Farmer Help on Postharvest Apples in Kyrgyzstan

Recently I did some postharvest work in Kyrgyzstan for ACDI/VOCA, virtually online, with trainings conducted by an experienced local trainer, Azamat Mamytov, through the ACDI/VOCA office head and coordinator Mira Arynova. 

https://www.acdivoca.org/contact-us/

Wbere is Kyrgystan?

https://geology.com/world/kyrgyzstan-satellite-image.shtml

Where in Kyrgyzstan

Picture of Kyrgyzstan and where farms were located. 
https://geology.com/world/kyrgyzstan-satellite-image.shtml

The training was conducted in the area of Kyrgyzstan bordering Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the Osh and Batken Regions with the capitals in these districts of Osh and Batken, respectively.

Problem

These farmers are producing fruits and vegetables with availability storages due to the perishability of their crops and small size of their farms. Each orchard has an average size of 35 to 100 trees consisting of primarily peaches, cherries, and apples. Farmers are forced to sell their products immediately after harvest even if the price is low primarily due to a lack of cold storage facilities and knowledge how to use it. To add value to their produce, fruit and vegetables must be harvested and stored according to best practices. But farmers have limited knowledge on the best practices to use for the long-term storage of their crops. The lack of storage facilities and knowledge prevent them from increasing their farm income.

Assignment Objective

Workers sorting and grading apples for different markets

The objective of this assignment is to assess the harvesting, grading, sorting, cold storage practices and facilities in two promising villages and provide practical consultations specifically on preserving the longevity of these crops from harvest to market. The US-based volunteer will work with Azamat Mamiyov to prepare trainings on the postharvest practices that best meet the needs of the local farmers and upgrade their current level of knowledge. The US-based volunteer provides technical assistance and aids in the preparation of handouts for these and future participants.

Example of improved storage facility for local farmers.

What was Accomplished?

Because of the trainings made by Azamat and the successes of improved cold storage practices and marketing, approximately 80% of the farmers said they would like to improve their harvesting and cold storage practices. A major roadblock was the size of their operations. Discussions ensued regarding forming informal farmer agreements. Insights were given on what farmers might do to improve the quality of their products being sold. Discussion ensued about forming a formal storage and marketing cooperative among farmers.

For more information on this in Russian contact marynova@acdivoca-kg.org or Bob Morris for the English version at extremehort@gmail.com

Repotting Citrus Trees in Containers

Q. I saw your article in the Las Vegas Review Journal newspaper about renewing soil in a container every few years. I have a dwarf Meyer lemon tree in a large container that's about three years old. It's doing well and I got about a dozen lemons last year. When should I replant the tree?  I suspect winter.  Is that correct?

Citrus can be replanted into larger containers when it gets bigger but the soils should be "renewed" or at least partially replaced every three to five years.

A. It is hard to say when to replant but I should think somewhere between three and five years. Exactly when, I don’t know. It depends on the condition of the soil that was used at planting time and the growth of the tree. 

How to Repot a Citrus

Poor soils should be replaced sooner. Trees with lots of new healthy growth will need soil replacement sooner. Adding fertilizers, only, to the container soil will not improve the soil. Just like in Dust Bowl days it will “wear out” the soil. When the tree shows signs of poor growth or poor color is a good sign that the soil should have been replaced prior to this happening.

Time of year to replant container trees? Right after harvest.

What Kind of Acacia is This?

 Q. I need to replace this acacia tree; in a very shaded area of our yard. Is it a shoestring acacia?

A. Probably not. I posted the Shoestring Acacia flowers below. It is native to Australia and commonly flowers in mid winter in Las Vegas, north of the equator. 

Shoestring Acacia flowers

Most likely it is called Mulga or Mulga Acacia. Check out Mulga aneura from this website in Phoenix/Tempe.

http://www.public.asu.edu/~camartin/plants/Plant%20html%20files/acaciaaneura.html

Bottle Trees Dropping Leaves Probably Water Related

 Q. My purpose for writing is that the bottle trees that I planted last year and until now have thrived, have suddenly been stripped of all of their leave at just the very top. The rest of the trees and the leaves look healthy. I live in a very windy area, and my landscaper suggested that the wind stripped the leaves. I have doubts that this is the case since my next door neighbors' bottle trees which are the same age look perfectly healthy. The trees have been been watered on a drip system twice a day, three time a week for the past month. I have 10 trees that look like this. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Bottle trees can drop leaves if they are too wet. They grow along streambanks in the dry parts of Australia.

