"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." --Aristotle
Address any questions or comments regarding this newsletter to the individual authors listed after each article or to its editor, Rick Weinzierl, 217-333-6651, weinzier@illinois.edu. To receive e-mail notification of new postings of this newsletter, call or write the same number or address.
In This Issue:
Notes from Chris Doll (harvest updates, fall irrigation of strawberries, insect notes)
Fruit Production and Pest Management (spotted wing Drosophila in Illinois, codling moth and oriental fruit moth flights ongoing)
Vegetable Production and Pest Management (corn earworm and European corn borer updates)
Local Foods Issues (regional food banks need produce)
Upcoming Programs
- Illinois Organic Growers Association 2012 Field Days. The Illinois Organic Growers Association has scheduled six field days in August and September. See the details at http://illinoisorganicgrowers.org/2012/07/03/2012-ioga-field-day-schedule/ .
- Income Opportunities for Small Acreages Workshop, September 4, 2012. 8:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the University of Illinois Extension Office, 980 North Postville Drive Lincoln, Illinois 62656. Topics will include: services and programs available for small farmers from NRCS & SWCD, farm records for USDA programs, organic certification, what’s new in organic farming research, and becoming an organic farmer. For more information, contact Amber Patrick at 309-833-4747.
- Growing Garlic for Market Webinar, September 5, 2012. This webinar will cover growing requirements, variety selection and management of garlic for market sales. For more information and to register, see http://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=6981.
- Farm to Table, September 10, 2012. Tour the processing facilities at Goodness Greeness and tour Uncommonground Rooftop Farm, the first certified organic rooftop farm in the United States, both located in Chicago from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. For more information and to register, see http://farmtotablegoodnessgreenessuncommonground.eventbrite.com.
- Field and Wash Equipment for Small Vegetable Farmers; Organic Research Updates, September 11, 2012. Demonstration of field and wash equipment for small vegetable farms; tour the wash pack facility and learn about process of working toward GAP. View posters of current organic research from the University of Illinois at the University of IL Student Farm from 3:00-5:00 PM For more information and to register, see http://uofistudentfarm.eventbrite.com.
- Organic and Conventional Management Advances for High Tunnel Systems, September 21, 2012. Learn more about organic pest management, specifically steam sterilization of soil, and other management advances in high tunnel systems at the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center, 1:00-4:00 p.m. For more information and to register, seehttps://webs.extension.uiuc.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=6951.
- Living on the Land, October 1 through November 9, 2012. An 8-week series held on Mondays from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the University of Illinois Extension Office, Will County, 100 Manhattan Road, Joliet, IL 60433. $150 per person for the series and $100 for an additional farm/family members. For more information, contact James Theuri at 815-933-8337 or jtheu50@illinois.edu.
Notes from Chris Doll
SW Illinois is still dry, but at least the temperatures have cooled down. Local rainfall this month varies in amounts, but as of August 15, most of us have had less than one inch from 3-4 showers. Plants look a little better under these conditions, but good growth and maturation still needs water. Gala harvest is past, Honeycrisp and Golden Supreme are ready or nearly so, and a few Jonathans are being picked too. Only the peach varieties following Cresthaven remain for sale or to be picked. Mighty strange for the middle of August!
Orchard concerns now are apple coloration, which nature has the most control over, and fruit drop, which the PGR's should help if applied. Weed control has been fairly easy all summer, but many seeds are awaiting moisture to germinate and grow. This is more of a concern for strawberry growers and growers of other small fruits. Pre-emergent herbicides are so-called because they must be on or in the soil before germination, so timing is important. And, years ago, research in Missouri showed that the benefit of ample fall irrigation to strawberries was more critical for strawberry yields that at any other time.
Insect-wise, codling moths are being trapped, green and brown stink bugs are feeding (and luckily, the soybean fields are still green to serve as host sites), and a few San Jose Scales have been found. Location of San Jose scale infestations not discovered during the summer scouting might be identified when the fruits are run over the packing line, if the lot is identified. Of course, if none is seen, that’s good news. And where the rainfall has been limited there is not much concern about fruit diseases, but that could change.
Chris Doll
Fruit Production and Pest Management
Spotted Wing Drosophila Detected in Illinois
Male spotted wing Drosophila
Several University of Illinois Extension educators on the Local Food Systems and Small Farms Team and the Horticulture Team and I have been working with Kelly Estes, the Illinois coordinator for the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey, to monitor traps for invasive pests of tree fruits in Illinois this season. We have received confirmation of identifications of spotted wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) captured in traps in Illinois earlier this summer. This insect has been collected in scattered locations from far-southern Illinois to Urbana. Our traps in northern Illinois have not yet collected this insect, but that does not mean it is absent there. Management guidelines for brambles (particularly susceptible to damage by this insect) developed by Rufus Isaacs are available on the Michigan State University Spotted Wing Drosophila page.
