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| States: | New Hampshire |
| Investigators: | William E. MacHardy |
| Institutions: | University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension |
| Project Type: | extension |
| Award*: | $11,980 |
| Term: | 24 months |
Crop: |
*Award shown is total amount to be used over the course of the project term.
Apple scab is the major disease of apples in the Northeastern United States and in most areas worldwide where apples are grown. Historically, fungicides have been applied repeatedly throughout the growing season according to a calendar schedule, fruit bud phenological stages, or the occurrence of scab infection periods. In 1996, two new scheduling strategies were added to the New England Apple Pest Management Guide: (i) a "scab-risk" action threshold that identifies when the first fungicide is needed to control scab and (ii) a "sanitation" action threshold that identifies when sanitation can be employed to reduce inoculum (ascospores) of the pathogen to a level that will allow fewer early-season fungicide applications. For the first time, growers can base their decision-making for scheduling fungicides and employing sanitation practices on a scientifically-based prediction of "scab-pressure." The new strategies are the result of 15 years of research that established a relationship between the number of scabbed leaves counted in autumn and the level of "scab-risk" in spring. If done correctly, the "risk-assessment" procedure will improve fungicide efficiency by (i) eliminating unnecessary early-season fungicide applications in a "low-risk" orchard, (ii) employing sanitation practices to economic advantage in a "moderate-risk" orchard, and (iii) alerting the grower to prepare for a full-season fungicide schedule in a "high-risk" orchard. If the autumn assessment is done incorrectly, however, a decision to eliminate early-season fungicide sprays may result in crop loss and loss of revenue, and growers, crop consultants, and Extension Fruit and IPM Specialists have voiced concern that they do not have the confidence to make the autumn "scab-risk" assessment. In response, autumn workshops were conducted in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire over the past two years to train growers to assess scab, but the workshops were not well attended because harvest is not a good time for a workshop that will require nearly one full day of a grower's time. Thus another technology-transfer approach is needed. The proposal objective is to develop a video to train growers, crop consultants, and Extension Specialists to assess an orchard for foliar scab in autumn, determine the risk of scab in spring, and select the appropriate strategies and practices and a laminated set of colored photographs of symptoms that appear on leaves in autumn to assist the grower while making an assessment.
1. Produce a video and laminated card set to train apple growers, crop consultants, and Extension Fruit and IPM Specialists to assess an orchard in autumn to determine the level of "scab-risk" for use with new strategies that improve the efficiency of fungicide use and sanitation practices in controlling scab.
NE IPM funded projects |