Hello Wisconsin Fruit News subscribers, and welcome back to Notes from The Field: A Grower’s Perspective. This week Steve and I had our fourth chat as the apple trees continued to progress through this short and condensed start of the season…

Last month everyone was on high alert for fire blight during bloom, and prevention efforts at Oakwood included close monitoring and applications of streptomycin. Now, according to Steve, they are in the “wait and see period” optimistic that those applications were effective at controlling fire blight infections. As we enter June, priorities shift to thinning for all the orchard blocks, with Oakwood making their second application of thinners this week to get crop load set right. The goal here is to achieve balance. A second round of Apogee will also be utilized in some blocks to control vigor.

Last week, mating disruption for codling moth was established. Additionally, a plum curculio (PC) perimeter spray was used to minimize chemical spray application last week, but Steve plans on a whole orchard spray for PC next week.

Bitter pit prevention management has also begun at Oakwood with a second application of calcium going out this week. The first six weeks of calcium application are the most critical. Steve aims to apply calcium every week (1-1.5 lbs/A) throughout the season to reach a final total application rate of 10-15 lbs per season. An application of Apogee at pink was also used for bitter pit prevention. To access tools for predicting bitter pit, check out this article from Dr. Amaya Atucha in an earlier volume of Wisconsin Fruit News.

The first cover spray is on, and we are gearing up for a fruitful season!

That’s all for now! Check out the notes from my next chat with Steve Louis in the sixth issue of Wisconsin Fruit News on June 17.

Missed the notes from my last chat with Steve? Check them out here!

The mention of a product is NOT an endorsement. This article series is NOT intended to provide recommendations; simply to hear from other growers about in-season tasks on their farm. Always follow the instructions on product labels and consult weather stations (ex. NEWA) in your area for current weather forecast and disease prediction models.

This article was posted in Notes from the Field and tagged Bitter pit, bitter pit prevention, coddling moth, Fire Blight, Leslie Holland, Mating Disruption, Notes from the Field, Plum curculio, Steve Louis.