Fruit Update - April 30, 2026

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu

 Apples

• Growth and pest management updates: Late pink to king bloom 

• Blossom freeze damage 

• Pest highlights: Plum and apple curculio

  • Plum curculio conventional and organic management strategies

  • Apple curculio: A lesser known orchard pest

• Variety highlight: Almata

Honeyberries

• About and growth updates: Bloom 

Day-neutral strawberries

• Biodegradable Paper Mulch: An Organic Option for Day‑Neutral Strawberry Growers

General fruit

• Individual fruit sections now downloadable for the MWFPMG
• UMN Extension Fruit Crop Reporting Tool

Apples

Growth stage and pest management updates: Late pink to king bloom

Images: Various stages of development, from pink (First Kiss), to late-pink (Gala), king bloom (McIntosh), and full bloom (Zestar!). Photo taken at Sekapp Orchard in Rochester, MN, April 30, 2026. 

Growth stage

Most apple varieties in Southeastern Minnesota are between pink and king bloom, with early varieties like Zestar! and Chestnut Crab as an exception. The 2025 bloom season was an exceptionally warm time with temperatures reaching into the high 70s and even the 80s during some days in the southern parts of Minnesota, this year has brought night and morning temperatures as low as 33 °F forecasted for this Friday in Rochester. Keep in mind that damage to apples in pink through bloom usually happens when temperatures dip below 28 °F, the critical temperature during this period for buds and blossoms. Even without frost damage to blossoms, the cool weather brings concerns about pollinator activity, especially for honey bees, which prefer to fly when temperatures are above 55 °F, and in orchards with large blocks of single varieties. 

Image: Two blossoms that have occurred freeze damage shown above two others that are healthy. Photo taken by Josie Dillon, University of Wisconsin Extension Fruit Outreach Specialist. 

When the risk of freezing is possible during bloom, it’s probably not the best time to think about blossom thinning. However, if you’re in a region where you’ve escaped freezing temperatures this year and want to learn more about the process, refer to this UMN Fruit and Veg News article: Bloom thinning apples: How the pollen tube growth model works.

Pest management 

In regards to pest management, I provided information about pink in last week’s article: Fruit Update - April 23, 2026. During bloom, the Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide (MFPMG) cautions growers about the potential for phytotoxicity when applying fungicides, mostly in regards to tank-mixing captan with other pesticides (page 23). 

Additionally, it’s recommended to avoid all insecticide applications at this time to protect pollinators. However, this time period is a good time to start hanging codling moth pheromone traps to monitor insect populations, and deploy pheromone dispensers for those who practice mating disruption. For more information on mating disruption for codling moth, oriental fruit moth, and dogwood borer, refer to page 26 of the MFPMG. 

Pest highlights: Plum and apple curculio

This week there are two articles out with information on both plum curculio and apple curculio. When it comes to apple production, plum curculio tends to be a much more critical pest to manage, while apple curculio can occasionally be an issue for some orchards. Take some time to learn about these pests as you prepare for their typical management periods after petal fall.

Articles:

• Plum curculio conventional and organic management strategies

• Apple curculio: A lesser known orchard pest

Variety highlight: Almata

Images: Almata apples have pink flowers, pink flesh, and even a slight pink tinting to their inner wood. Photos taken at Door Creek Orchard in Cottage Grove, WI. Right photo taken by Liz Griffith, orchard owner and manager. 

Pronounced more like “Alma-ata” for some, the Almata apple is thought to originate from Kazakhstan. Liz Griffith of Door Creek Orchard grows Almata for its unique characteristics, pink flowers, flesh, and inner wood, along with fruit that exhibits a higher tannin content. Almata is also described to be a high vigor tree with a tendency for biennial bearing. Some nurseries will attribute Almata to the UMN Fruit Breeding program, but it is not a UMN bred variety. 

Honeyberries

Growth updates: Bloom 

Image: A ten-year-old honeyberry shrub in bloom at Minnesota Haskap near Stillwater, MN. Photo taken on April 24, 2026.

I went to visit Minnesota Haskap this last Friday while the haskap/honeyberry varieties Boreal Beast and Boreal Beauty were in full bloom. Minnesota Haskap is run by George Terwey, who has been growing his crop for the past ten years. I had the opportunity to do a full interview with George on his experience growing honeyberries, which will be posted to the UMN Small Farms YouTube channel in the near future. 

Both B. Beast and Beauty are compatible varieties for pollination, and George was not concerned about low temperatures as their blossoms are very hardy. This year he is planning to sell already-harvested honeyberries, but will also start a U-Pick operation this season, which he anticipates will run from late June until early July. 

Day-neutral strawberries

Biodegradable Paper Mulch: An Organic Option for Day‑Neutral Strawberry Growers

A new article is now out with information about research done at the Unviersity of Minnesota on paper mulch as a substitute for plastic mulch for day-neutral strawberry production. Check out the article by clicking here. 

Individual fruit sections now downloadable for the MWFPMG

Tired of scrolling and searching through the whole Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide to find your section of fruit you grow? Only grow one fruit crop? Purdue Extension has now made available links to download individual sections of the guide for free on their website. 

Click here to download parts of the MWFPMG.

UMN Extension Fruit Crop Reporting Tool

Interested in sharing anything about the fruit crops on your farm? Feel free to share observations about diseases, pest management, or other production aspects using our new UMN Extension Fruit Crop Observation Report tool. If you have a question you want addressed in a future update article, you can include that in your report.

Thank you to our farm and ag professional partners for contributions to the UMN Fruit Update series. Non-credited photos in this article were either taken by Madeline Wimmer or within the UMN Extension system.