Fruit ICM News

In This Issue:

Calendar
Time to Check for Strawberry Problems
Fraudulent Inspection Claims in NY
Sampling for Leafminer Eggs
STLM Pink Sampling Form
Fruit Observations
Northern Ohio Apple Scab Activity
Degree Day Accumulations/Phenology

Calendar

July 27-28: Ohio Berry Tour, Central Ohio. Starts mid-afternoon on the 27^th and ends mid-afternoon on the 28^th. Tour stops include Rhoads Farm Market (Circleville), Circle S Farms (Grove City), Schacht Farm Market (Canal Winchester), Jacquemine Farms (Plain City), and Doran's Farm Market (New Albany). We will keep you posted as definite times are set and registration information becomes available.

August 3: OVPGA & Ohio Fruit Growers Society Young Grower Tour, Stops at Farmers Produce Auction (Mt. Hope), Graf Growers (Akron), Hilgert's Berry Farm (Mogadore), K.W. Zellers & Sons (Hartville), and Hartville Kitchen.

Licking County Summer Twilight School, stay tuned for details.

Time to Check for Strawberry Problems

Spring is the best time of year to check your strawberry plants for a number of problems. If you have patches that are doing poorly, dig up some plants from these areas and slice through the main roots lengthwise. One diagnostic symptom of red stele (Phytophthora root rot) shows up when the soil is cool, and becomes less obvious as the soil warms. If the plants have this disease, there will be a reddish discoloration in the center (the stele) of the root. Also, check for root weevil larvae (small white grubs 1/4 to 1/ in. long, depending on the species) in the top inches of soil. Slice through the crown of the plant, too. You may find tunnels made by grubs or the grubs themselves. The crown should be creamy white throughout. If you notice a brown or reddish discoloration, the plants may have been cold-injured, though some diseases also cause discolorations of the crown.

Starting before bloom, check weekly for tarnished plant bugs (they cause button-berry) and clipper. Sample in a V-shape across the field. For tarnished plant bugs, tap at least 30 flower clusters over a white plate. More than 0.25 nymphs per cluster before 10% bloom or more than 0.5 nymphs per cluster during mid to late bloom are the thresholds for a spray application. Insecticide sprays during bloom are to be avoided if at all possible because of risk to pollinators. If no tarnished plant bug nymphs are found until mid-bloom, delay spray application until after bloom to protect pollinators. For clipper, check 5 to 10 two-foot sections of row. An average of 1 clipped bud per foot of row is the threshold for control. If your planting borders woods, check some additional sections in the border rows near the woods. Sprays of these border rows may be sufficient.

Fraudulent Inspection Claims at Hunts Point, NY

Over the years, thousands of packages of peaches have been shipped to the Hunts Point Terminal Market, Bronx, NY. The recent revelations of bribery between USDA inspectors and produce firms on the market might motivate peach growers/shippers to seek damages. A USDA spokesman revealed that the eight

USDA inspectors indicted in the bribery activities have not all pled guilty. Therefore, the following information may be of interest to our nation's peach growers/shippers.

On October 27, 1999, 21 people (eight USDA fruit and vegetable inspectors and 13 owners and/or employees of produce firms located at Hunts Point) were arrested for bribery at the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market in the Bronx, NY. These arrests were the results of a three-year investigation by USDA's Office of Inspector General.

The thirteen owners and/or employees arrested had allegedly been paying cash bribes to the USDA inspectors in exchange for a reduction in grade of the produce being inspected. The names of the produce firms involved in these alleged activities are:

1) American Banana; 2) B. T. Produce Co., Inc.; 3) Cooseman Specialties, Inc.; 4) Fierman Produce Exchange a/k/a Joseph Fierman & Sons, Inc.; 5) Frankie Boy Produce Corp.; 6) G & T Terminal Packaging Corp.; 7) Jacobson Produce, Inc.; 8) King Sol Produce Corp.; 9) Kleiman & Hochberg, Inc.; 10) KOAM Produce Inc.; 11) Post & Taback, Inc.; 12) M. Trombetta & Sons, Inc.; and 13) Tray Wrap Produce.

If you believe that you suffered financial damage as a result of these illegal activities and you want to attempt to recover those damages, you may file a PACA claim against the produce firms listed above. To pursue a claim, you should submit a letter to any of the PACA offices outlining the basis of your complaint and the manner in which you believe you were damaged, along with copies of invoices, inspection certificates, bills of lading, any other related paperwork, and the $60 informal complaint filing fee. Under the PACA, complaints arising out of the above referenced bribery activities must be filed no later than July 27, 2000, regardless of when the transaction occurred. Each complaint will be handled on a case-by-case basis, and, as always, the complaining party must prove the damages they have suffered. Firms wishing to file complaints may want to consult with legal counsel for advice on how best to establish their claim. For further information, refer to USDA's website at http://www.usda.gov.

