LEXINGTON — Autumn has arrived in Kentucky, and it is time to focus on fruit, orchard, and vineyard sanitation. Good sanitation practices can help reduce disease-causing pathogens. Good sanitation practices can help reduce disease-causing pathogens. These organisms can survive for months or years on dead plant material or in soil, causing infections in subsequent years. Elimination of disease-causing organisms reduces the need for fungicides and can improve the effectiveness of disease management practices. Following these sanitation practices both in autumn and throughout the growing season can reduce disease pressure in home and commercial fruit plantings.
Sanitation Practices
- Remove diseased plant tissues from infected plants
- Prune cankers (Figure 1) by making cuts well below visible symptoms. Clean tools between each cut with a sanitizer, such as rubbing alcohol or household bleach.
- Rake and remove fallen buds, flowers, fruit, twigs, and leaves (Figure 2).
- Collect all fruit from trees, bushes, and vines. Discard diseased fruit since it can serve as a source of inoculum in subsequent growing seasons (Figure 3).
- Above and below ground portions of severely infected trees, bushes, and vines should be completely removed and destroyed.
- All discarded plant material should be burned, buried, or removed with yard waste. Do not compost diseased plant material.
- Remove weeds, including roots, which may serve as alternate hosts for pathogens.
- When treating infected plants with fungicides, remove infected tissues prior to application.
Additional Information
- Fruit, Orchard, and Vineyard Sanitation (PPFS-GEN-05)
- Plant Pathology Publications
— Kimberly Leonberger, Plant Pathology Extension Associate, and Nicole Gauthier, Plant Pathology Extension Specialist
Kentucky Pest News
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
LINCOLN, Neb. — Tar spot, caused by the fungus Phyllachora maydis, was confirmed in eight eastern Nebraska counties in October 2021. As expected, the fungus overwintered and disease redeveloped in 2022 as field conditions became favorable in those same areas. The fungus has spread to corn fields in several new counties (highlighted yellow), as well […]
LINCOLN, Neb. — Frogeye leaf spot (FLS) of soybean is an important disease in Nebraska. While FLS has not yet been confirmed in the state during the 2022 growing season, producers should expect to see disease symptoms in the next few weeks. The disease can cause significant yield loss but there are effective management options […]
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Diseases are a major concern for greenhouse hemp growers, and they can be a factor that limits the profitable production of plants. The warm, humid greenhouse environment provides optimal conditions for reproduction of many pathogens. A good sanitation program can help reduce the need for chemical controls, which are a limited option […]
LEXINGTON — Stink bug species (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) are present in soybean fields in Kentucky. They include phytophagous species, such as green stink bug (Chinavia hilaris), the complex of brown stink bugs (i.e., Euschistus variolarius, Euschistus servus), southern green stink bug (Nezara viridula), brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys), and red shouldered stink bug (Thyanta custator), as well […]
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The soybean gall midge, Resseliella maxima (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is a relatively new pest in soybean. Although some findings have been reported since 2011 (CropWatch), large populations were noticed in plants located at the edges of soybean fields by late June of 2018 in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, and South Dakota (Figure 1); a […]
