-11- 



Disease Injury . In general, apple scab pressure was extremely high this 

 year. Growers who used regular contact fungicide applications, with limited 

 combinations of either Cyprex or Benlate had good control if they maintained 

 good coverage going into infection periods. Funginex plus a contact fungi- 

 cide applied 3 days or less after an infection period also worked very well. 

 Most growers applied from 7 to 10 fungicide sprays during primary scab 

 season, which lasted from April to June 10 (exact dates depended on the 

 location). Fortunately, during the prolonged rain around May 30, most areas 

 were past the period of maximum ascospore pressure. However, extensive scab 

 was evident in many commercial blocks, requiring repeated eradicant sprays 

 to prevent spread of secondary inoculum to fruit. 



Blossom end rot incidence was higher than normal. The two organisms 

 associated with this year's outbreak were Sclerotinia and Botrytis , two com- 

 mon end-rot fungi. As usual, most infected apples had dropped by 

 mid-August . 



This year, the first case of benomyl -resistant scab was confirmed in 

 Massachusetts. The grower who developed the problem had been involved in 

 testing the compound early in its development. He has used benomyl alone, 

 and benomyl combinations for over ten years. 



Plans for 1985 . It appears that funding for Extension programming in 

 Apple IPM wil 1 be down somewhat from 1984 levels. Inspite of this, we plan 

 to expand Extension's monitoring program to include blocks in the Granville 

 area, presently not being scouted by Extension or private sector scouts 

 (other than some grower scouting). 



As in 1984, the purpose of this and other scouting in 1985 will be to 

 develop the twice weekly pest status messages, rather than provide a 

 scouting and grower advice service as had been the case during the pilot 

 program phase. 



Growers interested in obtaining sector IPM scouting/consulting services 

 are encouraged to contact the individuals listed below. 



Boston IPM, Inc. 



242 Cayenne St. 



W. Springfield, MA 01089 



413-736-8404 



New England Fruit Consultants 



P.O. Box J. 



Lake Pleasant, MA 01347 



413-367-9678 



As in 1984, Extension faculty and staff will continue to provide IPM 

 training to update growers on insect/disease biology and in latest develop- 

 ments in monitoring techniques, action thresholds, and appropriate control 

 strategies. 



