Phytosanitary status of agricultural crops as of 09/01 Fruit Crops

During the first days of August, the agrometeorological conditions in Western Bulgaria remained unstable. This further hindered the wheat harvest and worsened the quality of the grain. By the end of the month, the wheat harvesting had still not concluded in the higher areas of the Kyustendil, Pernik, and Sofia provinces. In mid-August, the atmosphere stabilized, temperatures rose, and in different parts of the country the maximums reached between 33-38°C.

In the second half of August, part of the spring crops concluded their development. The harvesting of sunflowers and the sowing of rapeseed began. In Southern Bulgaria, in areas with less rainfall during the season, the harvesting of early hybrid corn also started.

FRUIT CROPS

Phenophase: "fruit growth" - "ripening"
During August, the harvesting of mid-early apple varieties - Primrouge and Mollies Delicious, pear varieties - Starkrimson, Williams, Clapp's Favorite, and plum varieties - Green and Althanova Renklode began. Mid-late peach varieties - Cresthaven, Glohaven, Hale, as well as varieties intended for processing, are being harvested. During the month, damage from diseases and pests was observed, against which plant protection measures are being carried out, with sprayings being coordinated with the fruit harvesting time and the quarantine periods of the plant protection products used.

Plum Fruit Moth
The flight of the plum fruit moth continues on pheromone traps, but its intensity is decreasing. The harmful activity of the second-generation larvae of the pest also continues. The percentage of crop protection is good. Permitted worminess is between 2-6%. For control of the second-generation plum fruit moth, 39.36 thousand decares were treated from 1 to 4 times.

Eriophyid Mites
During the current growing season, mass damage from eriophyid mites of the genus Aculus has been observed in the Kyustendil region. Damage was found mainly in fruit nurseries and newly established plum orchards on leaves and shoots. In young fruit orchards, the damage reached up to 20% of affected shoots.

Plum Seed Wasp
Over the last three years, in plum orchards in Northeastern Bulgaria, mass fruit drop has been observed during the fruit swelling period. Inside prematurely dropped fruits, when the stones are broken open, larvae are found. The causative agent is a new pest, identified in 2014 by the Central Laboratory for Plant Quarantine as the plum seed wasp (Eurytoma schreineri). The percentage of infestation by this pest has been increasing over the years, reaching up to 90% of fruits this year. To determine the precise timing for control of the plum seed wasp, it is necessary to carry out regular observations on the development of the pest.

Late Brown Rot
Mass occurrences of late brown rot on plum fruits have been observed in the Pernik, Lovech, Kyustendil, Sliven, and Targovishte provinces. The disease infestations range from weak to moderate attack. A total of 8.50 thousand decares were treated, with treatment carried out in the Lovech and Sliven regions during August.