price at your market. If you feel that vendors are pricing their products inaccurately, bring some data to the conversation and explain what the price environment looks like across the region. • Auction prices can help estimate “local wholesale” prices. Though they are different markets, they can help to give an idea of the local price conditions

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for larger volumes of product. USDA Agriculture Marketing Service resources The USDA-AMS has some great resources for assessing prices for regional wholesale markets as well as grocery retail prices. Their system is more complex than the CCD reports, but it is an invaluable resource for seeing what prices look like outside of local direct markets. AMS reports will allow you to see prices at retail (grocery) outlets across the country, including organic products. They will also allow you to see prices at large terminal markets in major cities. All the specialty crop resources from AMS are available here. We’d recommend starting with the retail reports and terminal market reports (under “By Report Type”).

Quick tips: • Experiment with the system. Run a dozen different reports with different settings to get a sense of how the system works. • Pay close attention to units and other details (i.e. varieties, organic versus not, and number of stores). Convert everything to the same units and make sure the products are similar before comparing. • Export the data. If you are handy with Excel or other data analysis software, you can quickly summarize and analyze the data from these reports. • Compare to previous years. Even if you don’t export to another software program, you can directly compare prices to the previous year within the AMS website (bottom left hand corner). • Keep it close to home. While it’s useful to take a look at all the terminal market reports across the country, it’s perhaps most useful to consider those closest to your market. For example, in Kentucky you might look at Atlanta, Chicago and St. Louis. Know your budget & buyers These resources can help you to get a sense of the going price for some of the products you sell. What they won’t tell you is whether you are profitable when you sell them at that price. To understand that, you’ll need a good grasp on your production and marketing costs. It’s beyond the scope of this article, but a good starting point is the enterprise budgets available from the CCD. We have both small- and large-scale versions of these budgets for 18 different crops. It’s also important to emphasize that these price reports are just reference points for pricing and product considerations. Use them to prepare before a meeting with a potential buyer or customer. At best, you may be able to negotiate a

better price for your product and at worst, you’ll know that you were not unreasonable when you held firm on your asking price. Resource links: Center for Crop Diversification Price Reports: http://www.uky.edu/ccd/pricereports CCD Budgets: http://www.uky.edu/ccd/tools/ budgets USDA-AMS Specialty Crop Resources: https:// www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/fruits-vegetables testing. Reducing Risk to PollinatorsBy Ric Bessin, U.K. Extension Entomologist

Another method to reduce pesticide risk to pollinators is to eliminate unnecessary pesticide applications. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a practice that combines pest and disease monitoring with cultural, biological, and physical controls in a way to reduce pesticide applications to only those that are needed and result in positive economic returns for producers. Some have suggested changing the name of IPM to IPPM to stand for Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management

New UK IPM Scouting Guide Available for Bramble Growers The University of Kentucky Integrated Pest Management Fruit Working Group has developed a new publication, An IPM Scouting Guide for Common Problems of Brambles in Kentucky (ID-251). The publication can be accessed online at http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/ID/ID251/ID251.pdf. Paper copies of the publication are available in County Extension Offices.

FRUIT HUMOR Why Did The Apple Cross the Road?

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To get to Granny Smith’s House!

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Cooperative Extension ServiceUniversity of KentuckyHorticulture DepartmentN-318 Ag. Science Ctr. No.Lexington KY 40546-0091