SOLID GROUND FARMER TRAININGS Growing Strengthening Our Farms Across Connecticut Visit newfarms.extension.uconn.edu/solidground for the full Small Fruit schedule of trainings offered in collaborations with our Commercially Agricultural Learning Partners: • Common Ground, New Haven • Community Farm of Simsbury, Simsbury Beginning Farmer & Rancher Program • Green Village Initiative, Bridgeport BF 105 • Killingly Agricultural Education Center, Killingly • Knox- Urban Farming Incubator Program, Hartford • Grow Windham, Willimantic, Windham Mary Concklin • Listo Para Iniciar Program, Bethel, Stamford, New Milford Visiting Extension Educator, Fruit Production and IPM
Advancing the Business of Farming in Connecticut in Partnership with Agriculture Learning Centers
Resources: UConn Extension Growing Fruit production and IPM: [email protected] Greenhouses: [email protected], Small Fruit [email protected] Commercially Food Safety: [email protected] Business & Risk Management: [email protected] Pesticide Education: [email protected] Food Systems: [email protected] Related Resources Plant Diagnostics: [email protected] UConn Soils Lab: [email protected], [email protected]
Advancing the Business of Farming in Connecticut in Partnership with Agriculture AgricultureLearning Centers Learning Centers
Opportunities: Fruit Production & IPM Other Farm Resources: Crop Talk: Vegetable & Small Fruit Newsletter CT Agricultural Experiment Station UConn Fruit IPM Message via email, website USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) New England Vegetable & Fruit Conference USDA Farm Service Industry (FSA) CT Vegetable & Small Fruit Growers’ Conference CT Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) New England Small Fruit Production Guide CT Department of Environmental and Energy Protection Special Topic Workshops/Conferences/Twilight (DEEP) Meetings CT Farm Bureau Beginning Farmer Training Courses CT New Farmers’ Alliance UConn IPM Website (www.ipm.uconn.edu/)/fact sheets NE Vegetable & Berry Growers’ Association Phone/email/on-farm consultations/trainings NE SARE
1 Growing Need To Ask Yourself Small Fruit What do you want to grow OR what does your Commercially market want you to grow How are you going to market the crop PYO insurance Pre-Plant Considerations Do I have enough space for the type of market Do I have the capital Food safety plan Pollination options Advancing the Business of Farming in Connecticut in Partnership with Agriculture AgricultureLearning Centers Learning Centers
http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/WebSoilSurvey.aspx CLiCK
Compaction
< ½” per hour poorly drained soil ½” – 1” per hour moderately well drained > 1” per hour well drained
2 Site Selection Topography
Well drained soils Organic matter at least 3% Full sun Currants and Alpine strawberries will do OK in partial shade
Critical Temperatures Site Selection
Blueberry TC Early Pink Late Pink Bloom - PF 20-23 23-25 24-27 28 Well drained soils Grape Full Swell Bud Burst 1st leaf 2nd-4th leaf OM at least 3% 21 25 27 28 Full sun Strawberry Tight Bud Popcorn Open Blossom Fruit Set Currants and Alpine strawberries will do OK in 22 26 30 28 partial shade Bramble Full Bloom Topography 28 Avoid planting in sod
Temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit
Existing vegetation Get rid of weeds, sod Blackberry, blueberry and Black walnuts don’t go together.
Diagram courtesy of VA Tech
3 Cover Crops Cover Crops
Increase OM Annual ryegrass, oats, Add nitrogen buckwheat do not Loosen compacted soil overwinter Attract beneficial Legumes: clovers, fescue, insects hairy vetch - Clover, mustard flowers Non-legumes: wheat, oats,
Veggietgardeningips.com forage radishes, rye, barley, Reduce soil erosion Indiana Museum of Art buckwheat, mustards Suppress weeds
Nutrient Deficiencies Nutrient in excess Induced deficiency Nitrogen (N) K Phosphorus (P) Cu Potassium (K) N, Ca, Mg Sodium (Na) K, Ca, Mg Calcium (Ca) Mg, B Magnesium (Mg) Ca Iron(Fe) Mn Manganese (Mn) Fe Strawberry, Brambles Blueberry, Cranberry Grapes Copper (Cu) Fe
Rabbiteye Lowbush blueberry Vaccinium virgatum (also known as V. ashei) Vaccinium angustifolium Low spreading Native to southern USA Spread by underground Ripen late May – late July rhizomes Wooded or open areas Wild or managed stands Harvest late July - August
www.informedfarmers.com www.extension.org Photo courtesy of NCSU
4 Half-high blueberry Highbush Blueberries Vaccinium corymbosum x V. angustifolium Vaccinium corymbosum Northcountry, Northblue, Northsky, Northland, Indigenous to North America Chippewa, Polaris 1st successful hybridization was in 1911 Exceptional cold hardiness Grown commercially beginning in 1930s
Root system 6” – 12” deep Grows between and within soil and mulch 1. pH ! Canes develop at crown Sensitive to changing water 2. pH ! conditions 3. pH !
