UF & IFAS The SCIENCE of LIVING !This newsletter is a product of UF, IFAS and County Cooperative Extension Services, in partnership with the participating Boards of County Commissioners and University of Florida !

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PEACHN e w s l e t t e r

How do the Revisions for WPS affect me this Season? Page 2

Fruit Thinning - Maximize Crop Load For maximizing peach…. Page 2

Peach Marketing Order Vote After eight months of peach grower discussions.. Page 3

Spring Disease Management As we head into another Florida peach season…. Page 4

January Peach Grower Roundtable A Central Florida Peach Page 5

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016 Hope everyone had a joyous holiday season and as we enter the 2016 year we have scheduled our first Peach Roundtable of the season

We will be holding our Winter 2016 Peach Grower Roundtable at the Pasco County Cooperative Extension Service Office, 36702 State Road 52, Dade City, FL beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 26, 2016. The location, along with directions, are included on the last page of this newsletter. We will start out by having Dr. Larry Duncan from the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center discuss soil arthropods and nematodes in peach groves. We will then have time for grower discussions about specific problems associated with these pests. Following Dr. Duncan’s presentation lunch will be provided compliments of Tim Wood and Growers Fertilizer Corp. You must pre-register to attend, please see the registration

information on page 5.

In addition, this issue contains some good information and insight from Gary England on spring disease management.

Chris Oswalt reviews voting for the Florida Peach Marketing Order. Alicia Whidden talks about coming changes in WPS and how that will affect growers and Cami Esmel McAvoy provides additional information on thinning of peaches to maximize crop load.

As always if you have any questions, comments or suggestions for us, simply click on the agent of your choice

from the email links at the bottom of each page or give us a call.

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Additional References on the Changes in the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) !Dr. Fred Fishel’s “A Summary of Revisions to the Worker Protection Standard-2015” From the document: “This document highlights the changes to the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) since it became a federal regulation in 1992 and became fully implemented in 1995. This fact sheet summarizes those changes through November 2015.” !http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pi261 !http://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/comparison-chart-wps.pdf

PEACHHow do the Revisions for WPS affect me this Season? Alicia Whidden Extension Agent Hillsborough County !

In November of 2015 the US EPA passed into rule changes to the Worker Protection Standard for Agricultural Pesticides (WPS) which first was implemented in 1995. The original purpose of WPS was to reduce agricultural workers and handlers exposure to pesticides and the risk of pesticide related illness. The new changes are to help reduce the risk even more to workers and handlers. Most of the new changes will not become effective till January 2, 2017. There are four provisions that are delayed and will not go into effect until January, 2018. What this means for this upcoming peach season is that workers and handlers will still need to be trained as required by law but you will be able to follow the guidelines that you have been following since the changes will not go into effect until January 2, 2017 for most of the new changes.

Those who are certified WPS trainers or restricted pesticide license holders will still be able to train worker and handlers under the new revisions. The Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) is advising that even though it is not required for you to be certified again that attending a new WPS Train the trainer class would be a great way to learn all the new regulations and the new training materials so that you will be sure you know all the new rules so that your operation will in compliance with all the new rules in 2017 and then those coming in 2018.

Fruit Thinning - Maximize Crop Load Cami Esmel McAvoy Extension Agent Sumter County !

For maximizing peach crop load, either blooms and/or fruit need to be thinned to the optimal number to maximize crop value and yield. If thinning is not conducted or poorly done, peach trees may suffer biennial fruiting habit, can fail to initiate flower buds for the next season, reduced tree vigor, and undersized fruit production. Fruit set on peach trees is more than the tree can carry to harvest. Therefore, thinning of bloom is required to size fruit to the optimal 2.75 inch peach. Fruit thinning is the common method of thinning in Florida.

Fruit or fruitlet thinning is conducted when they have reached the size between a dime and nickel (1.5 to 2.0 cm roughly). At this point, pit hardening has not occurred and fruit

can be twisted off. Why take fruit of this size? Less carbohydrates have been allocated to fruits and the short development period of low chill peaches means the sooner the better when thinning. Optimal spacing between fruit ranges between 6 and 9 inches depending upon cultivar. Some cultivars require more spacing such as UFSun which requires 9 to 12 inches spacing between marketable fruit to optimize fruit size potential.

Thinning can be conducted manually by hand picking or mechanically with equipment such as tree shakers. Tree shakers can remove more than just unwanted fruit and damage tree trunks. So caution is advised when choosing this method. Hand picking is the typical method chosen by growers in Florida, but other manual methods include hitting unwanted fruits with plastic bats, and rubber hoses. Either way, all manual methods are labor intensive.

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PEACH

Additional Information on Market Order Voting !

What is needed to pass a Marketing Order?

A vote must be taken where 65 percent of those voting represent at least 51 percent of the voting peach acreage are in favor of the order.

!Can you end a Marketing

Order?

The Department of Agriculture can suspend or end a Marketing Order if it is no longer serving its original purpose or if 51 percent of the producers that grow more than 51 percent of the commodity vote to end the order.

!When are ballots due?

Peach Marketing Order ballots will be accepted in Tallahassee by mail until 4:30 p.m., January 22, 2016. !For additional information on Florida Agricultural Marketing Orders see the following link: (http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Marketing-and-Development/Agriculture-Industry/Business-Development-Resources/Agricultural-Marketing-Orders)

Peach Marketing Order Vote Chris Oswalt 1Extension Agent Polk County !

