Dry weather great for sweet ripening peaches

At our AREC we have recorded only 0.2 inch of rain and no extended wetting periods with rain in the past two weeks. Although it is starting to get pretty dry, this has been a welcome break for ripening peaches, producing sweeter fruit with less brown rot pressure.

Ripening Redhaven peach: Dry and bright sunny weather reduces brown rot pressure in the pre-harvest period

But the blemishes from scab lesions are an indicator of earlier season disease pressures. The incubation period for scab infection to appear can be as long as 6-7 weeks, sometimes leading to the question "Where did this come from?"

Earlier rot activity is showing up as bitter rot and other rots on Honeycrisp apples, and this brings reminders that anything that causes injury such as Japanese beetle, will increase the possibility of rot activity, especially as sugar levels increase.

As of the Monday morning, July 27, accumulated wetting hours (ACW) at the AREC are related to elevation: at 909 ft elevation, 687 hr; at 952 ft elevation, 486  hr; and at the 983 ft elevation 444 hr ACW. 

At Tyro, in Nelson County, total ACW as of Monday morning, July 27, were: at 941 ft elevation, 595 ACW; at 1165 ft, 311 ACW; and at 1465 ft, 354 (with the 250-hr threshold reached July 5).