All areas of mainland Nova Scotia are well past the 40% F2 stage. We are starting to see some cups drying up across Central NS, but there is still some risk of infection, particularly in traditionally later fields and areas. If controls have been not applied to these later fields it should be considered as last night through Tuesday evening maybe considered an infection period in your area.
Realizing it is May in Nova Scotia, the forecast looks quite good as it is calling for mainly sunny conditions after Tuesday until Monday the 22nd. If this weather pattern holds, apothecia cups will dry up in most areas and Monilinia infection risk will decrease rapidly.
Of Note: There could be some scattered rainfall events in eastern Nova Scotia over the next week - ie. Antigonish and Guysborough Counties as well as Cape Breton, so keep a close eye on your weather.
The infection risk for much of western Nova Scotia is over and growers should begin to think about Botrytis strategies in those areas.
There are still some very late fields in Cape Breton that are still very early in development and control options should still be considered over the next week or so.
Sites reporting from Cape Breton are:
Foot Cape - 35% F2 taken on Friday (over 40% as of today)
Keppoch - 4% F2 taken on Friday
Dunnigan - 10% F2 taken on Friday
We will still be monitoring cups over the next week or so, to see if we are getting close to the end of the Monilinia season.
Other Production notes:
We are also rapidly approaching pollination season, we appear to be slightly ahead of recent years so growers should be prepared as it is likely that flowers will open quickly as we approach late May.
I also noted some early shoot development on some sprout fields today. If you are planning to use Velpar, it should be done soon. Use caution if tank mixing herbicides when shoots are emerging.
The next update will be either late in the day on Thursday or Friday morning.
