Painless and Efficient Maturity Testing

Win Cowgill, Professor and Area Fruit Agent
Jon Clements, Extension Tree Fruit Educator, University of Massachusetts 

     Our observation has been that few growers utilize the Starch Index (SI) method of determining harvest maturity. Perhaps SI testing is perceived as time consuming and difficult to properly judge. We contend, however, that SI testing is the best and easiest indicator of apple maturity that a grower can use to plan their harvest and storage regimes.

Spotted Wing Drosophila Found in Small Fruit

-Anne Nielsen, Specialist Fruit Entomology

Spotted wing drosophila (SWD) is another invasive fruit pest that has been found in NJ.

Fruits such as caneberries, blueberries, and grapes are at highest risk and in New Jersey we have found infested blueberries and now caneberries. We are currently trying to identify the risk for peaches and critical periods for grapes.