Reminder: blackberry field tour this Thursday!

Green June beetle on ripe blackberries at the Lower Coastal Plain Research Station, Kinston, NC during a research trial in 2009. Photo: HJB

This Thursday I will be in Henderson County for a blackberry twilight tour organized by the Henderson County Cooperative Extension office; contact them for location and schedule information. I have already had two calls this week with questions about spotted wing drosophila (SWD) and blackberries, so I will be focusing on that topic and will also touch on thrips and cane borers.

Blackberry field visits, May 26th

Green June beetle feeding on ripe blackberries at the Lower Coastal Plain Research Station, Kinston, NC in 2009. Photo: HJB

I will be in southwestern North Carolina this Wednesday and Thursday for a Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium sponsored agent training. Following the training on the 26th, I will be visiting several blackberry growers to discuss SWD monitoring and management. SWD have been detected in several counties in southwestern NC and northwestern SC, and large populations were present in a non commerical planting in 2010. Blackberry & raspberry growers should be aware of their management tools and be prepared to both monitor and treat in 2011.

More information
Insecticides registered for use in caneberries & their potential use against SWD