After eight months of peach grower discussions and public meetings the Florida Peach Marketing Order is now up for a vote.

If the marketing order passes, it will then go into effect and a formal advisory council is appointed to make recommendations to the Commissioner of Agriculture on how it will be administered and the money spent.

Marketing orders are overseen and enforced by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. A Department marketing professional is assigned to receive funds and keep accurate records on all expenditures. The Advisory Council representing producers of the commodity will make recommendations on how the money will be spent. The Council will also have the responsibility for preparing an annual budget and holding regular Council meetings.

Many growers will be receiving the ballots at their homes and offices. The mailing list compiled was incomplete as to the known addresses for all peach growers in Florida.  Ballots are being sent to each county extension office East and South of the Suwannee River so that those whose addresses were incomplete or unknown will have a chance to vote on the referendum.

An additional separate ballot has been sent directly to UF/IFAS Extension Offices

separately as it has also been sent to all known growers and producers so that your local Extension agent will be familiar with the referendum ballot and contents.

If you are a peach grower in our area that didn’t receive a ballot. You can request a ballot, by stopping in at one of our offices and picking up one of the ballot packets we we have on hand. You as a grower can also contact Chris Denmark or Shayla Ivey directly to have one sent to you. There contact information is listed below.

Ballots will be accepted in Tallahassee by mail until 4:30 PM, January 22, 2016.  Ballots arriving after that time will not be counted.

Please feel free to contact Chris Denmark if you have any questions regarding the Peach Marketing Order and referendum.

For ballots and additional information on the Florida Peach Marketing Order please contact:

Chris Denmark Development Representative Division of Marketing and Development Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (850) 617-7341 (850) 617-7301 Fax Christopher.Denmark@FreshFromFlorida.com !The Mayo Building 407 South Calhoun Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0800 !Or: !Shayla Ivey (850) 617-7306

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Figures:

Spring Disease Management Gary England Extension Agent Lake County !

As we head into another Florida peach season, we wanted to review some information on a few important peach diseases that University of Georgia Plant Pathologist, Dr. Phil Brannen, presented at the 2015 Florida Fall Peach Seminar at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. These are a few key peach diseases that growers may encounter during the time of bloom through harvest.

Before we discuss individual diseases and their management, we need to revisit fungicide resistance management. Dr. Brannen pointed out the importance of rotating fungicide modes of action to avoid building resistance to a certain fungicide product by fungal pathogens. At times, tank mixes of products with different modes of action can assist with this process, as some fungicides are available pre-packaged to include active ingredients with different modes of action. Pay particular attention to fungicide labeling for guidance on mode(s) of action of fungicides you plan to apply.

If you have a history of brown rot in your peach block, it is a good idea to scout for symptoms of blossom blight (Figure 1.) and

apply fungicides to manage the disease. Dr. Brannen pointed out the importance of avoiding applications of fungicides from the DMI, QoI or SDHI modes of action during bloom and petal fall for this disease. Fungicides he recommends for management are Captan formulations, chlorothalonil formulations, Topsin-M + Captan, Rovral, and Vangard. He recommends always tank mixing Captan with Topsin-M to avoid building resistance.

The time frame for managing peach scab (Figure 2.) begins around full bloom and lasts for several weeks. Dr. Brannen recommends the use of chlorothalonil (Bravo) applications at petal fall and shuck split, followed by sulfur and/or Captan applications for the remainder of the season – mainly as a resistance management plan for brown rot. After the period when peach scab is a problem, pre-harvest rotations of Captan, Abound, Pristine or fungicides from the DMI mode of action applications for brown rot management are recommended, especially if symptoms of green fruit rot are observed.

As with all pesticide applications, please be sure to thoroughly read and understand all instructions on the labels of pesticides you plan to apply. You may review Dr. Brannen’s slides on disease management in peaches that was presented at the 2015 Florida Fall Peach Seminar by following the link below:

http://lake.ifas.ufl.edu/agriculture/citrus/documents/2015FloridaPeachDiseaseManagement.pdf

PEACH

Figure 1. Peach blossom blight.

Figure 2. Peach scab

Source: Phil Brannen

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January Peach Grower Roundtable Meeting !A Central Florida Peach Grower Roundtable will be held at Pasco County Cooperative Extension Service Office, 36702 State Road 52 in

Dade City, FL. The meeting will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday January 26, 2016.

We will start out by having Dr. Larry Duncan discuss soil arthropods and nematodes in peach groves. We will then have time for grower discussions about specific problems associated with these pests. Lunch will be provided by Tim Wood of Grower’s Fertilizer Corp.

Since Tim and Grower’s are sponsoring lunch, I will need to have a head count for lunch by 12:00 p.m. Monday, January 25, 2016, so please call Gail at 863-519-1042 or e-mail her at dorothyc@ufl.edu to let us know you are attending. !

Hope to see you on Thursday the 26th, !

!!Chris Oswalt Citrus Extension Agent Polk/Hillsborough Counties 863-519-8677 extension 108 P.O. Box 9005, Drawer HS03 Bartow, FL 33831-9005 !

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PEACH

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