Disease update, June 17

Extended wetting occurred June 12-13 with 11 hours wet at 68° and 0.41 in. rain. As of June 17, accumulated wetting hour total from rainfall or dew at our AREC since May 13 is now at 172 hours . Wetting hours have accumulated more rapidly east of the Blue Ridge. As of June 12 Washington, VA, in Rappahannock County had 286 hours of accumulated wetting since May 13. Other areas in central Virginia probably had as much or more during this time.

In areas with heavier disease pressure, watch for early indications of sooty blotch and flyspeck, fruit rots and Alternaria leaf blotch, the fungal disease that causes defoliation and poor fruit quality of Red Delicious apples, and Glomerella leaf spot, which tends to be more common on Gala, Golden Delicious, and Pink Lady. Maintain fungicide protection, as needed, to suppress the disease spectrum common to your orchard blocks.