Sampling for Leafminer Eggs

STLM are laying eggs, but most orchards don't suffer too greatly from 1^st brood leafminer, and even if so, a sequential sampling plan can be used to classify STLM egg density at pink, or you may sample sap-feeding mines immediately after petal fall. Treatment is recommended if eggs average 2 or more per leaf on the young fruit cluster leaves at pink, or if sap-feeding mines average 1 or more per leaf on these leaves at petal fall. Sampling can be completed in approximately 10 minutes. SLTM eggs are oval, with the flattened surface fixed to the surface of the apple leaf on the lower epidermis ( http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ipmnet/ny/fruits/FruitFS/stlminer.html). The doomed upper surface of the egg is translucent, reticulated, and yellow. It measures 0.25 by 0.35 mm. Eggs are laid singly and fairly randomly on the leaf. In recent years, only 1 out of 6 sampled orchards have required insecticide treatments to control first-generation STLM populations. Vydate at pink or Provado or Lannate at petal fall are our standard recommendations for this pest; Provado will also add to the leafhopper control if you don't use enough Sevin at thinning to do an adequate job.

STLM sampling form is available at:

Fruit Observations (4/13-4/19)

Site: Waterman Lab, Columbus

Source: Dr.Celeste Welty, OSU Extension Entomologist
Traps used: Wing traps

Apple	Peaches
RBLR: 4 (up from 1)	OFM: 1 (up from 0)
STLM: 214 (up from 5)	LPTB: 0 (unchanged)
DWB: 0 (unchanged)	PTB: 0 (unchanged)
SJS: set up 4/19
CM: set up 4/19

Site: East District; Erie & Lorain Counties
Source: Jim Mutchler, IPM Scout
Traps Used: STLM=wing traps, Others=Multipher® traps

Apple	Peaches
RBLR: 7	OFM: 1.5 (up from 1)
STLM: 662 (up from 141)	RBLR: 7 (up from 0)

Beneficials at work: Lady beetle

Fruit development: Some frost damage to Fuji buds noted.

Site: West District; Huron, Ottawa, & Sandusky
Source: Gene Horner, IPM Scout
Traps Used: STLM=wing traps, Others=Multipher® traps

Apple	Peaches
RBLR: 9 (down from 24)	OFM: 0 (unchanged)
STLM: 1240 (up from 520)	RBLR: 10 (down from 21)

Site: Wayne County, West
Source: Ron Becker, Extension Program Assistant
Traps used: STLM=Wing traps, PC=Circle trunk trap, Others=Multipher® traps

Apple	Peaches
RBLR: 49 (up from 10)	OFM: 5
STLM: 525 (up from 73)
PC: 2

Site: Licking County
Source: Howard Siegrist, Extension Agent

Howard's Casual, Educated Observations:

Biennial-bearing apple varieties are tending to show the effects of last year's drought with lighter bloom. Overall, apple crop is at peak bloom, with poor pollinating conditions due to cloudy, rainy weather. Some winter kill of peach buds has been observed; however, remaining bloom appears sufficient for a good crop. Apricots are showing good size with no evidence of frost damage. Sweet cherries were heavily damaged by spring frost. Any crop will be light.

Northern Ohio Apple Scab Activity - SkyBit Product

North Central Ohio Spectrum Technologies Orchard Monitors
Spectrum Technologies Monitors and Software* Observations: April 2 & 4; Light Infections
(Software* based on Modified Mills Chart)

Degree Day Accumulations for Selected Ohio Sites January 1, 2000 to date indicated

Phenology

	Range of Degree Day Accumulations
Coming Events	Base 43° F	Base 50° F
San Jose scale 1st catch	189-704	69-385
Lesser peachtree borer 1st catch	224-946	110-553
White apple leafhopper nymphs present	236-708	123-404
Oriental fruit moth 1st flight peak	259-606	96-298
First codling moth catch	273-805	141-491
Spotted tentiform leafminer sap-feeders present	295-628	130-325
European red mite egg hatch complete	361-484	183-298

Thanks to Scaffolds Fruit Journal (Art Agnello)

Ted W. Gastier
Extension Agent, Agriculture
Tree Fruit Team Coordinator
Ohio State University Extension Huron County
180 Milan Avenue
Norwalk, OH 44857
Phone: (419)668-8210
FAX: (419)663-4233
E-mail: gastier.1@osu.edu

Copyright © The Ohio State University 2000

All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.

Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Adm. and Director, OSU Extension.

TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868