Apple
These guidelines are adapted from those developed by W.M. Coli, D.R. Cooley, C.S. Hollingsworth, G. Morin, R.J. Prokopy, R. Spitko, A. Tuttle and S. Wright, published in C.S. Hollingsworth & W.M. Coli (eds). 1999. Massachusetts Integrated Pest Management Guidelines: Crop Specific Definitions. University of Massachusetts Extension Publication IP-IPMA, with the assistance of K. Leahy.
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Soil Nutrient Management and Cultural Practices
- Trees are pruned during dormancy so that spray penetration
and air circulation
are adequate. 10 pts - Summer pruning is done on densely-foliated, vigorous trees and/or gibberellin biosythesis inhibitor (such as paclobutrazol or prohexadione-Ca) is applied. 15 pts
- Prunings are removed or destroyed such that no residue is present after one year. 5 pts
- A complete leaf tissue analysis is performed in the current year. 10 pts
- Fertilizer amendments are applied according to previous year's leaf tissue analysis. 10 pts
- Orchard renovation (4% of the orchard or greater) includes
size-controlling
rootstocks in the new plantings. 10 pts
Category Total 60 pts
Adjusted Total ______ pts
Pesticide Application and Recordkeeping
Only pesticides approved and registered for apple in the state are used. Records of pesticide applications are maintained, including date, field and block, target pest, crop stage pesticide name and EPA number, formulation, rate and number of acres treated. Pesticide drift is minimized. Re-entry and pre-harvest intervals are adhered to. Win-PST analysis is conducted for all pesticides considered for use on the farm.
- Pesticides with a LOW or VERY LOW environmental hazard (Win-PST) are used for one or more key pests 20 pts
- Orchard sprayer, including hoses, nozzles and pumps, is inspected at least once per season and replaced as needed. Equipment is calibrated at the start of the season and the procedure is recorded. 10 pts
- Herbicide sprayer is calibrated at the start of the season. Procedure is recorded. 10 pts
- Calibration of orchard sprayer is checked at least once during the season and equipment is recalibrated as needed. 10 pts
- The grower has calculated tree-row volume for each block
and applications
conform to tree-row volume calculations. 20 pts
Category Total 50 pts
Adjusted Total ______ pts
Insect Management
Monitoring
Monitoring should be carried out in a scientifically valid manner. Records should be kept of all monitoring information collected.
- Tarnished plant bug adults are monitored by white visual traps or visual inspection of buds. 10 pts
- European apple sawfly is monitored by white visual traps. 5 pts
- Fruit clusters are examined pre-bloom for pug moth and winter moth. 5 pts
- Fruit is monitored for plum curculio injury (to time border sprays following initial cover spray). 20 pts
- Foliage is sampled for mites and mte predators. 10 pts
- Apple maggot is monitored by red sphere traps. 20 pts
- Leafminers are monitored by red visual traps or foliar monitoring
of first
generation mines. 10 pts - Terminal foliage is monitored for aphids and aphid predators. 10 pts
- Monitoring for leafhoppers (fruit clusters for whiteapple LH and rose LH; terminal growth for potato LH) is conducted. 10 pts
- Bark of trunk and limbs is monitored for San Jose scale,
woolly apple aphid or
borers, where appropriate. 10 pts - Fruit and foliage are monitored for codling moth, fruitworm
and leafroller larvae or
injury, where appropriate. 5 pts - Where pear thrips have been noted previously, they are monitored
using
yellow sticky traps or weekly bud counts. 5 pts
Category Total 120 pts
Adjusted Total ______ pts
Suppression
- Application of insecticides corresponds to pest threshold
ranges specified in state
apple IPM publications. 25 pts - One application of dormant oil is applied. 10 pts
- A second application of dormant oil is applied. 15 pts
- A border-row application is used in lieu of one or more whole-orchard sprays against plum curculio (border sprays generally follow a cover spray). 10 pts
- Biological control by naturally occurring predators is used for control of aphids. 10 pts
- Mite suppression.
