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A special workshop on the apple scab situation in Pennsylvania will be held on March 6, 2012, 8:00 am to noon at the Penn State Fruit Research and Extension Center in Biglerville, PA. The featured guest speaker is Dr. Dave Rosenberger, Tree Fruit Plant Pathologist at Cornell's Hudson Valley Lab.

The “Pennsylvania Farm Energy Audits Program,” is available to help agricultural producers identify the best methods to improve their farm’s energy efficiency. USDA will offset the cost by paying 75% of the energy audit, leaving only 25% of the cost to the farmer. The audits are carried out by Penn State agricultural energy specialists or specially trained private consultants, depending on the location of the farm and availability of personnel.

The Ag. Entrepreneurship Extension Team at Penn State (farmbusiness.psu.edu) investigates opportunities for stakeholders (e.g. growers, wholesalers, processors, retailers) and disseminates applicable information to these groups. A few of us in the team have been focusing on gathering data from consumers residing in Pennsylvania and surrounding states pertaining to their fruit and vegetable purchasing attitudes and behaviors, with particular emphasis on better understanding the fresh and processed apple purchaser. We have conducted a few studies since 2008 and would like to share that data and provide examples of marketing strategies that stakeholders could implement based on the research.

A new pest has been pigging out on many of North America’s most important crops, posing an unprecedented threat to U.S. farmers. The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) burst onto the scene in 2010, causing catastrophic damage in most mid-Atlantic states. Some growers of sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes, apples, and peaches reported total losses that year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has now awarded $5.7 million to ten institutions across the country for research and education to help growers cope. The value of susceptible crops in the 33 states where BMSB has been established or sighted exceeds $21 billion, says Tracy Leskey, the USDA entomologist at the project’s helm. Last year, the pest cost apple growers alone $37 million. Leskey’s team of 51 researchers has its work cut out: uncover the mysteries of BMSB and use that knowledge to find management tactics that work—traps and lures, biopesticides, and natural enemies that kill BMSB. The Northeastern IPM Center will coordinate outreach, putting solutions in the hands of growers who need them.

It's getting tougher all the time to be a farmer, and managers of small agricultural operations have to be increasingly efficient, clever and resourceful just to stay profitable. But the concept of "agritainment" -- any form of farm-based tourism operation that provides economic benefit to the farm owner and offers entertainment, activities or product for the visitor -- may help farmers improve their bottom lines, according to agricultural business experts in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. "Agritainment creates the opportunity for farm owners to entice visitors to their farm, provide education about agriculture and increase their overall profits," said Lynn Kime, senior extension associate in agricultural economics. "The concept offers hope for small, struggling farms."

Have you been considering upgrading equipment in your cold storage, greenhouse, or irrigation system? Penn State Extension, in conjunction with USDA Rural Development, is now offering a program to provide low cost energy audits for farms in Pennsylvania. USDA will pay 75% of the cost of the audit, leaving a cost of only 25% to the farmer—saving you up to $1000 (or more, depending on your operation and location). The energy audit will include an easy-to-understand report that lists recommended ways to improve energy efficiency on your farm, plus information on possible funding for installing energy efficient equipment. It will be up to you to decide what to do with this information, but we will help you understand your options and see how you can upgrade your farm's energy performance. An energy audit is a required first step for many funding programs, so this is an important first step for taking advantage of a variety of energy installation programs.

Though many of us expected to find spotted wing drosophila (SWD) in Pennsylvania in 2011, the widespread occurrence and sheer numbers found during the fall in some locations were surprising. Because of high SWD infestations, some growers gave up on harvesting fall raspberries and day-neutral strawberries. The problem was probably made worse by drenching rains from Hurricanes Irene and Lee which ruined berries that were then left in the field. SWD and other vinegar flies multiplied in the unharvested fruit, which then resulted in more SWD to infest ripening fruit that otherwise could have been harvested later. Fortunately, SWD populations were relatively low this year until fall. The concern for next year is that we don’t yet know how well SWD will survive the winter here, so we don’t know how many will be present at the beginning of the growing season next spring.

