Disease Update; Accumulated wetting hours and extended wetting events

Early this week we recorded another extended wetting event at our AREC: May 28-29, wet 12 hr at 63° with 0.04 in. rain. 

For purposes of predicting the development of the sooty blotch and flyspeck (SBFS) fungal complex, we record accumulated wetting hours from rainfall or dew, starting 10 days after petal fall. This year we chose Apr 24 as our petal fall date for Winchester, so the start of wetting hour accumulation was from May 4. As of Monday morning May 29, accumulated wetting hours (ACW) toward the 250 wetting hour threshold for specific treatment against the SBFS fungal complex were: at 909 ft elevation, 204 hr; at 932 ft (the AREC NEWA station), 167 hr; and at the 983 ft elevation, 139 hr ACW. In the past week some wetting hour accumulation occurred from both rainfall and dew. 

For central Virginia, we have selected Apr 20 as the petal fall date, and accumulation of wetting hours from Apr 30 is recorded by three weather stations at different elevations at Tyro. As of May 29, a sensor placed at 1465 ft. elevation had accumulated only 75 wetting hours from Apr 30, while the one at 1165 ft. had accumulated 147 wetting hours, and the one placed at 941 ft elevation had accumulated 187 hr.

The NEWA station at Gadino Cellars (elev. 665 ft, in Washington, VA) has recorded 206 wetting hours since May 1.

More of the same...

We have had several more extended wetting periods this week, favorable for both scab and cedar-apple rust and early summer disease development: May 23-24, wet 11 hr at 54° with 0.48 in. rain; May 24-25, wet 15 hr at 55° with 0.96 in. rain; . May 25-26 wet more than 9 hr at 56° with 0.56 in. rain.

Apple scab pressure has been significant this year, with five infection periods Mar 27- Apr 7 and enough rainfall to cause weathering of protectant fungicides during that time. Lesions from those infection periods were present to cause secondary infection Apr 22-26 and during later infection periods May 4-6, May 11-13, May 21-22, and the recent ones this week. Combinations of fungicides with protective action and after-infection activity for scab are suggested for control during repeated conditions with 1-2 inches of rainfall followed by extended wetting that favors additional infection.

Cedar-apple rust: Rusts have been active for 8 weeks and cedar rust galls were still active May 25-26. Cedar-apple rust lesions and some quince rust lesions are present from the Apr 24-26 and May 4-6 infection periods and more foliar infection is appearing from the more recent ones. Considering continued cedar gall activity and infection conditions this week, it would still be prudent to include an SI fungicide for after-infection rust control in the next application if there is any doubt about lack of protective residue. The recent wetting will add to the accumulated wetting hour totals for development of sooty blotch and flyspeck which will be updated early next week.

Stone fruits: Continue to protect peaches against peach scab which is also favored by the above conditions described for apple scab. Also, protect ripening cherries against brown rot and Alternaria rot which are favored by these wet conditions during the pre-ripening period.

Disease update May 23.

We have some continuing apple scab activity, with a secondary infection period across the region from Winchester southward to Roanoke and east of the Blue Ridge May 21-22. Length of wetting varied from 7-16 hr at temperatures of 58-70° and mostly less than an inch of rain. More extended wetting is forecast for May 23-24. Later this week and early next week we expect secondary scab lesions to appear from the heavy secondary infection period May 11-13.  

For purposes of predicting the development of the sooty blotch and flyspeck (SBFS) fungal complex, we record accumulated wetting hours from rainfall or dew, starting 10 days after petal fall. This year we chose Apr 24 as our petal fall date for Winchester, so the start of wetting hour accumulation was from May 4. As of May 22, accumulated wetting hours (ACW) toward the 250 wetting hour threshold for specific treatment against the SBFS fungal complex were: at 909 ft elevation, 127 hr; at 932 ft (the AREC NEWA station), 109 hr; and at the 983 ft elevation, 84 hr ACW. In the past week some wetting hour accumulation occurred from both rainfall and dew. 

