Saturday, May 30, 2015

Berry time

Blueberries , turning blue and soon will be ripe.

Blackberries -in full bloom.

Asian pears - made it thru the cedar apple rust.  Bartlett
pears - - very bad infection of coastal cedar rust - orange
rust on pears.

Strawberries and raspberries - still going fine.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

More weather- some good and some bad

The next ten days show weather patterns of warm -80 degrees;
 wet showers next Monday and Tuesday, which means more apple
and pear scab weather.  Then a bit cooler cloudy weather, then more
 sunshine.

Pears - Bartlet are being hammered with the orange - coastal cedar
 rust on pears, and apples, and service berries.  Usually this happens
every 7 years but it looks like the cycle is reoccurring more often.

Reports of cherry fruits flies;  reports of apple and pear codling moth -
 out very early this year;  and spotted wing drosophila - raspberries and
strawberries.

Time to thin apples, pears and peaches.


Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Weather



Tuesday May 26
 No big surprises lay ahead, just a normal pattern for 
this time of year.
For the rest of the PNW, expect dry and seasonal conditions 
through Wednesday. By Thu, that low will have moved out, 
ushering in a warming trend. Temperatures will pop into the
 80s in many places, even teasing 90 in Medford area by Fri.

The last weekend in May is on track to start out warm, with a 
weak low SE of the OR coast on Sunday.   Mon & Tue, 
June 1,2, each model run diminishes this system, so again, iffy. 
Still, much of the week of June 1-5 should be dry along the 
coast & inland, west of the Cascades. Normal.

The first weekend of June continues to trend WET.
Tue June 9 through Mon June 15 continues to look dry, with 
significant WARMING possible late that week.
-Rufus   http://ovs.com/wx-cafe

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Happenings

Cherry fruit fly out.
Apple and pear codling moth is out in big numbers.
Spotted wing drosophila(bad insect of most of the
berries) is out in Eugene
Raspberries, SWD out in big numbers.
Strawberries - full harvest.  Rain softening
fruit then more than wanted.
Other than rain - good crop growing weather.
The  warmer weather is causing some cole
crops to bolt already - going to seed.

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Weather



Rufus at the WxCafe® gives his spin on Memorial Day weekend 
weather and beyond. Please join me remembering those who have
 made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Be safe. Robin
Friday May 22
Between Fri., & next Wed, a stationary pattern, with low pressure
 parked over SE OR, NV will continue to spin up moisture from
 the S to SE, so from eastern slopes of the Cascades into ID, MT, 
WY expect showers & boomer action at times.  Humidity will
 average a bit higher than is typical for late May.
 Mild-to-warm temps are on tap, with a warming trend late next 
week. West side temps could tease into the mid-80s by the last 
weekend of the month. Lots of sun, lower humidity. The race
 toward early caneberry & cherry harvest will continue.   
 RASPBERRIES ALREADY RIPE OR RIPENING.  CHERRY 
FRUIT FLY OUT FOR 1 ½ WEEKS.
-Rufus    http://ovs.com/wx-cafe

Friday, May 22, 2015

Spotted wing drosophila

A Eugene client reported that her raspberries already had
 a HUGE amount of the SWD spotted wing drosophila
larvae in the berries.  An easy way to tell is to take the
soft berries, put a few in the palm of your hand;  then rub
 the two hands to together.  This separates the berries into
 pieces and if there is the SWD, you will be able to see the
 little white larvae - the berries are infected.

You can put up a 38 ounce plastic container, add 3/8inch
wholes and add 1 inch of apple cider vinegar to the container. 
This will do a good job of attracting the flying adults.

Good site:  http://spottedwing.org/

Insects

Cherry fruit fly is out.

Codling moth - that affect apples and
pears is out in big numbers. 

Both are out very early.  Codling moth -  big
emergence is usually around the end of May to June 15.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

The fruit season has started

Strawberry season has started, only a good two
 to three weeks early.  As some media has said early
to the earliest on record.

Temps are mild, lows 48-54 and highs 65 to 79. Weather
forecast shows one day of rains which is not needed
for ripe strawberries.
Seeing a lot of what is called he pear -cedar apple rust
slime on the small pears.  It is called coastal cedar rust
as it comes from the coastal cedars in the valley.  The
 pears are also showing a lot of the blister mite and blister
 rust, where the leaves have raised areas on the bottom
of the leaves, and often are red in color.

Other fruit and berries growing well.

Friday, May 15, 2015

This week

Crops continuing to grow well.
Wet weather has increased the apple and pear
scab infection.
Weather looks ripe for Cedar apple rust coming
from coastal cedar trees.

See a bit of June drop, early as with almost all crops.

The next month will tell how well the tree fruit
flowers were pollinated.

Tree fruits and berries - still very good prognosis
 but June drop will tell us a lot.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Weather for upcoming crops



Weather update  Monday May 11
 East side of the Cascades got the first round of BOOMERS late 
yesterday.  Overall pattern will favor the occasional thunderstorm, 
scattered showers and muggy conditions, at times, through at least 
Fri May 22. 
If your ag operation are east of the Cascades, expect a higher chance 
for 'stormy afternoons' at times. West side patrons will get some of the 
action, although not enough to rain out any one particular day.
 The cold front today will spin wide-spread showers through later Tue. 
By late week, conditions will turn nice west of the Cascades, with pop-up 
storms east side slowly diminishing by Saturday. The weekend of May 16, 
17 should start and end mild, dry. Monday & Tue May 18, 19 damp east of 
the Cascades.
 No question, the entire PNW is racing towards a 1992 copy-cat harvest 
season!! Many have drawn up the day degree calculation charts to affirm 
one of the warmest years of the past 100. Definitely the warmest year since 
1992, but don't forget the super warm 1926, 1934, 1944. Fruit processing will
 begin earlier than at any time since 1992, so if you haven't down the 'math' 
yet (plant & personnel readiness, shipping logistics, etc.), well, enough said. 
Temperatures the next two weeks will not help slow down the progress;
 rather, mild overnight lows will fuel the race.

For Eugene and area, highs in the 70’s and lows 45, with what looks like rain
 6 out of the next 10 days. More scab infection on apples and pears.  Cherry 
and strawberry harvest be aware.

Cherry fruit fly emerged in Yamhill County  May 11th.