Source: UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT submitted to
COMPARISON OF THREE ORGANIC APPLE MANAGMENT SYSTEMS ON DISEASE AND ARTHROPOD PESTS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1000312
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Oct 1, 2013
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2016
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT
(N/A)
BURLINGTON,VT 05405
Performing Department
Plant & Soil Science
Non Technical Summary
Apple production in Vermont generates about 10 million dollars from about 3,000 acres of orchards and represents a significant component of the state's diversified agricultural industry. There has been significant interest in growing organic apples in the state yet growers face daunting challenges limiting adoption of organic production. Managing impactful arthropod pests and diseases is one of the main challenges facing Vermont organic growers. This project examines the affect on disease, arthropod pests and tree vigorusing 3organic management systems on5 cultivars.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
100%
Developmental
0%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2051110116025%
2111110113025%
2121110116025%
2161110106025%
Knowledge Area
212 - Pathogens and Nematodes Affecting Plants; 211 - Insects, Mites, and Other Arthropods Affecting Plants; 205 - Plant Management Systems; 216 - Integrated Pest Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
1110 - Apple;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology; 1060 - Biology (whole systems); 1160 - Pathology;
Goals / Objectives
The major goals are to identify new and sustainable disease and arthropod pest management strategies for organic apple growers using less toxic pesticides. The overarching goal would be to increase organic apple acreage and productionin Vermont and the Northeast.
Project Methods
Experiment 1. To evaluate and compare disease and arthropod pest damage on three apple cultivars using three organic orchard management systems: 1) Standard Organic Management (SOM) system-use of copper, sulfur, lime sulfur and organic insecticides applied according to established apple scab disease models and guidelines to prevent infection. The SOM system will serve as the control since this system is the one generally accepted and followed by organic apple growers; 2) Standard Organic Management with Reduced Sulfur/Lime Sulfur (SOM-S/LS) system- no use of sulfur and lime/sulfur immediately following bloom and continuing for approximately 3-4 weeks to minimize toxic effects. This program will incorporate use of organic insecticides; 3) Holistic Organic Management (HOM) system-use of agricultural biostimulants with no copper or sulfur products but will include use of organic insecticides (Phillips, M., 2005). The three treatments will be applied to 5 three tree replications for 4 apple cultivars throughout the summer. Disease incidencewill be measured in June and August on foliage and on fruit at harvest. Arthropod assessment will be done on fruit at harvest. Tree vigor data (trunk circumference, shoot growth, etc) will be measured each year in September. Experiment 2. To assess phytophagous and predacious spider mite populations through destructive sampling throughout the season on one cultivar in the three disease management programs. Mite counts will start in July for each of the 5 three tree reps for one cultivar, Zestar!, and will continue through harvest. The long term goal of the proposal is to enhance adoption of organic apple production in

Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this grant was organic apple growers and researchers in Vermont and New England. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Information was disseminated to organic apple growers through emails/newsletters. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The research in this project has shown the best disease management option for commercial organic apple growers in New England remains the copper and sulfur fungicides approved for organic production. The agricultural biostimulant management system did not control apple diseases as well as the traditional organic system, yet there were some benefits to this system in suppressing phytophagous mites in the orchard.

Publications


    Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15

    Outputs
    Target Audience:The target audience was organic apple growers and transitional apple growers considering organic production. Target audience also included university extension and researcher along with scouts in New England. Changes/Problems:THere were no major problems or changes to the project. All went smoothly in spite of different weather conditions for each season. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Apple growers have been informed of the work at several meetings and workshops. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through an international forum and publication on organic fruit growing and various meetings and workshops through Vermont and the region. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The research is coming to an end and the goals have been met.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? The research in this project has shown the best disease management option for commercial organic apple growers in New England remains the copper and sulfur fungicides approved for organic production. The agricultural biostimulant management system did not control apple diseases as well as the traditional organic system, yet there were some benefits to this system in suppressing phytophagous mites in the orchard.

    Publications

    • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Hazelrigg, A.L. 2015. The efficacy and non-target impacts of an organic disease management system containing biostimulants compared with two sulfur-based systems on four apple cultivars in Vermont. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont. http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/334/.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2016 Citation: Hazelrigg, A.L.*, Berkett, L.P., Darby, H.M., Gorres, J. and R. Parsons. 2015. Assessment of agricultural biostimulants compared with sulfur-based fungicides on diseases, tree growth, fruit yield and quality in a certified organic apple orchard in Vermont, USA. Acta Hort. Avignon, France
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2016 Citation: Hazelrigg, A.L.*, Berkett, L.P., Darby, H.M., Gorres, J. and R. Parsons. 2015. Assessment of agricultural biostimulants compared with sulfur-based fungicides on pest and beneficial arthropods in a certified organic apple orchard in Vermont, USA. Acta Hort. Avignon, France.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2016 Citation: Hazelrigg, A.L.*, Berkett, L.P., Darby, H.M., Gorres, J. and R. Parsons. 2015. Non-target impacts of agricultural biostimulants compared with sulfur-based fungicides on phytophagous mites in a certified organic apple orchard in Vermont, USA. Acta Hort. Avignon, France.
    • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Hazelrigg, A.L., Berkett, L.P., Darby, H.M., Gorres, J. and R. Parsons. 2015. Non-target impacts of agricultural biostimulants compared with sulfur-based fungicides on phytophagous mites in a certified organic apple orchard in Vermont, USA. Acta Hort. Avignon, France. Poster
    • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Hazelrigg, A.L., Berkett, L.P., Darby, H.M., Gorres, J. and R. Parsons. 2015. Assessment of agricultural biostimulants compared with sulfur-based fungicides on pest and beneficial arthropods in a certified organic apple orchard in Vermont, USA. Acta Hort. Avignon, France.Poster


    Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

    Outputs
    Target Audience: The target audience for this project is organic apple growers. During this time period, research on biostimulants and sulfur-based fungicides for management of diseases in organic apples was designed and in the beginning stages. Changes/Problems: No major changes to report. All has run smoothly. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? The next reporting period will have more field testing and wrap up of the experiment. Data will be analyzed.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? The research plots were set up and the first year of experimental testing of the organic materials started in summer 2013 and ran through harvest. Data was collected for all treatments and parameters. Some analysis of data began in Fall 2013.

    Publications