FRUIT CROPS FOR NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI

Eric T. Stafne Associate Extension Professor Mississippi State University Poplarville, MS

HARDINESS ZONE MAP

CARE AND MAINTENANCE Easy

Blackberries, blueberries

Moderate Muscadines, strawberries, pears

Difficult Peaches, apples, bunch grapes

SITE SELECTION • Soil characteristics

• Light requirements

• Drainage - surface and internal

• Exposure

• Air movement

• Elevation

SOIL CHARACTERISTICS

• Ideal soil is well-drained with adequate water-holding capacity • Sandy loams are best

• Poor soil is poorly drained

(internally or externally), and pH is not correct for the crop

LIGHT REQUIREMENTS

• Full sun is ideal

• Morning sun is preferable to afternoon sun

EXPOSURE

• It is a few degrees colder on the north side of a hill than on the south

• Fruit crops bloom earlier in the spring with southern exposure

• Northern exposure may cause winter damage to fruit crops

ELEVATION

• Low elevations: • More prone to frost

• Less air movement

• Poorer water and air

drainage

• More prone to disease

PEST CONTROL • Insects, diseases, weeds, wildlife

• Numerous pest problems versus virtually no pest

problems

• Neglect, injury, and poor site selection make plants susceptible to pests

• Integrated Pest Management

VARIETY SELECTION • Adaptability to your area - very important

• Disease resistance

• Self-pollination versus cross-pollination

• Desired harvest date

SMALL FRUITS

BLACKBERRIES

BLACKBERRIES • Blackberries are adapted to various soils

• Plant in hedgerows with 3 to 5 feet between

plants and 10 feet between rows

• Use some type of support if desired

BLACKBERRIES • Canes live 2 years and produce fruit the second year

• Remove only the fruiting canes after harvest

• Most common pests:

• Rosette (double blossom), anthracnose, strawberry weevils, cane borers, SWD

BLACKBERRIES

Cultivars to consider: Thorny:

Chickasaw, Kiowa

Thornless: Apache, Osage, Natchez, Navaho, Ouachita Triple Crown (trailing) PrimeArk Freedom???

BLUEBERRIES

BLUEBERRIES

• Soil pH should be 4.5 to 5.5

• Space 4 to 6 feet apart

• Mulching is highly recommended

BLUEBERRIES • Requires two varieties in the same

category for cross-pollination (Rabbiteye)

• Shear the bush immediately after harvest and before August 1

• Remove old, damaged wood after harvest or during the dormant season

• Most common pests: • Birds, blueberry gall midges, mummy

berry

BLUEBERRIES

Cultivars to consider: Rabbiteye

Austin, Brightwell, Climax, Premier, Tifblue, Powderblue, Alapaha, Titan?

Southern Highbush Ozarkblue, Summit, Star, Prince

UPCOMING BLUEBERRY WORKSHOP February 13 in Hattiesburg

Focus on Mechanized harvest, but also other

topics like SWD and plant nutrition

Want to register? Contact me. Cost is $10.

Co-sponsored by MSU-ES, USDA-ARS, and GSBGA

MUSCADINES AND BUNCH GRAPES

MUSCADINES AND BUNCH GRAPES

• Muscadines are adapted to various soils • Bunch grapes like well-drained soils,

slightly acidic pH

• Space muscadines 12-20 feet apart (depends on variety vigor, management, etc.)

• Space bunch grapes 6-8 feet apart

• Both types require trellising

MUSCADINES AND BUNCH GRAPES • Train vines to trellises in the first year

• After the first year, prune the current year’s growth to

two to three buds

• Most common pests: • Grape root borer, berry and bunch rots, bees and wasps

during harvest, PM, DM

MUSCADINE AND BUNCH GRAPE PRUNING

MUSCADINES AND BUNCH GRAPES

Cultivars to consider: Black Beauty, Carlos, Noble, Supreme,

Eudora, Black Fry, Dixie Red, Golden Isles, Late Fry, Magnolia, Regale, Sterling

Bunch Grapes Cultivars to consider (need to think about

PD): Fredonia, Niagara, Norton, Victoria Red?,

Villard blanc

STRAWBERRIES

STRAWBERRIES Strawberries are planted in 30-inch-wide raised

beds

Space beds 4 to 5 feet apart

Space plants 12 to 15 inches in two staggered rows 12 inches apart

STRAWBERRIES Growing systems

Annual production on black plastic: plant in fall, harvest in spring

Matted row: rejuvenate beds by allowing daughter plants to grow

Most common pests Slugs, birds, deer, Botrytis (gray mold), anthracnose

BED TYPES

STRAWBERRIES

Cultivars to consider: Cardinal, Sunrise, Dixieland, Pocahontas,

Tennessee Beauty, Comet, Earliglow, Chandler, Camarosa, Ventana

UPCOMING STRAWBERRY WORKSHOP Early to Mid-May (tentative date is May 13-14) Location: Choctaw, MS Registration: Not yet, but info will be sent to all

county extension offices when ready Purpose: To educate potential growers on how to

produce strawberries

Sponsored by a grant from Wal-Mart Foundation

TREE FRUITS

APPLES AND PEARS

APPLES AND PEARS Require two varieties for cross-pollination

Trained to modified central leader

Most common pests

Fire blight Cedar apple rust Summer rot Aphids Scale

APPLES AND PEARS • Use semi-dwarf root stock

Space semi-dwarf 10 to 12 feet apart If unsure of rootstock, plant 20 ft apart

RECOMMENDED APPLE AND PEAR VARIETIES

Apples Red Chief, Early Red One, Cumberland Spur Smoothie, Stark Golden Delicious, Firm Gold,

Ozark Gold Arkansas Black-spur type, Granny Smith, Fuji,

Gala, Royal Gala, Jonagold

Pears Hard: Kieffer, Orient, Baldwin Soft: Ayers, Moonglow, Maxine, Magness, LeConte

PEACHES

PEACHES • Space plants 15 to 20 feet apart, and allow 20 feet

between rows

• Rootstock • Guardian, Nemaguard, Halford

• Prune plants to open center

• Most common pests:

• Brown rot, scab, scale, stink bugs, plum curculio, peach tree borer, root rots

PRUNING

RECOMMENDED PEACH VARIETIES • Early, cling

• Springold • Bicentennial • Surecrop

• Mid, free • Sentinel • Harvester • Redhaven • Majestic • Ruston Red • Dixiland • Redskin

Late, free Ouachita La Jewel

Rootstocks Guardian Lovell

RECOMMENDED NECTARINE VARIETIES

Nectarines (by ripening date) Durbin, 850 chill hours Karla Rose (w), 650 chill hours Juneprincess, 850 chill hours Roseprincess (w), 850 chill hours Redgold, 850 chill hours

UPCOMING GAP/GHP WORKSHOP February 17 in Starkville

Introduction to Good Agricultural Practices and

Good Handling Practices

Free! (and you get lunch and snacks)

Interested? Contact me.

NEWS YOU CAN USE

Mississippi Fruit and Nut Blog http://msfruitextension.wordpress.com/

My email: estafne@ext.msstate.edu (best option)

My phone number: 601-403-8939

Twitter: @EStafne