Field Update – 4/6/20

Posted on April 6, 2020 by Justin Ballew

At this point, only a few cities (Columbia, Charleston, and Myrtle Beach) have issued shelter-in-place orders. The Commissioner of Agriculture, Hugh Weathers, has drafted a Notice of Essential Food and Agriculture Employee form that farms in these areas may fill out for each employee certifying them as an essential employee. They should keep this letter with them while commuting to and from work. Commissioner Weathers also sent this letter to the law enforcement community in regards to his notice.

Coastal

Zack Snipes reports, “A beautiful week of weather for working outside this past week. Our spring crops look great as well as our early summer planted crops. Tomatoes look great and have really jumped. I found some cranberry fruit worm in highbush blueberries last week that all blueberry growers will want to keep an eye out for. Local produce sales are in great demand right now with lots of growers finding new ways to sell to new clientele. Strawberry season is in full swing with U-pick operations having trouble keeping up with demand. I’ve seen lots of makeshift handwashing stations at U-Pick farms, which I applaud growers for. Had a few calls about thrips in strawberry this past week so keep an eye out for damage. In every strawberry field that I was in this past week, I saw hot spots of spider mites. Scout your fields, the entire field, daily and treat the hot spots before you have to treat the entire field. It will save you money on both treatment and potential yield loss.”

Handwashing stations at U-Picks are protecting both growers and customers. This one was set up for around $70. Photo from Zack Snipes.

Thrips damage on strawberry will leave the berry with a bronzed look and the outside of the berry will be hard resembling a plastic coating. Photo from Zack Snipes.

Midlands

Justin Ballew reports, “The weather was a little cooler this past week than the week before. We also had a little rain early in the week and dew several mornings. These were perfect conditions for Botrytis and anthracnose to develop in strawberries and both showed up in a number of places. We have a lot of blooms and green fruit out there right now, so make sure to stay on a good spray schedule and rotate MOA’s. Spider mite pressure remains high in some places. Strawberry yields have not picked up yet and growers are easily selling everything they pick. Brassicas are growing fast in this beautiful weather. Caterpillar pressure is still up requiring widespread sprays. Keep scouting.”

Botrytis developing on a strawberry. Weather conditions have been perfect for Botrytis and anthracnose recently. Photo from Justin Ballew.

Strawberry yields have not picked up yet, but we have lots of blooms and green fruit coming on. Photo from Justin Ballew.

Sarah Scott reports, “Peach trees continue to progress, thinning of fruit is happening for some varieties now. Strawberry crop is beginning to pick up. Cooler night temperatures last week slowed ripening some. Vegetable crops continue to be planted including eggplant and peppers.”

Broccoli plants growing well in Saluda County. Photo from Sarah Scott.

Pee Dee

Tony Melton reports, “Full speed planting processing vegetables. Pickles, green beans, Butterbeans, peas, peppers, tomatoes are being planted. Having trouble getting all the strawberries picked. 2nd Butterbean planting going in. 3rd sweet corn planting going in.”

Upstate

Kerrie Roach reports, “With beautiful skies and warm weather this past week, our upstate market gardeners are beginning to put things in the ground. While a little early for some, others are hedging their bets with multiple plantings over the next few weeks. Apples and peaches are continuing to progress with most apple varieties now in or near full bloom.”

Tomato transplants for sale at a local garden supplier. Photo from Kerrie Roach.

Field Update – 3/9/20

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Justin Ballew

Coastal

Zack Snipes reports, “Finally we have a break from the rain! I lost count of how many inches of rain we had. In fields with clean ditches and water furrows, water drained off pretty quickly, however, some fields suffered from all the rain. If your fields are wet, try to stay out of them until they dry. One of the worst things that can happen is when fields are entered when wet and soggy, causing compaction issues in the soil. I am seeing lots and lots of disease in strawberry and blueberry. The cold weather a few weeks ago killed many developing fruit and blossoms leaving them vulnerable to fungal infection. With over a week of consistent rain/cloudy weather and mild temperatures, the fungal pathogens have exploded. If you can get into your fruit fields then both protectant and systemic fungicides should be applied.

Freeze damage on early blueberry varieties is a perfect place for fungal pathogens to attack. Photo from Zack Snipes.

It will be a while before this field can be worked again. Photo from Zack Snipes.