- a. Mite control materials are used on a rotating basis for
resistance
management. 5 pts - b. Summer oil is used in part as a substitute for other
acaricides used to
suppress mites in early season. 10 pts OR - c. Biological control by naturally occurring predators is
used for control of
mites: no miticide is applied. 20 pts
- a. Mite control materials are used on a rotating basis for
resistance
- Synthetic pyrethroids are not applied as they are likely
to induce outbreaks of
mites and woolly aphids. 20 pts - A border-row spray is used in lieu of one or more whole-orchard
sprays against
apple maggot. 10 pts - At least one insecticide or miticide application is made by alternate row spraying. 10 pts
- Where appropriate, application of pesticides for mites, aphids or apple maggot are reduced by one-half of the labeled rate, as defined in the New England Apple Pest Management Guide. 10 pts
- Orchard is surrounded by odor-baited red sphere traps at
a rate of 1 trap
per 15 ft in lieu of pesticide application against apple maggot. Bonus: 30 pts - All abandoned apple trees within 100 yards of the orchard
border are removed
to prevent codling moth immigration. Bonus: 15 pts - Efforts are made to establish the mite predator, T. pyri. Bonus: 15 pts
Category Total 140 pts
Adjusted Total ______ pts
Disease Management
Summer pruning of densely foliated, vigorous trees has
significant potential for lowering summer disease severity.
- First fungicide spray is delayed an appropriate time according
to ascospore
development and from previous year's ascospore density and scab incidence. Bonus: 15 pts - For each of the following scab management approaches, the
appropriate number
of fungicide applications per season may vary between 2 and 6 per year, depending on conditions.- a. Unless visible infections develop, fungicides for scab
management are
applied only until the end of primary scab season (as defined by ascospore
maturity and release). 15 pts OR - b. A combination of tree phenology, ascospore maturity and
Mill's infection
periods are used to guide fungicide application decisions. 10 pts
- a. Unless visible infections develop, fungicides for scab
management are
- Trees are monitored for cedar apple rust. 5 pts
- Where cedar apple rust is a problem, red cedar and juniper within 100 yds surrounding orchard are removed. 5 pts
- Litter chopping or urea treatment is practiced so as to reduce scab. Bonus: 5 pts
- Treatments for fire blight follow blight forecast in Healthy Fruit (UMass Pest Alert) or other recognized fire blight program (e.g. Maryblight or Cougarblyte). Bonus: 5 pts
- Calcium chloride is applied at the standard rate in a tank mix with a reduced rate of a summer fungicide (calcium chloride has a negative effect on flyspeck development). Bonus: 5 pts
- Experimental block of disease-resistant trees is planted. Bonus: 10 pts
- New plantings are located at least 25 yeards away from wooded or shrubby borders, or borders are cleared so they are no closer than 25 yeards from existing trees. Bonus: 5 pts
Category Total 20 pts
Adjusted Total ______ pts
Weed Management
- A weed survey is conducted at least once per season with weed problems noted on field maps. 10 pts
- Herbicide rate, selectin and spot applications are based on the results of the weed survey. 10 pts
- Herbicides of the same class are not applied in succeeding years in order to avoid herbicide resistance development 10 pts
- Herbicides are banded only in the crop row and a seeded ground cover is used in the row. 10 pts
- Weeds in and around fields, alleys and roadways are prevented from going to seed. 5 pts
Category Total 20 pts
Adjusted Total ______ pts
Vertebrate Management
- Where deer pressure is high, soap or appropriate fencing is used. 5 pts
- A monitoring program for rodents is conducted to determine
the need for
rodenticides. 10 pts - Where rodenticides are applied, bait stations, rather than
broadcast treatments,
are used. *5 pts - Appropriately positioned scare-eye balloons are used to reduce
bird pressure,
where appropriate. Bonus: 5 pts
Category Total 20 pts
Adjusted Total ______ pts
Weather and Crop Monitoring
- Grower monitors high and low daily temperatures, and leaf
wetness (modified
hygrothermograph or equivalent). Records are kept on a daily basis. 15 pts - Records of the stage of tree development are maintained on a weekly basis. 5 pts
Category Total 20 pts
Adjusted Total ______ pts
Education
- Manager attends one or more UMass Extension IPM workshops during the current year. 5 pts
- Manager possesses current New England Apple Pest Management Guide. 5 pts
- Manager subscribes to UMass Extension newsletter, Healthy Fruit and March Message. 5 pts
- Farm contracts with nationally certified professional crop consultant. Bonus: 10 pts
Category Total 15 pts
Adjusted Total ______ pts
Grand Total 440 pts
Adjusted Grand Total ______ pts
Percentage of adjusted total %