For central Virginia, we have selected Apr 20 as the petal fall date, and accumulation of wetting hours from Apr 30 is recorded by three weather stations at different elevations at Tyro. As of May 22, a sensor placed at 1465 ft. elevation had accumulated only 35 wetting hours from Apr 30, while the one at 1165 ft. had accumulated 83 wetting hours, and the one placed at 941 ft elevation had accumulated 115 hr.

Apple powdery mildew remains active on susceptible new growth. Mildew is a dry weather disease, and conidiospores were available for infection at Winchester as early as Mar 27. Since then we have had 23 days suitable for mildew infection through May 22. 

East of the Blue Ridge we have seen several examples of fire blight blossom infection.

Apple scab infection period May 11-13. Early summer disease developments.

At Winchester we recorded a heavy secondary apple scab infection period May 11-13, with 46 hr wetting with a mean temperature of 49° and 1.82 inches of rain. This volume of rainfall could have eliminated much of the protective fungicide residue during the extended wetting to allow some scab and rust infection. 

Areas in the Valley, southward to Roanoke, and areas east of the Blue Ridge from Fauquier County south to Lynchburg and Danville also saw extended wetting periods ranging from 32-48 hr, all at temperatures in the low to mid-50s. The more southern areas had split wetting periods or two separate ones starting May 9. These conditions also favored peach scab infection.

Rusts have been active in the Winchester area for six weeks, and some cedar rust galls are still active. Cedar-apple rust lesions (shown below) and some quince rust lesions are now appearing from the Apr 24-26 infection period; others from the extended wetting May 4-6 are expected this week.

May 10, 2017. Early appearance of cedar-apple rust lesions and scab (upper left) from the infection period Apr 24-26.

Apple powdery mildew conidia were available for infection at Winchester as early as Mar 27, and there have been 18 “dry weather“ mildew days suitable for mildew infection from Mar 27 to May 14. The image below illustrates the appearance of a primary mildew shoot and secondary infection on an adjacent shoot. 

Adjacent Golden Delicious shoots infected with primary infection (right) and secondary infection (left). Primary infection emerges with shoot growth from an infected overwintering bud. Secondary infection is usually heavier near a primary inoculum source.

For purposes of predicting the development of the sooty blotch and flyspeck (SBFS) fungal complex, we record accumulated wetting hours from rainfall or dew, starting 10 days after petal fall. This year we have chosen Apr 24 as our petal fall date for Winchester, so the start of wetting hour accumulation is from May 4. As of May 14, accumulated wetting hours (ACW) toward the 250 wetting hour threshold for specific treatment against the SBFS fungal complex were: at 909 ft elevation, 98 hr; at 932 ft (the AREC NEWA station), 83 hr; and at the 983 ft elevation, 73 hr ACW. One of the purposes of following three weather stations is to compare wetting hour accumulation at different elevations; however, because many of the early wetting hours this year were a result of rainfall rather than dew, the early accumulation trend this year is a bit different than in some previous years. 


For central Virginia, we have selected Apr 20 as the petal fall date for accumulation of wetting hours by weather stations at Tyro. As of May 14, a sensor placed at 1465 ft. elevation had accumulated only 31 wetting hours from Apr 30, while the one at 1165 ft. had accumulated 72 wetting hours, and the one placed at 941 ft elevation had accumulated 94 hr.

Widespread scab and rust infection period May 4-6

WIDESPREAD SCAB and RUST INFECTION PERIOD: A widespread secondary scab infection period occurred May 4-6 from Danville, Roanoke and Lynchburg areas northward through Winchester. In Winchester we recorded 22 hr wetting with a mean temperature of 55° and 2.6 inches of rainfall. This volume of rainfall could have eliminated much of the fungicide residue early enough during the extended wetting to allow some scab and rust infection.

