UMass Extension Fruit Program

The farm is just a constant presence in our lives, and we grew up going to work with our dad. So, us kids used to have races of who could make the most two-quart boxes in a minute or 5 minutes.

Hokkaido University (HU) delivered a four-day webinar series on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) together with its international strategic partner, the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMA). 

Sanitation is a foundational principle of disease IPM. In apple scab, extensive literature demonstrates that practices such as urea application, leaf chopping, or combinations thereof can significantly reduce primary inoculum and subsequent infection risk. Sanitation concepts are similarly extended to bitter rot management, particularly the removal of overwintered fruit “mummies” from the canopy. While this widely repeated recommendation, there is limited published data showing the impact of mummy removal on bitter rot infection risk.

Announcing the 2026 Northeast Extension Fruit Consortium's Winter Webinar Series!