April 7, 2021 In-Orchard Meeting - Silver Creek Orchard – 160 Massie Lane, Tyro, VA 22976. From Rt 29 south of Lovingston, turn right on Rt 56/ Tye Brook Hwy, go 1.1 miles turn right onto Roseland Rd, 3.9 miles turn left onto Rt 151/Patrick Henry Hwy, take an immediate right onto Rt 56West/Crabtree Falls Hwy, 4.2 miles turn left onto Pharsalia Rd, 1.3 miles turn right onto Massie Lane-Orchard will be located on the right.
April 14 - Zoom Meeting 11:30am - Seasonal Updates with extension specialist. Dr. Bergh, Dr. Sherif and Dr. Acimovic https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/83225190429
Week of April 19, 2021 Frederick County- TBD
Late Tuesday afternoon (5/28), Virginia
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS)
announced the establishment of a quarantine for spotted
lanternfly (SLF), an invasive pest insect that was found
in Winchester in January 2018 (ext.vt.edu/spotted-lanternfly
The press release on the SLF quarantine linked here. A direct link to the quarantine document is linked here as well. The regulated area includes the City of Winchester and Frederick County. Some of the key provisions of the quarantine are:
1) Regulated articles (plants, outdoor industrial materials, shipping containers, outdoor household articles, and others) may be moved from the quarantine area if they have been inspected, and are accompanied by a permit;
2) Regulated articles may be moved within the quarantine area following an inspection; a certificate is not required.
3) From April 1-Dec 31, regulated articles may be moved through the regulated are without stopping, or stopping only for fuel or traffic conditions.
4) To obtain a permit to move regulated articles, a person doing business must complete a VDACS-approved training (see below) and agree to train employees on identification of SLF.
The training needed to obtain a SLF
permit is available
online. There is a $6.00 fee.
For questions on the quarantine and related issues:
For questions about the quarantine or movement of material
or trucks, or the compliance agreement, call VDACS.
Call the Richmond number (804-786-5525) even if its a
question about the Winchester area.
For questions about the training for the SLF Detection
Credentials, go to: ext.vt.edu/spotted-lanternfly. Look for a
purple button the right side of the page to start the
process.
For suspected finds of SLF, go to either the detection portal:
I'll be posting more on this later.
Brown marmorated stink bug and Virginia fruit: See StopBMSB.org web site! A new addition to the stink bug complex is brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål). Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) has recently been introduced from Asia into the northeastern U.S. It was first detected in 1998 in Allentown, Pennsylvania (see NAPIS map; this map underrepresents the situation in Virginia). It was later found in New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware, and in October 2004 it was found in Montgomery County, Virginia, and in Tennessee in 2008. Injury in tree fruits can be severe, exceeding 25% (individual blocks have been estimated to have much higher levels of fruit injury). Externally, fruit may have multiple reddish dents at feeding sites, resembling hail strikes. Upon cutting into fruit, corky areas are seen in the flesh of the fruit. In vineyards, a unique problem is posed. Stink bugs may be harvested along with clusters and be transported to the winery in lugs or bins, where the wine can be imparted with a "stink bug taint". Research is underway to test short-residual insecticides to knock down BMSB from clusters at harvest. For further information and images, see the Brown marmorated stink bug page. A working group on organic management of BMSB has been established, with their own web site. There is opportunity to participate in grower forums.
Mating disruption
and Organic certification:
The National Organic Standards Board
has recently amended organic guidelines so that many pheromone
dispensers for mating disruption will now be allowed in
organically certified orchards. Most hand-placed
dispensers are now considered to emit negligible amounts of
inerts, and will be allowed. Sprayables and puffers will
not be allowed. More information will be posted when
available.
The presence of the disease was confirmed on October 13, in a block of Encore peaches in Adams County. A survey was carried out in orchards within one mile of the infected block; 10 blocks with plum pox were found, belonging to three different growers, including cases in peach, nectarine and plum. The search was expanded on October 21-22 to an additional one-mile radius. No symptoms were detected, though leaf analyses are pending. A map of the quarantined area is available on the web. This is the first case of plum pox in North America, although it was introduced into Chile in 1995, and caused concern for North American specialists at that time.
To date in 2000, the disease has
also been found in Cumberland County PA, and in Canada. As of
November 2000, the disease had not been found in Michigan. More
information regarding this important development can be
found in the plum pox
page in the Virginia Fruit Web Page.