5 Amount of Sulfur in Pounds per 100 Square Feet Required to Lower Soil pH Present pH Desired pH Value of 4.5 of soil Nitrogen deficiency Sand Loam Clay Or 4.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 Iron deficiency ? 5.0 0.4 1.2 1.4 5.5 0.8 2.4 2.6 6.0 1.2 3.5 3.7 6.5 1.5 4.6 4.8 7.0 1.9 5.8 6.0 7.5 2.3 6.9 7.1
Self-pollination discouraged Cross pollination strongly recommended Native sonicating bees best Bloom period of 7-20 days
Photo courtesy of Wilson Bros Nursery
Photo courtesy of Sandy Richards
Ripen 2-3 months after bloom
Photo: NCSU.edu
Photo:extension.org
6 Plant Selection Increase in size by ~35% AFTER fruit turn Early season Very late blue - Duke, Patriot - Elliot Sugar content ~ doubles Mid-season At least 2 varieties Ripe fruit are 85% H2O - Reka, Northland, Blueray Highbush + lowbush + Don’t pick early and - Bluecrop, Bluegold half-high put on shelf to ripen Late mid-season - Chandler, Darrow Late season - Nelson, Jersey
Planting & Care Planting & Care Apply 4 - 6 inches mulch, flat top Planting time Between rows Bare root or container - mulch, sod Spring in northeast Soak roots before or water immediately Root pruning - NO
Photo: Marvin Pritts
3 years old plant
7 Pruning Blueberries Year 3 onward Timing 2 – 3 canes per year of growth 1st 2 – 3 years remove No canes older than 6 years - Flower buds Remove dead, low, weak - Dead wood canes - Broken wood - Diseased wood - Weak wood
Drawing courtesy of OSU
Dead canes
Weak canes Low canes
8 Rejuvenation
Brambles Rubus
R. idaeus – red and yellow raspberry R. occidentalis – black raspberry R. neglectus – purple raspberry R. fructicosus – blackberries
Other Brambles Other Brambles
Dewberry: Rubus trivialis Loganberry: Rubus x - Trailing habit, related to loganobaccus blackberry - Accidental cross between blackberry & red raspberry Boysenberry: Rubus ursinus Tayberry: Rubus fruticosus x x idaeus idaeus - Cross between raspberry, - Cross between black blackberry & loganberry raspberry & Loganberry
Photo Marvin Pritts
9 Planting & Care DON’T plant brambles or strawberries where . . . Canes are hardy Tomatoes, potato, eggplant in past 4-5 - reds to -300F years: VerticilliumWilt - Others to -100F Self-fruitful Full sun
Photos courtesy of Oregon State Univ. Extension
Remove Weeds Fertility
Avoid potassium chloride fertilizer
Planting Pruning Floricane Fruiting Raspberry Majority of roots in top 10” of soil Summer reds ~10-20% in next 10” Tipping Shoot buds develop on roots Timing Shoot buds develop at Remove spent fruiting crown canes, weak canes Reduce row width to 1’ 4-5 canes/linear ft of row Diagram U of Illinois Extension
Diagram U of Illinois Extension
10 Summer Bramble Training Systems
“I” trellis
“V” trellis Photos M. Pritts, Cornell
Photo courtesy of Marvin Pritts
Pruning Floricane Fruiting Black & Pruning Floricane Fruiting Black & Purple Raspberry & Blackberry Purple Raspberry & Blackberry
Tipping early summer Remove spent fruiting canes, weak canes - 3”-4” when canes at the wire Leave 4-8 strong canes/crown Winter tipping
Diagrams Purdue Univ Diagrams Purdue Univ
11 Stiles shift trellis - For semi-erect & trailing blackberries
Fall Fruiting Brambles aka - Everbearing
Annual fruit production Primocane bearing Red & yellow raspberries Blackberries
Fall bearing Brambles Pruning Fall bearing Brambles
Red raspberries Blackberries After harvest, once plants - Heritage, Autumn Britton, - Prime Jan, Prime Jim, are dormant Caroline, Josephine, Prime Ark 45, Prime Ark Polana, Himbo Top, Freedom Don’t leave long stubs Nantahala, Polka, Jaclyn, Joan J, Prelude Black raspberries - Niwot
- Anne, Kiwigold, Fall Gold
12 Double Cropping
Diagram Purdue Univ
Strawberries Fragaria ananassa
