The Fruit Growers News - January 2001

The 2001 Tree Fruit IPM School will be held Feb. 5-7 at the Kellogg Biological Station near Battle Creek, Mich. This year three out-of-state speakers will be featured, as well as many MSU specialists.

It is old news that the 2000 growing season brought with it a horrific outbreak of fire blight in many parts of the Midwest. Thousands of acres of orchards had to either be removed or will drastically decline in their productivity due to the devastating effects of this disease. To help growers better understand this bacterial menace, Sherman Thomson, plant pathologist at Utah State University, will discuss the fire blight bacteria in detail at this year’s school. A better understanding of the disease will help prevent outbreaks in the future.

Oriental fruit moth (OFM) continues to be a major pest of apple and peach, but is often ignored in apple systems. This has led to some quality problems with this pest in recent years. Greg Krawczyk, Department of Entomology, Penn State University, will also be attending this year’s school. Krawczyk has been working on OFM resistance and control options in apple and peach systems in Pennsylvania. In addition to OFM, he has also completed work in the area of codling moth resistance. His addition to the program should be a big plus in improving control for these pests, that are an ever increasing challenge to fruit growers in the Midwest.

The scourge of the stone fruit industry in northern Michigan is, by many grower accounts, Armillaria root rot. Once this fungus is in an orchard it severely limits the options that are available; they cannot at that point replant to stone fruits. This fungus can exist in the soil for many years, surviving on old chunks of roots that have not fully decayed. Once a tree is attacked it eventually collapses and dies, often in midsummer.

Greg Fillip, Department of Forest Service, Oregon State University, is the third out-of-state speaker. Fillip works closely with the forestry industry in the Pacific Northwest. In the Pacific Northwest, Armillaria is a problem for both existing plantings and also the replanting of forest trees. Fruit growers in Michigan have the same problems and Fillip’s insight and expertise of the subject should help growers minimize the impact of this disease in their orchards

MSU specialists, who will also be updating the attendees on their latest research, include Alan Jones, Department of Plant Pathology and Richard Ledebuhr, Department of Agricultural Engineering, as well as Larry Gut, Mark Whalon, Oscar Liburd and John Wise, all from the Department of Entomology.

As in previous years, MDA recertification credits will be available to recertify by credit. In years past we have had 12 credits granted, which would be enough to recertify by credit. Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) credits will also be available.

For additional information on the school, contact Gary Thornton at (231) 946-1510.