Archived Orchard Fruit Schools
This year's orchard
fruit schools will be held the week of Feb
10-14. Details are provided below: Mon, Feb 10, 8:45 AM
- Patrick-Carroll
school, Sky View Baptist Church,
Fancy Gap VA. Tues, Feb 11,
8:30 AM - The Botetourt-Roanoke
school, Brambleton Center,
Roanoke. Wed, Feb 12, 9:00 AM
- The Nelson-Albemarle
(Central Virginia)
school, Nelson Center,
Lovingston. Thur, Feb 13,
8:15 AM - The Madison-Rappahannock
school, Graves Mt Lodge, Syria. Fri, Feb 14,
8:00 AM - The Winchester School, Fox Meadow Barn,
350 Old Firehouse Lane, Winchester.
2019 Tree Fruit
Schools
This year's orchard
fruit schools will be held the week of Feb
11-15. Details are provided below: Mon, Feb 11 - Patrick-Carroll
school, Golden Corral
Restaurant, Mt Airy NC.Tues, Feb 12, 8:00 AM
- The Botetourt-Roanoke
school, Brambleton Center,
Roanoke.Tues, Feb 12, 1:30 PM
- The Southside
school (see registration
information), SPAREC, Blackstone.Wed, Feb 13, 8:30 AM
- The Nelson-Albemarle
(Central Virginia)
school, Nelson Center, Lovingston.Thur, Feb 14, 8:15 AM
- The Madison-Rappahannock
school, Graves Mt Lodge,
Syria. Fri, Feb 15, 8:00 AM
- The Winchester School, West Oaks Farm
Market and Event Ctr., Winchester.
2018
Tree Fruit Schools
The
Patrick-Carroll
school will be held on Monday, Feb 12. The Botetourt-Roanoke
school will
be held on the morning of Wednesday, Feb 13,
starting at 8:00 AM. A recently added fruit school,
the Southside
school
in the
lineup again this year, and will be held on the
morning of Feb 14. The Nelson-Albemarle
(Central Virginia) school will be held
in the late afternoon-evening of that Wednesday, Feb 14,
starting at 3:00 PM. The Madison-Rappahannock
school will beheld on Thursday, Feb 15, and
the Winchester
school will be held on Friday, Feb 16.
Additional details on the agendas will be posted when
available.
2017 Tree
Fruit Schools
The Patrick-Carroll
school will be held on Monday, Feb
13. The Botetourt-Roanoke
school will be held on the
morning of Wednesday, Feb 14, starting at 8:00
AM. A recently added fruit school, the Southside
school
in the
lineup again this year, and will be held on the
morning of Feb 15. The Nelson-Albemarle
(Central Virginia) school (see Registration)
will be held in the late afternoon-evening of
that Wednesday, Feb 15, starting at 3:00
PM. The Madison-Rappahannock
school will beheld on Thursday, Feb
16, and the Winchester
school will be held on Friday, Feb
17. Additional details on the agendas will
be posted when available.
Click here for Proof
of 2017 Spray Bulletin for Commercial Orchards.
2016 Tree Fruit Schools
The Patrick-Carroll
school will be held on Monday,
Feb 8. The Botetourt-Roanoke
school will be held on the
morning of Wednesday, Feb 9, starting at
8:00 AM. A new fruit school, the
Southside school (brochure
and agenda)
in the lineup
this year, and will be held this year,
morning of Feb 10. The Nelson-Albemarle (Central
Virginia) school will be held
in the late afternoon-evening of that
Wednesday, Feb 10, starting at 3:00
PM. The Madison-Rappahannock
school will beheld on
Thursday, Feb 11, and the Winchester
school will be held on Friday,
Feb 12. Additional details on the
agendas will be posted when available.
The agendas of the 2015 fruit schools are linked here: The Patrick-Carroll school (Mt. Airy) was held on Tuesday, Feb 10. The Botetourt-Roanoke school was held on the morning of Wednesday, Feb 11, starting at 8:00 AM. The Nelson-Albemarle (Central Virginia) school was held in the late afternoon-evening of that Wednesday, starting at 4:00 PM. The Madison-Rappahannock school was held on Thursday, Feb 12, and the Winchester school was held on Friday, Feb 13..