reekie powerpoint

Organic Apple Production

Julia Reekie

Atlantic Food and Horticulture Centre

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Kentville, Nova Scotia

ACORN Conference

November 20, 2013

Organic ‘Honeycrisp’ Orchard

2007 2008

Young

Orchard

2008

2008 2008

Weeds in Apple Orchards

Cleavers

Chickweed

Lambsquarters

Pigweed

Ragweed Wild carrot Plantain

Apple Insect Pests

Codling moth & fruit damage

European apple sawfly

& fruit damage

European red mite

Rosy apple aphids

San Jose scale

Oyster shell scale

White apple leafhopper

Apple maggot

http://www.btinternet.com/~micka.wffps/codling_moth.jpg

http://www.agroatlas.ru/content/pests/Hoplocampa_testudinea/Hoplocampa_testudinea.jpg

http://ipmnews.msu.edu/fruit/Portals/fruit/images/fruitImages09/6-30fruitscarring.jpg

http://uidaho.edu/so-id/entomology/codling moth damage.jpg

Apple scab

Apple Diseases and Disorders

Powdery mildew

Fireblight

Bitter pit

Water core

Apple re-plant disease

Cedar-apple rust Sooty blotch

http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pp/pp419/PP419Gallery/OswegoClass/pages/Apple fire blight 6.htm

Organic Pest Management Projects

• Innovative herbicide and fungicide replacement strategies for organic apple production

In collaboration with Gordon Braun and the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers’

Association

• Incorporation of GF-120 Naturalyte Fruit Fly Bait into orchard

integrated pest management (IPM) for apple maggot In collaboration with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural

Affairs and the Pest Management Centre of AAFC

• Field testing of efficacy of an aqueous extract of Quassia amara for control of European apple sawfly (Hoplocampa testudinea (Klug))

In collaboration with Trifolio-M and David Maxwell of Broomholm Orchards

Orchard Floor Management

Harvest

What is GF-120?

• Spinosad bait is produced by the fermentation of the soil actinomycete Saccharopolyspora spinosa

• Spinosad is a mixture of the two most active metabolites (spinosyns A and D)

• In June 2009, GF-120 is registered for use to control apple maggots in both conventional and organic apple productions

The goal is to achieve the correct rate, timing and method of application of GF-120 so as to give adequate apple maggot control

• 2 regions: Ontario (2 trials) and Nova Scotia (4 trials)

• In each organic orchard: four replications of 4 treatments and a control with no treatment

• 3 rates of GF-120: 1x, 1.5x and 2x label rate • Compare treatment to a industrial standard-

‘Surround’ Trials were successful and demonstrated

effective control leading to GF-120 label expansion in June 2009

GF-120 Trials

Spraying Strategies

• ‘McIntosh’ and ‘Cortland’ research orchards in Nova Scotia

• 4 replications of 3 treatments: perimeter spray, spray alternate rows and spray all rows

• Control with no treatment (to indicate pest pressure)

• Label rate of GF-120: 1.5 L/ha

Sheffield Farm - GF120 Trial - 2008

Trees identified with: black text = Control; blue = perimeter; green = every row; red = alt row

C = Cortland; M = McIntosh

WEST NORTH

Tree Blk 4 Blk 3 Blk 2 Blk 1

40 M M M M C C M 40

39 C C M M C C M M C C M M C C M 39

38 C C M M C C M M C C M M C C M M C C M M 38





































ROW 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Applying GF-120

GF-120 has to be applied as soon as adult flies emerge

• Rate=1.5 L/ha

• Dilution 1:4 (GF-120: water)

• Large droplet size (4-6 mm in diameter)

• Uniform coverage is not critical

• Repeat application 7 - 10 days

• Re-apply after a rain event

Simplified Spraying Device

Spray Application

Assessment

• At harvest, 6-10 trees from each experimental plot were sampled and from each tree, 20 apples were randomly collected

• For each orchard, 20 apples from 16 control trees were randomly collected

• Fruits were incubated at room temperature for 2 weeks before the assessment of apple maggot damage

• Every fruit was cut into quarters and examined for apple maggot injury

Boates Conventional Orchard – Woodville, NS

# of apples

examined

% damage

Control 162 24

Gravenstein 465 0.2

McIntosh 600 0

•Ten applications starting on July

8 and ending August 27

•Alternate row spraying

Orchard = 6.5

CCCCCCCC

175’

Acres

Jy 7 Jy 21 Aug 4 Aug 18 Sep 1 Sep 15

Ap

ple

Mag

go

t F

lies

Cu

mu

lati

ve T

ota

l

0

100

200

300

400

500

Male

Female

Apple maggot flies capture – Block 84

Block 84 – Kentville

# of apples

examined

% damage

Control 150 85.0

Aug 15 581 8.0

Aug 30 595 8.0

Sep 15 593 0.2

R2R3 R1R4

C

CC

CCCC

CC

CCCCCCCC

•‘Surround’ was applied to protect apples from

apple maggot attacks

•3 treatments: surround terminated on Aug. 15,

Aug. 30 and Sept. 15

European Apple Sawfly (Hoplocampa Testudinea)

•Adults are 6 to 8 mm in length

•Head is yellow with yellow

antennae and black eyes

•Wings are covered with tiny

black hairs

•Body is brown

•Upper surface is almost black

and shiny; lower surface lighter

and orange to yellow

•Female sawfly has a saw-like

ovipositor

The’Saw’

European apple sawfly (Hoplocampa testudinea)

pupae 5th larval instar

Organic Thinning?!