Midlands

Justin Ballew reports, “We had lots of rain last week, but a very nice weekend and I saw the first bit of pollen on my windshield Saturday afternoon. Despite the rain, spider mites are starting to build up in strawberries in several places, requiring treatment. This is probably a result of having the row covers on for so long. Conditions are still perfect for disease development and we are seeing lots of Botrytis as well as some anthracnose fruit rot. More rain is coming this week, so be timely with fungicide applications and be sure to sanitize dead leaves, flowers, and fruit from the plants. These become sources of inoculum as disease develops, so get that material out of the field.

Two-spotted spider mites can appear red in the winter. Leaving row covers on for long periods of time can create the perfect conditions for spider mites. Photo from Justin Ballew

This strawberry has anthracnose spores (orange mass on the left) as well as Botrytis (grey mass) developing on it. Photo from Justin Ballew.

Pee Dee

Tony Melton reports, “Fields are rapidly drying – hopefully, it doesn’t rain until later this week so we can finally get some greens planted. We have got some acres planted but there are thousands left to be planted. Peaches are still up in the air. Some varieties are totally lost but others are fine. Growers are running wind machines and burning hay bales most nights to protect blooms from the cold. Covering and watering to protect strawberries and some growers have been picking for weeks, though others want to wait until they have enough fruit to open. With all the rain, Botrytis is tough on strawberries. Some growers are spraying twice a week, while others are letting it go and will pick-off bad fruit with the good fruit and sell what they can.

Upstate

Kerrie Roach reports, “Last week was the annual ‘Upstate Fruit Grower Meeting’ in Oconee County. Extension Agent, Kerrie Roach, along with Extension specialists from Clemson and NC State presented on topics to more than 30 attendees. Topics covered included apple diseases, PGRs, peach disease management, insect & disease ID, fungicide resistance, blackberry PGR research, the MyIPM app. along with much more. Lots of great networking and conversations were had over lunch and continued after the meeting. The Upstate is looking forward to a great growing season!”

Last week’s Upstate Fruit Grower Meeting was a success. Photo from Cory Tanner.

Field Update – 2/10/20

Posted on February 10, 2020 by Justin Ballew

Midlands

Justin Ballew reports, “We had warm weather the first part of last week. Heavy rain came through Wednesday evening and again Thursday afternoon. Strawberries are continuing to push out lots of new blooms a little earlier than we would like and lots of folks are wanting to start saving them. According to the forecast, there may be a killing freeze coming Friday. It may be best to allow this freeze to take out any blooms that are there now and start protecting any new blooms that come after. This would have us picking towards the end of March rather than the beginning. Just remember to remove any dead flowers once you decide to start saving blooms. We’re already seeing grey mold develop on dead blooms.

Grey mold developing on a dead bloom. Photo from Justin Ballew.

Sarah Scott reports, “Storms brought heavy rainfall through some areas of the Ridge last week which led to some flash flooding. Ponding of water is occurring in some peach orchards. Warm temperatures are pushing bud swell/break on early blooming varieties. Copper and oil dormant sprays are going out as well as delayed dormant applications of chlorpyrifos for scale suppression. Pruning and planting continue.

Standing water in a peach orchard following last week’s heavy rain. Photo from Sarah Scott.

Peach buds are beginning to break on early blooming varieties. Photo from Sarah Scott.

Lalo Toledo reports, “Spider mite populations have decreased in numbers in strawberry production. Plants are still a little behind but still look okay. Remember to remove dead buds before spring. Most farmers have delayed land preparations due to weather. Collards were stunted due to low temperatures in some areas, especially young plants. Sclerotinia is still progressing in many areas and continues to spread. Please use protective fungicides if possible.”

Wet conditions have delayed field prep. Photo from Lalo Toledo.

Upstate

Kerrie Roach reports, “With the first full week of February bringing a high of 76 degrees F, a low of 27 degree F, tornado warnings, 4-6 inches of snow, 6 inches of rain, and a currently running flood watch with 2+ more inches of rain predicted, agriculture in much of the upstate has come to a screeching halt. Stay tuned to see how we float out the other side of this week!”

Bryson’s Apple Orchard, Feb. 8th, 2020. Courtesy of Gail Bryson.

Pee Dee

Tony Melton reports, “As my daddy used to tell me when he was about to whoop my tail – it’s too wet to plow. We need to be planting greens but just can’t. Looks like strawberries are going to super early this spring. Spider mites are loving this warmth.”

The South Carolina Grower

Fruit and Vegetable News for Growers and Agribusinesses in South Carolina

Tag Archives: spider mites

Field Update – 4/6/20

Field Update – 3/9/20

Field Update – 2/10/20