Exciting news – the sponsors are set, the agenda and speakers have been finalized! This year’s annual UF Stone Fruit Field Day will be held at the Frank Stronach Conference Center, at the Plant Science Research and Education Unit in Citra, FL on April 22nd, 2014 from 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 pm.
We have a great agenda planned with presentations on postharvest management of peaches, the impact of our current climate on the southeastern U.S., new AgroClimate apps, chill accumulation and options for management in peaches, crop insurance progress and options, and the quest to find out why our rootstock, ‘Flordaguard’ is resistant to nematodes.
Lunch will be freeagain this year, thanks to our very generous sponsors, which include: Philip Rucks Citrus Nursery, ColdPICK Technologies, Maxijet, Inc., Island Grove Ag Products, Growers Fertilizer Corporation, KeyPlex, Valent Biosciences, Syngenta, and Carden and Associates, Inc.
Please register by April 15th, so that we have an accurate headcount for lunch. There is a place on the registration form to input any dietary restrictions so that we can get the appropriate lunch for you and you won’t go hungry!
The cooperative effort of several extension specialists throughout the Southeastern U.S. working on stone fruit have contributed to the latest update of the Southeastern Peach, Nectarine, and Plum Pest Management and Culture Guide. Be sure to download the latest version and use it in your upcoming orchard spray regimens!
Nematodes
As I have traveled over the past six months or so, I have seen many trees that possibly have nematode issues; that is the trees flush out with early growth and sometimes bloom early, yet they lag behind later in the year from normal trees (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Nematode-affected tree showing reduced growth, due to an outcross of ‘Flordaguard’ rootstock.
Figure 1. Nematode-affected tree showing reduced growth, due to an outcross of ‘Flordaguard’ rootstock.
What do you do if you suspect that nematodes have infected a tree in your orchard?
The first thing that I usually do is politely ask the grower if it’s ok to pull up their tree. Often you will notice the either early or delayed growth from the rest of the orchard approximately one year from planting, so the trees are easily pulled up from the soil. In many cases, we end up finding nematode galls throughout the root system (Figure 2). These root knot galls are caused by the peach root knot nematode (Meloidogyne floridensis). If you do find these, then dispose of the tree and replant with a new tree that is budded onto “true-to-type” ‘Flordaguard’ rootstock. Having said this, in a nursery situation, it is often hard to catch those escapes that are outcrosses, and for those nurseries that use seeds to propagate ‘Flordaguard’ rootstock, outcrosses occur approximately 5% of the time, with another 10-15% being rogued out due to slow growth or small diameter caliper.
Figure 2. Root galls on peach root system caused by the peach root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne floridensis.
Solutions?
Unfortunately at this point, we don’t have any good solutions other than planting our varieties on nematode-resistant rootstocks, like ‘Flordaguard’. We have an ongoing project to figure out why ‘Flordaguard’ is resistant, as well as evaluating other rootstocks that may be resistant from the USDA-ARS Peach Rootstock Breeding program in Byron, GA. In many cases, fumigation may work – and we have a separate project to examine the effectiveness of the recommended rate as well as a half-rate of Telone II as a pre-plant fumigant in reducing the impact of peach root-knot nematode.
Requesting Help
If you would like to submit a nematode sampling for identification, please send a sample to the UF Nematode Assay Lab – http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/sr011. As always, please contact either myself or your local county extension agent regarding orchard issues. We are always here to help!
Operation Peaches in Florida 