A. From the sound of it and the pictures you sent it sounds more like a watering issue – the soil staying too wet between irrigations. Bottle trees have sensitive roots to wet soils…the roots will easily suffocate if the soils stay wet. This type of overwatering can be seen in the tree by its loss of leaves. Unfortunately we often see the same results when the tree is not given enough water but I don’t think that is the case with your tree.

Right now (Late spring, April) we should be watering trees and shrubs once or maybe at the most twice each week. When temperatures get warmer in about May or June is when three times a week watering is most common. Depending on the soil and its drainage would determine if watering three times a week is okay now. Watering that often this time of year would be okay for very sandy soils with very good drainage.

You can find out if the tree roots are ready for another irrigation by using a soil moisture meter stuck in the soil.

https://xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com/2018/09/use-houseplant-moisture-meter-to-know.html

https://xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com/2018/04/when-to-change-irrigation-clock-and-how.html

https://xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com/2018/12/moisture-meters-and-rebar-tell-you-when.html

https://xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com/2013/07/bottle-tree-dropping-leaves-could-mean.html

https://xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com/2013/05/bottle-tree-with-dying-branches.html

Consult this expert on Bottle trees growing in the Phoenix area:

http://www.public.asu.edu/~camartin/plants/Plant%20html%20files/brachychitonpopulneus.html

 

Wilting Rose Flowers and Thrip Damage

 Q. I am attaching 2 pictures of my rose. One wilts over even though it is getting watered regularly. It does get the morning sun In Pahrump.  My other roses do not do that. Any information you can give me will be appreciated.

I dont know if this is thrips damage or not but it is common on roses in the spring and it does look like this.

A. I think this is thrips damage to the flowers and probably Western Flower Thrips. Try an insecticide containing Spinosad for control. I think your roses have the very small insect called Western flower thrips. Very common now to see thrips on roses. Spray and contain them before they spread to other flowers.

Older Nectarine Dieback Probably Borers

Q. I have a question about the health of my nectarine tree. I had this tree planted 17 years ago and it has thrived every year since…until this year. Normally it is totally covered with blossoms and new growth. This year there are only a few scattered signs of growth. Most of the tree is barren. What could cause this? Is the tree dying?

Nectarines are close relatives to peach. Peach and nectarine are short lived trees primarily because of borer problems in the Las Vegas valley.

A. The most common reason for sudden tree death is borers. Look for peeling or flaking of the bark usually on the west or south side of the tree. They are actively feeding on the trees right now but the dieback usually shows up when it gets hot. 

I see it is in the lawn. Other reasons can be damage to the trunk from lawn mowers or line trimmers and then attack by borers. You might try a soil drench of a borer control chemical from Bayer. Then the trunk needs to be protected from direct sunlight. But if it is peach, that is pretty old for a peach tree. Anything over 15 years old I consider old for peach due to borers. Peach or nectarine. It's the same DNA just the fuzz is missing. They live about the same length of time.

If you use the Bayer product you cannot eat the fruit from this tree until it is no longer applied. It would have to be applied now.

Listen to My Desert Horticulture Podcasts

I am broadcasting my Desert Horticulture podcast though Buzzsprout but you can also find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, iHeart, Deezer, and many more. They typically last about 20 to 30 minutes and a must for those wanting more information than my blog offers.

Aphid Control on Apple Flowers

Q. I have a Granny apple and Meyer lemon tree. I just saw that I have a bunch of these bugs on the flowers. I would like to know if I should kill them or leave them alone. I also have bees pollinating the flowers so I don’t want to spray any chemicals that may harm them. If I have to remove the bugs is there any way to do it without harming the tree or the bees?

A. Those are aphids sucking plant juices to feed their young. Their numbers will continue to grow until it gets hot. 

Horticultural oil or dormant oil is sprayed on trees and shrubs during warm and windless days in the winter. It eliminates soft bodied insects like aphids.

You missed the winter application of dormant oil or you would have eliminated nearly all of them. Not much you can spray now without hitting some bees once the flowers are open like that. Wait until the flowers have formed apples and then spray. 

Alternative: You can use an oil spray like a dormant oil or soap sprays if it is below about 90F and the flowers are gone and fruit has started to form. Or pull off the flowers and spray and let the flowers reform again later. They will.

A.