Photo courtesy of U. of Ill. Extension
Site Selection & Preparation Types of Strawberries
Avoid frost pockets Alpine, Fragaria vesca - Red, white, yellow fruit - Full sun to partial shade
Photo Rareseeds.com
13 Types of Strawberries Pollination June bearers Self-fruitful - Early season: Chandler, Earliglow, Cavendish, Honeoye, Northeaster, L’amour - Mid-season: Allstar, Darselect, Jewel, Seneca, Ovation, Sparkle - Late season: AC Valley Sunset, Record Everbearers or Day Neutrals - Everest, Tribute, Tristar, Seascape, Mara Des Bois, Evie 2 www.Bugguide.net
Parts of the Plant Fertility
Photo Univ of Minnesota Extension
Matted Row Planting System
June Bearers - 12”-18” x 3’- 4’ Day Neutral - 6”- 9” x 9” between staggered rows, x 4’ Flower removal
Photo M. Pritts, Cornell
Univ of Alabama
14 Renovation Renovated Mow off the plants Remove diseased leaves Thin plants Improve sunlight penetration 4 - 6# 10-10-10/100’ of row after harvest Add soil by root crown for Photo S. Schloemann root development
No Renovation Done Winter care
200F crown damage
S. Schloemann
15 Currants & Gooseberries Ribes R. sativum, R. rubrum (red) R. hirtellum (American) R. petraeum (white) R. grossularia var. uva- R. nigrum (black) crispa (European) R. odoratum (native)
Varieties Varieties Black Currants White Currants Red Gooseberries - Consort - Blanca - Hinnonmaki Red - Titania* - Pink Champagne - Tixia - Crusader Native Currant - Captivator - Ben Sarek - Crandall - Pixwell Red Currants - Poorman - Rovada - Jonkheer Van Tets Green Gooseberries - Cascade - Invicta - Red Lake
Jostaberry Site Selection & Preparation
Cross between gooseberry and black currant Full sun to partial shade Fruit similar to gooseberry Well drained soils Thornless Resistant to White pine blister rust OM at least 3% Varieties Soil pH 6.0 - 6.5 - Jostaki, Josta, Jostagrande Tolerate -22 to -310F
16 Pruning Fibrous root system Raised bed /container Dormant option Year 1: 6 - 8 canes Mulch 2”– 4” Year 2: 4 – 5 canes Avoid potassium chloride Year 3: 3 – 4 canes No fruit 1st year Mature plants 9-12 stems Harvest in July Prune out all wood over 3 years old
Grapes Plant Selection Vitis V. vinifera - European Table grapes V. labrusca - American - Concord - black V. rotundifolia - Muscadine - Thompson seedless – white* V. Vinifera cultivars X - Thomcord – black* disease resistant wild - Canadice – red* American species – - Himrod – white* French hybrids - Reliance – red* - Seneca – white - Steuben – black
Plant Selection The Plant Photo courtesy of Cornell
Wine: Red Wine: White Deep roots - Delaware - Niagara 3-in-1 buds - Catawba - Cayuga White Cordon, shoots, tendril - Frontenac - Frontenac Gris - Marquette - Seyval Blanc - Chambourcin - Vidal Blanc - Cabernet - Edelweiss - Merlot - Aurora
17 Planting & Care
pH 5.5 – 7.0 • American: 5.5-6.0 • French/European: 6.5-7.0 • French/American: 6.0-6.5 No fertilizer at planting Grow tubes Remove flower buds 1st year
Pruning & Training
Stake and tie 1st year Remove lateral shoots on trunk Choose training system
Bilateral Cordon Pruning & Training System Balanced pruning - 30 + 10 system Remove 70-90% of last year’s wood
Photo courtesy of OSU
18 Photo S. Schloemann
Cranberry Plant fall or early spring Vaccinium macrocarpon pH 4.0-5.0 Native to northeast Shallow fibrous root system Heath family Photo courtesy of Marvin Pritts Wetland plant but… Trailing plant Rhizomes grow couple feet/yr Uprights bear fruit
Photo courtesy of UMaine Wisconsincentral.net
Varieties Harvest in fall Early Black - MA - Plants 2-3 years old Howes - MA - Dry, wet McFarlin - MA Photos courtesy of UMaine Add thin layer of sand Stevens - NJ after harvest every 2-3 years Ben Lear - WI Mulch late fall Searles - WI Prune runners not uprights
