We have been seeing bitter rot in Kentucky orchards since mid-June. The disease becomes more intense as the season progresses. While fruit rots have a variety of causes, the most common fungal fruit rot of apple in Kentucky is bitter…

Downy mildew is an important disease of commercial and backyard grapes in Kentucky. Current warm, wet, humid weather conditions favor infection and disease development. When flowers, clusters, and shoots become infected by downy mildew, yield losses result. This disease may…

Spotted wing drosophila (SWD) is active across the state and has been detected at all of our cooperating field sites. Moderate to high levels of SWD are being trapped around the state as can be seen from the map (Figure…

Japanese beetle (Figure 1)  is having a big year in 2017, likely due to late summer rains and a mild winter in 2016-2017. It is attacking foliage and ripening fruit in many parts of the state. Grapes, blackberries, apples, beans,…

Cane blight occasionally impacts homegrown and commercial raspberries and blackberries in Kentucky. Recent rain events have resulted in a wet growing season, which favors the development of cane blight. The disease causes lesions to develop on both primocanes (current-year canes)…

Samples this past week indicate that spotted wing drosophila (SWD) activity is increasing across the state with numbers of these captured insects considerably higher at some locations. While the threshold to begin management is ‘one captured fly,’ continued trapping provides…

Black rot is a common disease of grapes in Kentucky. Due to the prevalence of this disease, it is also one of the most economically important diseases of grapes.  Black rot can affect all young, developing, above ground plant tissues.…