Filtering by tag: apple alert ✕

Photo of the petal fall phenological stage of an apple flower

2026 Apple Disease Update: Petal Fall + Blossom Blight Infection Alert!

The cooler temperatures and dry weather this week hopefully gave you a breather from streptomycin sprays and other disease management tasks. However, as we transition into petal fall (1st cover for…

Delta-style insect trap in apple tree during bloom

WNC Orchard Insect Pest Update - April 6, 2026

With apples in bloom throughout the region, now is a good time to assess your pest management program, including setting pheromone traps and planning for upcoming insecticide sprays. Monitoring…

Bloom on an apple tree in a trellis block

2026 Apple Disease Update: Bloom

Apologies on the brief delay in getting this posted-blossom blight alerts, a work trip to Raleigh and teaching Master Pomology this morning left me a bit strapped for time. Anyways, lets take a look…

blossom blight in apple

March 30-April 3, 2026: Blossom Blight Infection Alert!

I hope you all got through this weekend's cold snap mostly unscathed. Unfortunately, for flowers that survived, right now the models look brutal for blossom blight infection events and management…

blossom blight in apple

March 27, 2026: Blossom Blight Infection Alert!

Happy Spring NC Apple Growers! Sorry to hit you with a Blossom Blight Infection Alert in the evening, but the weather forecasts have changed slightly. Higher temperatures and wetting events that were…

blossom blight in apple

2026 Blossom Blight Infection Alert!

According to the Cougar Blight model, there is an extreme risk of fire blight to open blossoms March 23-25. However, looking at the EIP model, there is a high risk for blossom blight infection on…

Apple phenology stages of tight cluster and pink

2026 Apple Disease Update: Tight Cluster and Pink Bud

Well, green tip to pink bud (or to bloom in some cultivars and production areas) seemed to progress fairly rapidly again this year! this year! In this post, I've included the main diseases you should…

Budding trees with greenhouse and other buildings in background

WNC Orchard Insect Pest Update - March 23, 2026

It seems a little early for the initial apple pest update, but apparently mother nature is not going to wait for me any longer.Pre-bloom Oil Sprays: The term "delayed-dormant oil application" usually…

Gala apple blossom with no visible injury to the pistil. This would be categorized as a viable blossom. Photo by Tom Kon, NC State.

Assessing apple bud damage following an advective freeze

Last week, a series of frost/freeze events caused flower bud mortality across multiple apple production regions in the southeast. Some sites observed up to 6 nights of subfreezing temperatures in a…

An image of young high density apple orchard. Trees are trained to a trellis and the base of the trunks (lower 2') are coated in white latex paint to minimize southwest injury.

Commercial Tree Fruit Extension Meeting in Henderson County [February 20th]

Dr. Mike Parker and Dr. Tom Kon will lead an informal, in-orchard discussion and demonstration on:Apple Tree Pruning, Training, and Lateral Branch Induction during Orchard Establishment.Multiple…