Summary of Research and Extension Activities Hudson Valley Research Laboratory 2016 – 2017 Peter Jentsch, Entomologist, HVRL Director Srdan Acimovic, Plant Pathologist Dana Acimovic, Horticulturist Albert Woelfersheim, Facilities Coordinator ENY Commercial Horticulture Program: Dan Donahue: Tree Fruit Specialist Teresa Rusinek: Vegetable Specialist: Jim Meyers: Viticulture Specialist Elizabeth Higgins: Business Management Specialist Highland, NY Released February 2018 Table of Contents Page Plant Pathology Program ........................................................................................ 3 Horticulture Program………................................................................................... 14 Entomology Program ............................................................................................. 27 Facility Report ........................................................................................................ 34 Extension Activities by Extension Educators housed at the Lab ............................ 36 Publications and Extension/Outreach by Scientist ………….................................. 40 Peter Jentsch………….................................. 40 Dan Donahue………….................................. 50 Srdan Avimovic………….................................. 51 Support Staff, 2016-2017 Without the focused efforts of those listed below, very little would have been accomplished! Without the diversity and humor they brought to the lab, life would have been dull! Albert Woelfersheim Facilities Coordinator 1992 to present Erica L Kane Administrative Assistant 2016 to present Lydia Brown Research Technician III 2017 to present Lucas Canino Summer Research Assistant, Entomology 2017 to present Tim Lampasona Research Technician, Entomology 2012 to 2016 Christopher Leffelman Research Technician II, Entomology 2016 to present Benjamin Lee Summer Research Assistant, Entomology 2015 to 2017 Sarah Rohwer ENYCHP Technician 2015 to present Gemma Reig Cordoba Postdoctoral Associate, Horticulture 2015 to 2017 Ricardo Delgado Santander Postdoctoral Associate, Plant Pathology 2017 to present Katarina Gasik Visiting Scholar, Plant Pathology 2017 Christopher Meredith Research Technician III, Plant Pathology 2016 to present Zaklina Pavlovic Visiting Scholar, Plant Pathology 2017 to present Addie Kurchin Summer Research Intern, Entomology Summer 2017 Cameron Fuhr CALS/CCE Summer Research Intern Summer 2017 David Rosenberger Plant Pathologist (retired-advising) Plant Pathology Projects/Activities 2016-2017 Compiled by Srdan Acimovic Extension Associate, Section of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, School of Integrated Plant Science, Cornell University, Hudson Valley Lab, Highland, NY Tree fruit disease monitoring and infections since conditions after rainfall detection were too cold. Hence, the early sprays for these false alerts were not needed and saved Using apple scab and fire blight prediction the RIMpro users money. Omitting 1-2 models such as RIMpro and NEWA that early-season fungicide sprays, saves at least assist in deciding on the disease $25/A for each application, or ~$200,000 if management timings were one of our accounted for all of the apple acreage priorities for apple growers. In 2016, there Hudson Valley (Rosenberger et al., 2013). was only one major apple scab infection In 2017 we invited East NY apple growers period from 1-4 May, when ~90% of to establish a partnership with Hudson ascospores were discharged (RIMpro for Valley Research Laboratory (HVRL), with Highland, NY). In 2017, a lot of rain the goal to make this novel digital platform favored all fungal diseases of apple and nearer to the apple industry, through there were four major apple scab infections enabling hands-on experience and by events: 20, 25 April, and 5, 13 May. To improving grower ability to interpret and use determine the time when first mature the disease model outputs to make time- ascospores can be discharged from apple sensitive spray decisions. HVRL struck a leaf litter (Biofix), where apple scab fungus partnership with 19 interested apple farms in overwinters, we used a vacuum spore tower. east NY. With the initiative and help of Dr. With this method, in 2017 we determined David Rosenberger at HVRL, and in biofix dates for three locations in East NY collaboration with NEWA’s Coordinator including Highland, Rexford and Peru. Dan Olmstead at Cornell’s NY State IPM Mature ascospores were abundantly Program, and Marc Trapman of RIMpro available in leaf litter on 29 March in B.V. in Netherlands, we helped the farm Highland, on 8 April in Rexford, and on 11 owners to connect their RIMpro subscription April in North Peru. Warm weather periods accounts with their on-site weather stations in February and other