Autumn has arrived in Kentucky, and as the last of the fruit has been harvested, it is time to focus on fruit, orchard, and vineyard sanitation. Good sanitation practices can help reduce disease-causing pathogens.  These organisms can survive for months…

During the past 10 years, orchard practices in Kentucky have changed dramatically. Many of these practices contributed to conditions conducive for diseases and pests. Growers began to shift from traditional plant spacing to high density plantings, increasing tree stress and…

There are several virus diseases that can affect strawberry.  They occur rarely or infrequently, but transmission via imported cuttings can occur.  This fall, we have seen suspect viruses in planting stock. The viruses strawberry mottle virus (SMoV) and strawberry mild…

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,…