• 6-year old, 10 feet tall Novamac tree on M7

• 455 apples damaged by EAS (June 22, 2010)

• 250 apples remained on the tree

• 200 apples reached maturity (September 22, 2010)

Broomholm Orchards – LaHave, Lunenburg Co.

Ananas reinette

Monitoring

•Emergence is

monitored using non-

UV reflective, sticky

white traps

•Traps are hung at a

height of 1.5 m. in trees

•Check traps often

Emergence

•A total of 551 EAS, 310

males and 241 females

were caught in four

traps in Block 112 in

Kentville

•Cumulative captures

showed that 50 % of the

total capture occurred

between May 16 and 22,

in a matter of 6 days 0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Eu

rop

ean

Ap

ple

Saw

fly (

EA

S)

May-13 May-18 May-23 May-28 Jun-02

Date

138 EAS (25% of total capture)

413 EAS (75% of total capture)

551 EAS (100 % capture)

May 16(25% EAS)

May 22(75% EAS)

Primary and Secondary Damage

• Active ingredients: quassinoids, including

quassin and isoquassin (picrasmin); alkaloids

• Various trees or shrubs (Quassia amara,

Picrasma excelsa, Picrasma quassioides) of the

family Simaroubaceae having wood and bark

with an intense bitter taste.

Quassia

Toxicity of Quassia

• Approved as a food additive (for humans)

• No toxicity to other mammals

• Non-toxic to fish (runoff less of a concern)

• Non-toxic to beneficial insects

• Non-toxic to pollinators (!)

Experiments Designed To Test

Does it work?

Investigate the efficacy of a single spray of Quassia Extract MD (TriFolio M GmbH) in the control of European apple sawfly damage in apple cultivars with varying phenology

How much do we need?

Determine the lowest effective concentration of Quassia Extract MD to control EAS in ‘Liberty’ apples

When do we need to apply it?

Compare EAS damage in ‘Liberty’ apples receiving early versus delayed sprays under field conditions

Does It Work?

• Broomholm Orchards, Middle LaHave

– 23 different cultivars paired, (treated & control)

• Single spray

– 2 weeks after first trap capture, at 6 g Quassin/m.tree height/ha

– At this point, trees ranged from full bloom to petal-fall

Results Over all damage in treated trees 2.7%

Over all damage in controls 13% But significant variation between cultivars

0

10

20

30

40

% E

AS

Da

ma

ge

B T

ho

rn

N S

py

A R

ein

Bra

mle

y

S S

ix

H M

Jer

sey

R P

ipp

in

P L

ou

ise

A K

ern

Bo

sko

op

Fo

xw

J S

eed

La

dy

Ma

nte

t

R R

uss

et

W S

La

w

Kin

g

W P

rid

e

Gid

eon

G H

eart

Lin

da

P G

ris

S H

ern

Control

Quassia

How Much Do We Need?

• Block 112 at AFHRC in Kentville

• ‘Liberty’ trees

• Randomized complete block design with 9 groups of 4 trees each

• One tree in each group as

control, and one each of spray at 3, 6, and 9 g Quassin/ha

0 g/ha 3 g/ha 6 g/ha 9 g/ha

% E

AS

Dam

age

0

10

20

30

40

When Do We Need To Apply It?

• Second group of trees in Block 112

• One half sprayed on May 27, second half delayed until June 1

Quassia (6 g/ha)

May 27 June 1

% D

am

age

0

10

20

In Summary

• Quassia is effective – and gratifyingly selective and non-toxic

• A spray concentration of 6 g quassin/ha appears adequate, unless pest pressure is heavy, then 9 g quassin/ha is more desirable

• Preliminary data suggest that spray timing is not critical, as long as the agent is on the fruit when first instar larva emerges

Acknowledgement

•Nova Scotia Fruit Growers’ Association

•Pest Management Centre, AAFC

•Dow AgroSciences, Canada

•Trifolio-M, Germany

•Boates Farm Ltd.

•Broomholm Orchards

•Eric Specht, Emily Chase and Ashley Smith

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Technology

2mcintosh6000c c c c

apple diseases

apple maggots

assessment of apple

apple maggot attacks

apple maggot injury

alt row c

adequate apple maggot