Photo Cranberries.org
19 Elderberry Sambucus nigra Hardy to zone 4, some Denmark Series lower - Samdal, Samyl Soil pH 6.0 -6.8 NY Series Shallow rooted - Adams No. 1 &s No. 2, York - Don’t allow to dry out year 1 Nova Scotia series Weed management is - Johns, Kent, Nova, Scotia, critical Victoria Flower in June Missouri series - Bob Gordon, Wyldewood
Ripen in August-Sept Prune in dormant season
- No canes over 3 years - Thin to 6-8 canes - Prune all canes to the ground
Photo Barefootgrdnr.com
Photo Missouri Extension
Principles of Small Fruit IPM Integrated Pest Management 97% of insects that you see in your yard are beneficial or innocent bystanders and are not damaging plants. Plants can tolerate some damage from pests. Beneficials do not eat all pests, instead, pest and beneficial Syrphid larvae preying on an aphid. arthropod populations are kept
Diagram: Donn Johnson, U. of Arkansas in a balance.
20 IPM Tools You Will Need
Understanding of key pests & diseases Magnifier Picture guides Method for keeping track of observations Knife Traps and lures
Abiotic Disorders Sunburn Hail Nutritional Lacewing Lady beetle Chemical
Birds IPM Management: Birds
Biggest problem in Auditory scare tactics blueberries 37 species of birds are attracted to blueberries No threshold www.wunderground.com
21 Physical Barriers IPM Management: Birds
Auditory scare tactics Visual scare tactics
Photo: River Valley Fencing
Deer and Rodents
Girdle canes Eat buds, foliage, fruit IPM management Exclusion Repellents Predators Traps
Spotted Wing Drosophila Spotted Wing Drosophila IPM Drosophila suzukii
Feed on wide range of fruit Many alternate hosts Female ID 8-12 generations/year - Serrated oviposter - Egg laying: over 300 eggs/female Male ID Photos courtesy of Illinois.IPM.edu - Wings
22 Spotted Wing Drosophila IPM Brown Marmorated Stink Bug,
Sanitation Life Cycle Traps Overwinters as adults Insecticides Female lays up to 250 eggs into the summer Ongoing research - Clustered 25-30 Damage Suck juices from fruit Inject yeast, bacteria
Photo: M. Raupp, Photo: stopbmsb.org UMD
FREE Download https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/444/444-356/444- Life Cycle 356_pdf.pdf
5 nymphal stages 1-2 generations/year
Photo: StopBMSB.org
BMSB Monitoring Halyomorpha halys Photo: Buguide.net Rough Stink Bug Brochymena quadripustulata, Tedder traps + pheromone lure Photo: Bugguide.net - Not for trapping out Look-a-Likes - Modify top Placement - Border vegetation - Orchard/vineyard border row - Orchard/vineyard center Spined soldier bug Podisus maculiventris Dusky Stink Bug Threshold Photo: Marlin Rice Brown Stink Bug Euschistus tristigmus Euschistus servus Photo: Bugguide.net - Established for apples only so far Photo: Bugguide.net
Photo: M. Concklin
23 Management Cane Borers Insecticides along border Raspberry Cane Borer, Oberea bimaculata Insecticides alternate middles Red Necked Cane Borer, Agrilus ruficollis Insecticides whole block Currant Cane Borer, Synanthedon tipuliformis Biological control - Trissolcus japonicas - Other parasitoids
Photo: stopbmsb.org
Photo VPI
Raspberry Cane Borer Raspberry Cane Borer IPM
2 year life cycle Management 2 rings of punctures ½ “ Remove wilted tip below apart, 6” below growing tip the rings - destroy Hatch July No biological control Larvae burrows down cane to crown first year Second year feed on crowns Adults emerge following later spring-early summer
Purdue Purdue
Rednecked Cane Borer Rednecked Cane Borer IPM
Adults feed on foliage through Management summer - Sanitation: remove infested Eggs inserted 10” from ground canes before June 1 in summer - Sanitation: proper pruning Larvae tunnel into cane in fall and disposal of old canes Swelling - No biological control Adults emerge following late spring Cane weakened
