In this Issue:
STRAWBERRY NEWS
Happy Berry New Year
VEGETABLE NEWS
APPLE NEWS
University of MN Plant Licensing Task Force Progress
| Vol 3 No. 10 | August 11 , 2006 |
Happy Berry New Year
Thaddeus McCamant, Specialty Crops Management Specialist, Northland Community & Technical College
The strawberry harvest ended in early July and the summer raspberries and blueberries finished in late July. August is the beginning of the new year for berry plants. During harvest, nearly all the plants' energy was put into the crop. After harvest, the plants start growing new roots and leaves. By mid-August, the plants will be forming flower buds that will become next year's crop. In September, the plants start storing starch in their stems and roots the same way that a bear stores fat.
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Like most woody plants, blueberries stop growing towards the end of July. The last buds that form on the new growth will become floral buds. Blueberries are different than plums and cherries, where the floral buds are at the base of the new shoots. In order to assure that your blueberry plants form large numbers of flower buds: 1) Never cut the tips of your blueberry plants. 2) Avoid all nitrogen fertilizers in July and August. Too much fertilizer can cause the plants to start growing again. 3) Keep watering your plants. 4) Apply chelated iron if the new leaves are turning yellow. |
 Deformed strawberry from a Sept. spray of 2,4-D. The king berry formed before the spray, and is normal. |
Strawberries make floral buds when the days shorten in mid August. Floral buds may start forming earlier if the weather is cool. In order to assure that your strawberry plants form healthy flower buds: • Never spray 2,4-D after August 1. Later sprays will deform next summer's fruit. • The latest you can mow plants is the last week of July. You want the new plants to have a full canopy when the plants start forming floral buds in August. • Keep deer off the plants. A strawberry plant can't form floral buds without leaves. • Keep the plants fertilized throughout August and into early September. Unlike blueberries, strawberries continue to grow until frost, and late nitrogen rarely hurts the plants. |
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Co-Editors: Bill Hutchison (hutch002@umn.edu), Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, Jeanne Ciborowski, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Ag. Resources Management and Development Division, and Suzanne Wold-Burkness (woldx018@umn.edu), Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota
The Newsletter is published weekly from May through August, cooperatively, by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the University of Minnesota (U of MN). Reports are posted on the U of MN and MDA web sites on Fridays. If you have suggestions and/or comments, please send your contributions by 4 p.m., Wednesday to Jean Ciborowski, 651-201-6217, jeanne.ciborowski@state.mn.us, MDA, 625 Robert St. North, St. Paul, MN 55155-2538. You can access the Newsletter at the U of MN web site in htm format at: www.vegedge.umn.edu/MNFruit&VegNews/mnindex.htm and at the MDA web site in pdf format at: http://www.mda.state.mn.us/ipm/ipmnews/
Partial funding for this publication is provided through partnership agreements with the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (MFVGA) and the United States Department of Agriculture – Risk Management Agency (RMA). These institutions are equal opportunity providers.
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