Duane Greene will be at the Adams County Agricultural and Natural Resources Center in Gettysburg, PA on Tuesday, December 20th, 8:30 am to 3:30 pm to give two presentations for an in-depth fruit school on Apple Crop Load Management. The presentation titles are “Monitoring Apple Fruit Growth for Predicting Chemical Thinning Response” and “The Chemical Thinning Palette of Options for Adjusting Apple Crop Load.” To register, visit http://www.cvent.com/d/9cqjgg or call 877-489-1398 (toll free). $55 fee includes an equilifruit disk, lunch and handouts; discount if register by Nov. 15th. Final date to register is Dec. 14th. Program details are provided at "Fruit Times Events."

In 1933 and 1934, nearly 50 million people flocked to the World’s Fair in Chicago to celebrate a “Century of Progress”. Visitors eagerly toured the agricultural building that showcased innovations and ideas for the future, like new designs for corn planters, harrows, and engines. How far have we come since then?

Crop load management is one of the most important orchard cultural programs. Small fruit do not have a strong market and the effects of less return bloom following a heavy crop can affect overall profitability. During a crop load management workshop on December 20th, special guest presenter, Dr. Duane Greene, University of Massachusetts, and Penn State pomology faculty will discuss new models and tools to use in assessing when and how much to thin apples. Each participant will receive a limb caliper disk (Equilifruit disk) to use in assessing optimum apple crop load as well as training on using the Lakso carbon balance model to predict the effect of weather on plant growth regulator efficacy. To register, click on the workshop link under events or call 877-489-1398 (toll free).

Researchers at Cornell University have been working on the problem of soil quality or soil health for many years, and have recently established a soil health testing program for farmers in the Northeast. This summer, two western Pennsylvania vegetable producers cooperated with me in trying out this program. Details about the testing service as well as a very comprehensive manual on all aspects of soil health can be found at http://soilhealth.cals.cornell.edu. (Note that Dr. Beth Gugino, lead author of this manual, is now at Penn State).

Many areas of Pennsylvania farmland have been affected by the recent flooding. Since the epic rain events much of the flood waters have receded and revealed a real headache for growers. This article summarizes information from the University of Nebraska Lincoln, Texas A & M University, and Cornell University to assist in repairing fields to their original productive state.

Late summer and fall is apple harvest time. With this enjoyment of eating apples comes a new online resource about growing apples. eXtension.org, the online component of national Cooperative Extension, just added a new resource area about apple production, cultivars and rootstocks for commercial apple producers, home gardeners, nursery professionals and anyone interested in growing and eating apples.

Almost 100 crop species in the U.S. rely to some extent on honey bee pollination and the value of honey bees to U.S. agriculture is estimated to be $15 billion annually ($1.4 billion for apple). Collectively these 100 crops make up about 1/3 of the US diet and consist mainly of high-value specialty crops (i.e., fruit, vegetable and nut crops) that provide the bulk of vitamins and other nutrients that contribute to healthy diets. Honey bees are currently the most valuable pollinators in agriculture, because they are well understood, relatively easy to maintain, movable, and able to communicate rapidly the locations of new food sources. Honey bee populations, however, have declined for the past several years to the point that total reliance on them is increasingly risky. Since 2006, North American beekeepers lost approximately 1/3 of the honey bee colonies each year due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and losses at this level or higher will probably continue in the near future. These losses were in addition to declines caused by the introduction of two parasitic mite species; viral, fungal, and bacterial diseases; insecticide poisoning; and agricultural intensification of crop monocultures which have removed much of the adjacent flowering and nesting resources. Despite increased need for pollination services for crops such as the $2 billion almond industry, honey bee colonies had already declined by over 40% in the U.S. since 1947, even before CCD. Importation of bees from outside the U.S. to meet the demand for pollination began in 2005, but is a very risky solution because it greatly increases the chances of introducing new pests and pathogens to all of our bee species.