Purdue Purdue
24 Mummy Berry Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi Disease cycle
Fungus overwinters in mummified Fungus overwinters in Photo MSU fruit mummified berries Cool rainy weather, 50-62 degrees F Blooming forsythia Spring: spores released, move by Cornell University Spring infections bees, wind, rain Primary & secondary 6-12 hours leaf wetness at 59 stages degrees Blueray highly susceptible Infect young tissue, then to petioles
Cornell University
Disease cycle Mummy Berry IPM
Secondary stage – spores move to Management open flowers Forsythia & mummy cups Fruit infected Sanitation Infected fruit mummify, drop to ground Avoid susceptible varieties Bluecrop, Blueray, Collins, Earliblue, Weymouth, Jersey, Berkley Cover mummies 1” mulch Fungicides
Leather Rot Phytophthora cactorum Red Stele Life Cycle Red Stele Phytophthora fragariae Phytophthora spp; Phytophthora cinnamomi Wet soils fungal spores released Soil borne Favor soil temps of 44-60 degrees F Causes fruit & crown rot Infect root tip Rain splashed from soil to fruit Fungus grows into the root Management - Avoid fruit - soil contact - Avoid water puddling - Mulch plants - Raised beds
Photo: F. Louws, NCState Photo Ontario Gov.
25 Cultural management - Plant resistant varieties AC Wendy, Annapolis, Early Glow, Cavendish, Allstar, Flavorfest, etc. - Certified disease-free plants - Good soil drainage - Raised beds - Sanitation: remove all of the infected plants’ parts
Photo courtesy of Marvin Pritts
Photo courtesy of Marvin Pritts
Gray Mold – Bunch Rot Cultural Management Botrytis cinerea - Keep fruit off soil Wet cool weather, high RH - Promote good air circulation - Avoid too much nitrogen Stone fruit, berries, grapes - Avoid overhead watering Life cycle - Plant disease free plants - OW in infected foliage, twigs, soil organic matter - Sanitation - Moves to healthy tissue, flowers, fruit - No 2 fruit touching - Picked fruit - Moves on new plants, cuttings
Grape Berry Moth Grape Berry Moth IPM Endopiza vitana 2 - 3 generations per year Management OW in debris, woodlots as pupae Remove wild grapes Adults emerge spring Look for OW larvae 1st generation lay eggs on blossom Monitor with GBM traps clusters, stems Monitor clusters – threshold ~3% infested clusters Larvae feed on flowers, fruit clusters Sanitation: rake & dispose of leaves 2nd generation lays eggs on berries Larvae feed internally 3rd generation in late July
26 Grape Berry Moth IPM Black Rot Guignardia bidwellii
Duration of continuous leaf wetness Management Life cycle necessary for infection by Guignardia Insecticides Over-winter in mummies bidwellii at different temperatures Temperature Hrs of leaf wetness Kaolin clay repellent Spring rains release spores 45 No infection Biological control minimal with Trichogramma Bud break – veraison 50 24 minutum Young plant tissue more 55 12 susceptible 60 9 65 8 70 7 75 7 80 6 85 9 90 12
Black Rot IPM Period of susceptibility - Foliage until finish expansion Management - Fruit 3-5 weeks after bloom - Sanitation – remove & destroy all mummies - V. vinifera most susceptible - Mulch Symptoms - Good air circulation - Fruit symptoms appear within 2 weeks - Leaf removal during season - Infections near veraison show - Fungicides symptoms 3-5 weeks later - Foliage: lesion center becomes reddish brown
Photo extension.org Photos courtesy of Purdue
Questions?
Photo credits, unless otherwise specified: Mary Concklin Advancing the Business of Farming in Connecticut in Partnership with Agriculture Learning Centers
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