Twilight Meeting
(Continued from Page 4)
the limb on a much better
angle,” he said.
“It takes a little wood out
to allow the branch to bend.”
Bracing the branch will keep
it at the new position. June,
said Rogers, it the optimal
time to do the procedure,
since Balsa cankor thrives
only in cooler weather.
“The lower you start the
scaffold branches, the more
canopy you have,” said
Crasswell.
The number of branches is
also important, according to
Rogers, who pointed out that
many of the orchard’s peach
trees had four “leaders” on
each tree.
“That’s the maximum,” he
said. “Three would be
better.”
Plum Pox Update
Tree health topics included
the high-profile plum pox
virus. The Pennsylvania De
partment of Agriculture is
again in charge of sampling
both orchards already sam
pled and those not yet sam
pled for the virus.
“The plum pox virus was
not found outside of the
quarantine area. We’ve been
really fortunate in this state.
If it continues, we will have
this virus contained,” he said.
On the plum pox front, “no
news is good news,” he said.
So far, 900 acres have been
pulled, according to Travis,
with more slated to be de
stroyed.
There is a moratorium on
planting in the quarantine
area, even for homeowners,
but “if I was outside the
quarantine block and I
wanted peaches, I’d go ahead
and plant them,” he said,
pointing out that Pennsylva
nia nurseries remain negative
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for the virus,
Other tree health topics,
according to presenters, in
clude the threat of the tomato
ringspot virus. The virus lives
on broadleaf weeds, which
are fed on by nematodes, or
worms.
The worm then picks up
the virus, feeds on the peach
tree root, and injects the virus
into the root, causing the tree
to die in three to four years.
The fire blight threat, said
Travis, drops off after the or
chard is finished with bloom
ing. However with lingering
blooming may come the
chance for an infection. Bac
teria is aided by temperatures
greater than 70 degrees.
“Only three hours of wet-
2001 Mid-Atlantic Convention Biggest And Best
HERSHEY (Dauphin Co.)
More than 1,600 growers,
industry suppliers, proces
sors, extension agents, uni
versity staff, and speakers
and other guests registered
for the 2001 Mid-Atlantic
Fruit and Vegetable Conven
tion in addition to 200 exhibi
tor representatives. That put
the total attendance near the
2,000 mark.
The 2001 Convention en
joyed good weather, unlike
last year when an unexpected
snowstorm dumped eight or
more inches of drifting snow
over much of the eastern part
of Pennsylvania on the first
day. Moreover, the 2001 Con
vention planners had sched
uled seven concurrent
sessions on all three days of
the meetings, making the
program the most extensive
yet.
New sessions on wine
grapes, potatoes, and mar
keting were added to the
ness will wash the infection
down into the bloom,” said
Travis. Also leaves tattered in
violent summer storms may
allow trees to become in
fected.
“Don’t relax too much,”
he said. “Be alert. Keep your
eye on the weather forecast
and the growth of the
plants.”
Chemical Thinning
Response Studies
Crasswell also gave a
report on studies centering on
chemical thinning. Reducing
clusters of young fruit by
spraying products such as
Sevin or other chemicals
saves on manual labor,
making the technique com
monplace in orchards.
Using a combination of
several products yields the
best results, according to
usual schedule of education
sessions.
Dr. Peter Ferretti from
Penn State was the general
vegetable program chair and
Dr. Robert Crassweller, also
from Penn State, coordinated
the tree fruit program. Kath
leen Demchak from Penn
State planned the small fruit
program and Mark Chen
from the Lancaster County
Cooperative Extension put
together the wine grape pro
gram.
Kenneth Martin from
Furman Foods coordinated
the tomato sessions and Dr.
William Lament from Penn
State University organized
the three half-day sessions on
potatoes.
The bedding plant and cut
flower sessions were handled
by Dr. Robert Berghage at
Penn State University. John
Berry from the Lehigh
County Cooperative Exten
sion set up the roadside mar-
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Crasswell. Thinning the
crops increases the size of the
remaining fruit, promotes
flowering the next year, and
prevents biennial bearing.
The weather during the
spring season, when the trees
are thinned, has an effect on
the tree’s response to
thinners. Also with the type
of bloom, amount of bee ac
tivity, and grower manage
ment factors such as the
individual techniques of ap
plying the thinner all help
determine a tree’s response to
thinners.
Heavy or short bloom, poor
bee activity and excessive,
cool, or wet weather all lead
to increased response to
thinners, according to Crass
well.
keting session.
The Department of Agri
culture, the Pennsylvania
Food Merchants Association,
along with PVGA and the
Vegetable Marketing and Re
search Program, sponsored a
grower reception prior the
annual Fruit and Vegetable
Growers Dinner January 30.
The evening’s program fea
tured awards and presenta
tions by the participating
groups after entertainment
by the Biglerville High School
Jazz Band.
The 2001 Mid-Atlantic
Convention was the 24th year
that the State Horticultural
Association of Pennsylvania,
the Pennsylvania Vegetable
Growers Association, the
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Always spray trees after
flowering, he said, since the
chemicals are toxic to bees. A
homeowner, however, should
bypass chemical thinning for
hand-thinning the trees.
Greg Krawczyk, Penn
State fruit entomologist, gave
a insect pest update. He gave
not only information about
insects but also the type and
time of spraying for the pests.
He recommended consid
ering the choice and rate of
an insecticide product, along
with the method of applica
tion, water volume, and treat
ing on an area-wide basis.
Rotate insecticide chemis
tries between broods when
ever possible, advised
Krawczyk.
New Jersey State Horticul
tural Society, and the Mary
land State Horticultural
Society have met together in
Hershey. This year the four
organizations were joined by
peach growers from around
the country for the annual
meeting of the National
Peach Council. More than
120 exhibitors lined the aisles
of the trade show in the Great
American Hall at the Her
shey Convention Center.
Growers who missed this
year’s convention can still
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ceedings for the vegetable
portion of the program.
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