Rick Weinzierl (217-244-2126; weinzier@illinois.edu)
Notes on Codling Moth and Oriental Fruit Moth
Last week I received reports of a "resurgence" of counts in codling moth and oriental fruit moth traps from southern Illinois, and our traps at Urbana reflect the same trend. Based on degree-day accumulations for each of these species, the current flights at Urbana represent the third generation of codling moth flight (about to subside) and the fourth generation of oriental fruit moth flight (also due to subside over the next week or so). Given that it's still only mid-August, another generation of moths of both species are likely to emerge over late August and September here (a bit sooner to the south and a bit later to the north). Both species of these moths will lay eggs on apples, and larvae will enter and contaminate unprotected fruit. A couple of key points to remember at this time of year are: (1) Low moth flights earlier in the summer do not guarantee that late-season flights will be light as well, and it appears that flights of third-generation codling moths and fourth-generation oriental fruit moths are significant here at Urbana despite light flights earlier in the season. (2) Continued protection of fruit from codling moth and oriental fruit moth entry is a necessary part of August-September orchard management. Be sure to check pages 46-47 of the 2012 Midwest Tree Fruit Spray Guide for preharvest intervals for registered insecticides.
Codling moths per trap per day in delta traps, unsprayed seedling block, Urbana, IL, 2012.
Oriental fruit moths per trap per day in delta traps, unsprayed seedling block, Urbana, IL, 2012.
Rick Weinzierl (217-244-2126; weinzier@illinois.edu) and Megan Brant
Vegetable Production and Pest Management
Corn Earworm and European Corn Borer Updates
Corn earworm moths per trap per day, Urbana, IL, 2012.
Counts from one of our corn earworm pheromone traps located at Urbana are summarized in the graph above. With this type of pressure, sweet corn growers whose markets demand very little or no corn earworm damage should be spraying at about 3-day intervals from first silk to brown silk to prevent infestations unless traps near their fields have not been capturing moths.
European corn borer has been a no-show in traps at most locations all summer. For records of trapping results for corn earworm, European corn borer, western bean cutworm, and other insects, see the North Central IPM PIPE (Pest Information Platform for Extension and Education) website – http://apps.csi.iastate.edu/pipe/?c=entry.
Rick Weinzierl (217-244-2126; weinzier@illinois.edu) and Megan Brant
Local Foods Issues
Produce for Regional Foodbanks
Regional foodbanks strive to have fresh produce available to the partner agencies they work with. To aid this effort, local and community gardeners and commercial growers can connect with their regional Foodbank to donate excess produce from their gardens or be directed to a local food pantry. This produce goes to hungry children and families who may not otherwise have access to these foods or be able to afford them.
One community garden in Springfield has made it their mission to provide the Central Illinois Foodbank a steady stream of fresh produce. The Farm Services garden has donated over 4,000 pounds of produce from their one-and-a-half-acre garden outside the office so far this year. Now in its third year of existence, each year is a competition to produce even more. For more information on how to find both regional and local hunger-relief agencies, visit www.FeedingIllinois.org.
Kaleigh Friend, Central Illinois Foodbank, Springfield, IL (217-522-4022; kfriend@centralilfoodbank.org)
Less Seriously ...
(OK, the humor is a little dark; maybe there’s a good reason for more thorough trials and a little slower pursuit of justice than in "the old days")
On a tombstone in Boot Hill Cemetery, Tombstone, Arizona (and made famous by Johnny Cash) …
Here lies Lester Moore
4 slugs from a 44
No Les
No More
And another for a man who was later learned to be innocent of horse-stealing …
Here lies George Johnson
Hanged by mistake 1882
He was right we was wrong
But we strung him up and now he's gone
University of Illinois Extension Specialists in Fruit and Vegetable Production & Pest Management
Extension Educators – Local Food Systems and Small Farms |
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Bronwyn Aly, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Pope, Saline, and White counties |
618-382-2662 |
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Katie Bell, Franklin, Jackson, Perry, Randolph, & Williamson counties |
618-687-1727 |
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Sarah Farley, Lake & McHenry counties |
847-223-8627 |
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Nick Frillman, Woodford, Livingston, & McLean counties |
309-663-8306 |
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Laurie George, Bond, Clinton, Jefferson, Marion, & Washington counties |
618-548-1446 |
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Zachary Grant, Cook County | 708-679-6889 | |
Doug Gucker, DeWitt, Macon, and Piatt counties |
217-877-6042 |
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Erin Harper, Champaign, Ford, Iroquois, and Vermillion counties |
217-333-7672 |
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Grace Margherio, Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center, St. Clair County |
217-244-3547 |
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Grant McCarty, Jo Daviess, Stephenson, and Winnebago counties |
815-235-4125 |
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Katie Parker, Adams, Brown, Hancock, Pike and Schuyler counties |
217-223-8380 |
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Kathryn Pereira, Cook County |
773-233-2900 |
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James Theuri, Grundy, Kankakee, and Will counties |
815-933-8337 |
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Extension Educators – Horticulture |
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Chris Enroth, Henderson, Knox, McDonough, and Warren counties |
309-837-3939 |
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Richard Hentschel, DuPage, Kane, and Kendall counties |
630-584-6166 |
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Andrew Holsinger, Christian, Jersey, Macoupin, & Montgomery counties |
217-532-3941 |
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Extension Educators - Commercial Agriculture |
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Elizabeth Wahle, Fruit & Vegetable Production |
618-344-4230 |
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Nathan Johanning, Madison, Monroe & St. Clair counties |
618-939-3434 |
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Campus-based Extension Specialists |
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Kacie Athey, Entomology |
217-244-9916 |
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Mohammad Babadoost, Plant Pathology |
217-333-1523 |
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