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Project Leader(s): David A. Rosenberger,
Cornell’s Hudson Valley Laboratory, Highland, NY
Cooperator(s): Deborah Breth, Lake Ontario
Fruit Team
Kevin Iungerman, Northeastern NY Fruit Program
Mike Fargione, Hudson Valley Fruit Program
Type of grant: Monitoring, forecasting,
and economic threshold
Project location(s): All of NY and portions
of New England
Abstract: Apple scab is the most important
disease of apples in New York State where apples are grown on more than 50,000
acres. Apple growers control apple scab by applying fungicides to prevent infections
on leaves and fruit. Growers can avoid unnecessary fungicide sprays if they
know when the apple scab ascospores in the over-wintering leaf litter will be
released. Eliminating one fungicide spray on all of the apple acreage in New
York would save growers approximately $1.2 million each year, but eliminating
a spray when it is really needed could cause losses equal to at least four times
that potential savings. In a project funded by the New York State IPM program,
samples of apple leaf litter from seven locations around New York State were
assessed at critical times during spring to determine the status of apple scab
ascospore maturation and release. Each of the 18 assessments involved detailed
microscopic examinations of the fungal spore-producing structures after they
had been removed from the leaf litter. The lead scientist provided results to
extension educators who then used e-mail, code-a-phones, faxes, radio spots,
and newsletters to inform apple growers about results of scab spore assessments.
The scab spore assessments helped apple growers recognize that spores were available
for discharge unusually early in the 2001 growing season. As a result, growers
were advised to be especially careful about protecting trees during the very
earliest stages of tree growth so as to avoid infections that, if allowed to
occur, would have necessitated extra fungicide sprays throughout summer. This
cooperative effort between scientists and Cooperative Extension field staff
contributes to the profitability of the New York apple industry.
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