winter months, and with the weather forecast data feed from propelled faster maturation of ascospores the National Weather Service. By using the that were discharging in the vacuum tower local weather forecast, and afterwards as soon as the snow melted from the major available historical data from their local 13 March blizzard in NY. Biofix dates weather stations in RIMpro, growers could allowed growers who subscribed and plan their sprays four days in advance and connected their local weather stations to later test how good was the weather forecast RIMpro Cloud Service to run RIMpro’s and how effective was their applied spray apple scab prediction model more program in relation to the forecast. In this accurately. In comparison to NEWA’s scab partnership with the growers who subscribed model, RIMpro accurately reported that that to RIMpro, we delivered 19 e-mail alerts, several early ascospore release and i.e. two alerts per week, with interpretations germination periods, before the first major of outputs from apple scab and fire blight infection on the 19 April, did not lead to prediction models and with specific spray recommendations for the next four days. become more resistant, has not occurred yet. Based on these alerts, we also published Conditions that propelled fire blight weekly blog posts on Acimovic Lab blog epidemic were unusual rise of average containing general disease management temperatures from 50’s and 60’s to high recommendations for the whole East NY 70’s and 80’s, coupled with rain events on apple industry. Through total of 43 of these 29 and 30 May, long periods with > 90% blog posts we also reported on the dates relative air humidity, all followed by two when first apple diseases were visible in hail events in June. Streptomycin spray Highland in our unsprayed plots and which recommended on the thinning meeting 26 weather conditions influenced their May for this announced infection period occurrence and how. At petal fall thinning were largely not applied, except in few meetings, we directly delivered then current orchards with young trees. First fire blight statuses of fruit diseases and the near future strikes were visible on 6 June. Flower and predictions with management shoot infections led to development of recommendations. HVRL-growers numerous fire blight cankers on wood, partnership effort in NY, along with a where pathogen can overwinter. Throughout similar effort in MA, represents the first the summer and fall unprecedented number organized introduction of RIMpro into the of trees died due to rootstock infections that US. The value of this program to growers is established either by downward transfer of still being assessed, but along with the start bacteria via trunk or through the infected of RIMpro evaluation in MI by our rootstock suckers. On 2 Aug 2016 we held a colleagues and through our hands-on workshop for Champlain Valley growers on experiences, RIMpro shows strong how to manage the severe fire blight indication that it is the best tool available for consequences. To help the growers manage accurately timing early season sprays for fire blight, on 1 Nov 2016, we worked with control of apple scab. We plan to continue seven largest apple farms in Champlain our engagement with the growers in helping Valley and sampled cankered and the apple industry adopt new digital symptomless apple rootstocks from orchards technologies for plant disease prediction. affected by fire blight epidemic. After getting a project funded by NY Farm Fire blight epidemic in North NY and Viability Institute (NY FVI) we conducted rootstock blight research lab diagnostic assays to confirm presence or absence of fire blight pathogen E. Fire blight epidemic in north NY 2016 amylovora in these samples. With giving the caused $6-10 million damage across 2016 results of these analyses to the growers, we and 2017. In north-east and north-west NY helped the owners decide which trees need severe fire blight infections, occurred on to be removed, as these could serve as fire May 21st, 29th and 30th and were blight infection sources in years to come. successfully predicted by the Maryblyt and We used molecular lab methods to detect the NEWA fire blight model. In NY fire blight pathogen in these samples and Champlain Valley apple growing region, found a surprisingly high presence of some leading apple cultivars were at the end asymptomatic rootstock infections of fire of bloom, allowing fire blight infections to blight. In 2017, there were no fresh blossom establish and spread onto growing shoots. At blight infections in Northern-eastern NY, this time, shoots were very susceptible to even though young apple trees with internal infections as terminal bud set, when they asymptomatic fire blight infections 4 originating