Brown marmorated stinkbug (BMSB) adults are actively feeding in apple orchards. Even blocks with already harvested fruit seem to be serving as locations to harbor migrating BMSB adults. Just before the BMSB adults will start invading all kinds of dwellings in their search for overwintering shelters, they will try to feed on any food available. And with fruit still being around, our orchards may represent the best source of available nutrients. At this moment big numbers of older BMSB nymphs (4th and 5th instar) and adults are present on soybean and corn plants as well as wild ornamental trees in the vicinity of many orchards. As we go into fall, we expect that the movement of BMSB adults and pre-overwintering intensive feeding by BMSB adults from outside hosts into orchards will become the main source of injuries of fruit. While the nymphal feeding in most orchards was effectively reduced by well-timed insecticide treatments, the feeding by continuously wandering BMSB adults is more difficult to control. With about 4 to 5 more weeks of the current growing season to go, it is extremely important that growers continue to stay vigilant and respond immediately when the pressure from incoming BMSB adults starts to increase. Although it varies for each cultivar, right now is the time for the use of the most effective options, with the shortest pre-harvest interval (PHI). Not every orchard will need special BMSB treatments but very detailed visual observations are necessary to assess the real need for these treatments. The August issue of the Fruit Times Newsletter (http://extension.psu.edu/fruit-times/news/2011/pressure-from-stink-bugs-continues-in-apple-orchards) provides suggestions for a late season stink bug control.

With about 4 to 5 more weeks of the current growing season to go, it is extremely important that growers continue to stay vigilant and respond immediately when the pressure from incoming brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) adults starts to increase. Although it varies for each cultivar, right now is the time for the use of the most effective options, with the shortest PHI. Not every orchard will need special BMSB treatments but very detailed visual observations are necessary to assess the real need for these treatments. The August issue of the Fruit Times Newsletter (http://extension.psu.edu/fruit-times/news/2011/pressure-from-stink-bugs-continues-in-apple-orchards) provides suggestions for a late season stink bug control.

In July we couldn’t buy a drop of rain. August wasn’t too bad but September has been a real soaker—first Irene and then Lee. The eastern part of Pennsylvania was hit the hardest but nearly everyone had some rain from the two storms. Some growers are reporting support systems that collapsed under the weight of the tree and crop with all the rain. If you have some trees that went over and did not break off at the union you can rectify the problem but you must act fast. (The most recent weather forecast calls for the rain to finally end on Monday).

Our weekly observations revealed very high numbers of brown marmorated stink bug nymphs and adults feeding on soybean and corn plants in the vicinity of fruit orchards. Observations at older soybean plants (i.e., plants with pods and new beans), especially around field borders next to woods, revealed thousands of brown marmorated stink bug late nymphs and adults. Also, available traps and lures utilizing stink bug aggregation pheromone are capturing high numbers of all brown marmorated stink bug stages. Late season generations of codling moth represent a continuous challenge for all our fruit. Due to discrepancies observed between the predictive codling moth egg hatch model and the actual situation in the orchards, we strongly recommend the use of actual observations from an orchard as the main factor in deciding if and/or when the control measures are necessary. The Oriental fruit moth (OFM) continues to injure apple and peach fruit. Some loads of fruit were already rejected by local processors for the presence of live larvae in the fruit.

Fuel use is a difficult thing for orchardists to predict or manage, especially when you are looking at trying new planting systems or management schedules. As a result, it is tough to know in advance if various changes would pay off or not - especially in this era of high fuel costs.

The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) continues to represent an unprecedented threat to our apple crop. The incessant feeding of growing nymphs and maturing adults poses a significant economic risk to maturing fruit as each probing or feeding by BMSB eventually results in a visible injury. A single BMSB adult or nymph in the orchard can potentially cause injury to many fruit. Another complicating element is the fact that fresh injuries from stink bug feeding are initially almost undetectable, but after only a few days, the injury can become very apparent. Since their actual feeding occurs under the skin of the fruit, it is only after the affected cells start drying that the symptoms of their feeding (i.e., corking) become visible (see picture). Also, since no fungal pathogens are transmitted during BMSB feeding, the affected area remains dry and no decay is observed. If BMSB feeding occurs just prior to harvest, it is quite possible that affected fruit will exhibit no visible signs of injury, but the characteristic depression on the fruit surface will develop after a period of time in storage.