A survey of eleven NEWA weather stations in Virginia showed volumes of rainfall ranging around 2 to 3 inches at most recording stations, but Danville had 1.2 in. of rain and 18 hr wetting while some Albemarle County stations had more than 3 inches, and Rappahannock County had as much as 5.4 inches and 44 hr wetting. Temperatures were warm enough at all locations to allow cedar-apple rust infection wherever inoculum is still present. There are still active cedar rust galls at Winchester.

Also, these conditions May 4-6 favored peach scab infection.

FIREBLIGHT UPDATE: Fire blight conditions developed much as predicted in the May 1 post, with possible infection conditions May 1, only wetting lacking May 2, then declining risk with cooler temperatures that are predicted to continue through May 13. The remaining susceptible bloom in the Winchester area is mostly on recently planted trees. 

Fire blight outlook May 1-5.

NOTE: This year for fire blight risk assessment, we are comparing graphics from Maryblyt 7 and from the Cougarblight model as shown on our NEWA site. We are using the same weather data from our NEWA station to make these comparisons in both predictive programs.

CAUTION: The observations, conditions, and recommendations reported for Winchester, VA are provided as a guide to fire blight risk assessment only for the immediate area of the Virginia Tech AREC located six miles southwest of Winchester. Use of the information reported here for making orchard management decisions outside of that area is not our intent. Fruit producers outside of that area are encouraged to consult their state extension specialists for information similar to that provided here.

Maryblyt graphic May 1, 2017. Click to enlarge.

FIRE BLIGHT: Above is a cropped graphic from the Maryblyt 7 program, using Apr 5 as the date for first bloom open on Idared cultivar. Some early cultivars still have scattered susceptible bloom, while later cultivars are beyond petal fall but still with susceptible bloom in the Winchester and central Virginia areas. Some recently planted trees still have much susceptible bloom. The temperature and rainfall data are current through Sunday evening, Apr 30. Predicted weather conditions are shown for May 1-5. The components of fire blight risk are indicated in the columns labeled B (blossoms open), H (degree hours for epiphytic bacterial populations), W (wetting by rain or dew), and T (average daily temperature 60 F or above). For infection to be predicted, wetting must occur after the EIP (epiphytic infection potential) reaches 100 or higher. Based on recorded temperatures and wetting, the risk column shows high risk and possible infection with any wetting Apr 11-12, 15-18, 21 and, and if bloom persists, Apr 27-May 2. Infection was indicated for Apr 12, 15-17 21 and Apr 28-30. Predicted warming temperatures have again increased risk wherever susceptible bloom remains through May 2, then declines with cooler temperatures through May 5. Note that risk can change quickly with warmer than predicted temperatures and wetting. Continue to protect late bloom and open bloom on recently planted trees as needed.

The BBS column is tracking predicted symptom development for the first infection Apr 12 and symptoms are predicted to appear Apr 27. Later infections are tracked with letters b-e, and symptoms for those are predicted to appear Apr 28-May 2. The CBS column indicates progression toward the appearance of canker margin symptoms due to extension of overwintering cankers from last year, which were predicted to Apr 22. Canker advancement cannot be prevented by chemical treatment at this time and the presence of symptoms will signal build-up of inoculum which could become a factor in the event of a trauma blight/shoot blight situation due to hail injury, etc. To offset the potential for shoot tip infection in an active fire blight year such as this one, apply the plant growth regulator, prohexadione-calcium (Apogee, Kudos), at late bloom. Shoot blight suppression results from hardening off of vegetative shoot growth starting about 10 days after the initial application.

Below is the graphic from the Cougarblight model as shown on our NEWA site. Note that we selected orchard blight history option as “Fire blight occurred in your neighborhood last year” and first blossom open date as 4/5/2017. (This date must be re-set each time this site is accessed). Cougarblight shows color-coded risk as “extreme” Apr 28-May 3.

Cougarblight graphic May 1, 2017. Click to enlarge.