SW Michigan Fruit Update
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Southwest Michigan, September 22, 2009

Mark Longstroth, Bill Shane, Diane Brown-Rytlewski

Weather

The weather has been fantastic for September with highs near 80 and lows near 60.  No significant rain and soils drying out.  Pleasant clear weather is forecast to continue through the week.  Next weeks weather will bring a change with rain followed by most cooler seasonal temperatures and highs near 60.  We continue to lag behind normal.  We are now about two weeks behind or normal heat accumulation. 

Southwest Michigan Growing Degree Day Totals March 1 through September 20, 2009				Grapes, from April 1
Location	GDD 42	GDD 45	GDD 50	GDD 50
SWMREC:	3648	3144	2352	2312
Fennville:	3396	2903	2132	2106

Tree fruit

Insect pest levels are generally low with cooler nights this suppresses the flight of many moths such as oriental fruit moth and grape berry moth.  Another factor related to the fact that our days are now shorter than our night.  The shorter days last month were a clue to many insects that winter was coming so they are preparing to overwinter and not developing into adults to lay eggs which would not have enough time to develop any way

Peach harvest is finished and many peach trees are beginning to lose their leaves.  Now is a good time for the fall application of fungicides to suppress peach leaf curl. 

Apples, harvest is continues with Golden Delicious strains being harvested for processing.

Pear harvested of winter pears in ending.   

Small fruit

In Blueberries, harvest has ended in all but the latest fields.  Flower buds are forming in many fields while flower bud formation is light in other fields.  It appears less fruit buds are forming in non-irrigated fields. 

In GrapesNiagara harvest began this week and Concord harvest is projected for early October when sugar levels are high enough.  Grape berry moth numbers low in most areas and I the cool conditions are suppressing the flight of any moths out this late in the season.  Asian multicolored ladybug populations are high is some soybean fields in Berrien County.  Growers should scout fields adjacent to grape vineyards.  These beetles will move into fruit planting and is an unacceptable contaminate at harvest time.

Fall raspberriesraspberry harvest has been good some far with few reported fruit rots.  Asian multicolored lady beetle can be a pest in this crop also.

Cranberry harvest will not begin until mid October.