Rain this morning Friday, 11 October, has triggered a black spot ascospore release in most orchards across the district. Apple leaves remained wet well into the afternoon with further rain on the horizon.  Pozieres, Cottonvale and Thulimbah orchards have a higher risk of sustained leaf wetness, with orchards to the south experiencing some drying conditions during the day.  A moderate to severe infection period is occurring for apple growers on the Granite Belt with the passage of this weather system.

The number of spores released will depend on the carryover of spores from last season and the effectiveness of any post-harvest urea sprays.

The RimPro™ software package identifies this infection period as extreme and as we are experiencing few black spot infection periods this season, it is advisable to err on the side of caution.  With rapidly expanding apple canopies, orchards that did not receive a protectant fungicide in the last 5 days will require the application of an eradicant fungicide.

Using 25 September as our biofix, 113.1 codling moth degree-days have accumulated. This indicates that after beehive removal or negligible bee activity, it is appropriate to apply codling moth insecticides where necessary.