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Cherry
Year-Round IPM Program for Cherry
(Reviewed: 11/09, Updated 11/09)
These practices are recommended for a monitoring-based IPM program that
reduces water and air quality problems related to pesticide use. Links take
you to information on how to monitor, example forms to use, and management
practices. Track your progress through the year with the annual checklist
form.
Water quality becomes impaired when pesticides move off-site and into
water. Air quality becomes impaired when volatile organic compounds move
into the atmosphere. Each time a pesticide application is considered, review
the Pesticide
Application Checklist at
the bottom of this page for information on how to minimize air and water
quality problems.
This program covers the major pests of cherry. Information
on additional pests is included in the Cherry
Pest Management Guideline. Example
forms are available for record
keeping.
Dormant—leaf fall to
bud swell (December–February) |
| What should you be doing at this time? |
Survey weeds and
check for weeds that escaped fall herbicide treatments.
- Record results .
- Adjust herbicides and/or timing accordingly for
future treatments.
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Apply a dormant or delayed-dormant spray according
to the Cherry Pest Management Guideline if the orchard has a history of these problems, or if monitoring
indicates a need:
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| Keep area around base of trees free of vegetation
to reduce problems with rodents. |
Other pests you may see:
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Bloom—pink bud to petal
fall (March–early April) |
| What should you be doing at this time? |
Look for these pests and
their damage. Treat, if needed, according to Cherry Pest Management Guideline:
- Caterpillars
- Earwigs
- Black cherry aphid
- Western flower thrips
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Treat when orchard history or weather conditions
indicates a need for:
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Other pests you may see:
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Fruit development—petal fall
to fruit coloring (April–May) |
| What should you be doing at this time? |
Look for these
pests and treat, if needed, according to
the Cherry Pest Management Guideline:
- Caterpillars
- Earwigs
- Peachtree borer
- Black cherry aphids
- Western flower thrips
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- Powdery mildew
- Brown rot and Botrytis infections on fruit
- Phytophthora root and crown rot
- Gophers
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Monitor mites by watching "hot spots" and
examining water sprouts for developing infestations. |
Survey weeds in late
spring or early summer after summer annuals have germinated.
- Record observations .
- Control with cultivation or postemergent herbicides.
- Keep areas around the base of trees free of vegetation to reduce
problems from peachtree borer.
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Preharvest through harvest—fruit
coloring through harvest (May–June) |
| What should you be doing at this time? |
Treat for brown rot, Botrytis
fruit rot, or powdery mildew if preharvest
conditions indicate a need. |
Examine trees and fruit for X-disease (cherry buckskin)
symptoms.
- Mark any infected trees (plan to remove them after a postharvest leafhopper
spray).
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Evaluate previous treatments by examining trees
for:
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| Continue to monitor mites by watching "hot spots" and
examining water sprouts for developing infestations. |
| Begin looking for
birds and start deterrent
management practices before they begin to feed. |
| Sample fruit at harvest to
determine the effectiveness of your pest management program. |
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Other pests you may see:
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Postharvest (June–November) |
| What should you be doing at this time? |
Continue monitoring and treat if needed
according to the Cherry Pest Management Guideline for:
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Examine any declining
trees to determine the cause. Manage according to Cherry Pest Management Guideline.
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Treat for leafhopper (cherry and mountain) vectors of X-disease (Cherry
buckskin) from June through October if disease has been found in (or
near) the orchard.
- Remove any infected trees as soon as possible
after a leafhopper spray.
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| Collect leaf samples for nutrient analysis June
through July. |
Prune out wood and promptly destroy brush piles
before September to help manage these pests:
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Continue to manage
weeds in the orchard:
- Control
summer perennials such as field bindweed, bermudagrass, and johnsongrass.
- Apply preemergent spray in fall based on weed surveys
(combine with postemergent if needed), targeting dandelion,
clovers, and curly dock to limit X-disease.
- Keep tree bases free
of vegetation to reduce problems with rodents
in winter and peachtree borer in summer.
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| Seed cover crop in October – avoid using clovers
that can host the X-disease pathogen and leafhopper vectors: Berseem,
crimson, rose, subterranean, and sweet clovers.
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Other pests you may see:
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Pesticide application
checklist |
When planning for possible pesticide applications in an IPM program,
review and complete this checklist to consider practices that minimize
environmental and efficacy problems.
- Choose a pesticide from the UC IPM Pest Management
Guidelines for the target pest considering:
- Before an application:
- Choose sprayers and application procedures that
keep pesticides on target.
- Identify and take special care to protect sensitive
areas (for example, waterways or riparian areas) surrounding your
application site.
- Review and follow label for pesticide handling,
storage, and disposal guidelines.
- Check and follow restricted entry intervals (REI)
and preharvest intervals (PHI).
- After an application:
- Record application
date, product used, rate, and location of application.
- Follow up
to confirm that treatment was effective.
- Consider water
management practices that
reduce pesticide movement off-site:
- Limit
irrigation to
amount required using soil
moisture monitoring and
evapotranspiration (ET).
- Install an irrigation recirculation or storage and reuse system.
- Consider the use of cover crops.
- Consider vegetative
filter strips or
ditches.
- Install sediment traps.
- Use polyacrylamide (PAM) tablets in furrow irrigation
systems to prevent off-site movement of sediments.
- Apply polyacrylamides in sprinkler irrigation
systems to prevent runoff.
- Redesign inlets into tailwater
ditches to reduce erosion.
- Consider orchard
floor management practices that
improve soil structure and reduce erosion.
- Consider practices that reduce air quality
problems.
- When possible, choose pesticides that are not in
an emulsifiable concentrate (EC) formulation, which release volatile
organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs react with sunlight to form ozone,
a major air pollutant.
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