Water, as the saying goes, is Life. But what is water without life? Or better stated: when is water not water anymore?

All too often we think of a water crisis only in terms of big news stories like Standing Rock or disasters like the Deepwater Horizon spill. But the simple truth is that there has been a water disaster underway for decades now. Water quality and access to fresh water are global issues of monumental proportions. But before I digress too far, let me get to the point: farmers do not pay enough attention to the quality of their water. What of the water we apply to our crops and that our crops in turn use to make food? Water has become such a scarce resource for many farmers around the world that access to anything wet seems like a minor miracle. This is an issue that I had not thought much about until the last few years as threats to not just our drinking water, but the water needed for all life, increased. The impacts of poor quality and lifeless water are something we’ve only started to appreciate. 

Practically speaking, poor quality water could lead to ineffective spray applications, poor soil quality conditions (salinity), leaching, and food safety issues. Looking deeper, applying low energy water for irrigation, sprays, or cooling is the same as applying synthetic fertilizers instead of fertilizers made from natural, vibrant materials. When you use synthetic anything you mute the flow of energy during growth and development resulting in low vibration food of poor nutritional value. This basic concept – stated as I have here – is the basis for organic, biodynamic, and holistic farming. Bringing energy into the farm creates a feedback loop that is good for the land, air, water, food, and life.  

So, what to do? We must begin to pay attention to the water we use BEFORE we use it, not after. We must begin to have a deep awareness of the effect poor quality water can have on our crops and ourselves. Finally, we need to take positive steps to improve water quality through this awareness and develop a plan for correcting deficiencies. 

1.    Source – identify all the sources of water on your farm or orchard that you not only use, but that exist in the region and impact the farm ecosystem. These could be the sky, ponds, rivers, lakes, creeks, wells, springs, and municipal sources. 

2.    Uses – how do you use those sources? Even if you don’t use a pond for irrigation, it is still a source of life for other organisms that live on your farm. But for those sources that you do use for irrigation, spray water, produce wash water, staff hygiene, or washing equipment, make sure you’re clear where they are, what they are used for, and how they are interconnected. 

3.    General Observations – for each source of water make some general observations. Are they flowing or stagnant? Clean or dirty? Is there any pollution in or near it? 

4.    pH – pure water tends to be fairly neutral (pH of ~7) to slightly alkaline. This can create a situation where alkaline hydrolysis can reduce the effectiveness of certain materials in solution by breaking natural chemical bonds and in particular proteins. Conventionally, this a concern with certain kinds of synthetic pesticides. Holistically, we need to be aware that water quality can affect the natural materials we put into solution. Not all materials are subject to alkaline hydrolysis in the same way, but the point being that acidifying water to reduce the potential for alkaline hydrolysis is something often overlooked. Test the pH of the your water and adjust to 6.5, if needed!

5.    Hardness – hard water is water best described as water with a high mineral content. Generally this tends to be calcium or other positively charged particles in solution. These mineral particles can adhere to compounds in solution rendering them unavailable (in a similar way to how soil particles hold onto nutrients, rendering them unavailable until broken down). Reducing the pH can take these particles out of solution, reducing the pH, and eliminating the negative impacts of high pH, alkaline water. Conversely soft water doesn’t have a high mineral content. Test the hardness of your water and adjust to below 100 ppm if needed! I know some Amish farmers that are using reverse osmosis filters to clean up there water and reduce the hardness. 

6.    Chemical contamination – one never knows, especially in farmland USA, what makes its way into your water supply. If it’s a surface supply like a pond or lake, runoff from surrounding farmland can find its way into your water supply having unintended consequences. Fungicides, insecticides, bactericides, and herbicides can all affect life found in the soil and on the crops. There are tests easily but not cheaply available that can tell if there are any significant contaminants. 

7.    Pathological/Food Safety - contaminated water, especially in stagnant sources or those frequented by wildlife than can have serious issues with E. coli or Salmonella. Additionally, there are potentially some crop pathogens that can survive in water and when applied to crops via sprays or irrigation can create problems beyond what might occur "naturally."

8.    Energy - Finally dead water is not life. How do you know if water is dead? I think at its most basic, use your powers of observation. Is the water clear? Moving? Are there lots of particles? Moving water is basically structured water, especially if it is flowing over rocks, that's being imparted with energy that it doesn't have if the water is still, contaminated or dirty.

The topic of water quality is becoming of more importance as we understand more deeply the role is plays not just in the practical aspects of farming, but also energetics of the overall farm ecosystem. Start by testing your water as described above. Then sit with it, smell it, watch it, maybe even taste it (but be careful of potential pathogens!!), to discover the health your water may be lacking. 

TREE FRUIT IPM UPDATE
Apple Scab – As everyone should be aware, the next few days carry with them the threat of critical apple scab infections, esp April 27th. RIMpro indicates a very high scab infection potential for the Hudson Valley, that is less severe though still critical for western NY. All Know Your Roots growers have covered for this event in the past few days. It is probably NOT necessary to recover right after this next rain event if you have sprayed within the last 24 hours. However, there is another scab event headed our way for what looks like May 4-5. For western NY this appears to be a more important infection event than the 4/27 event, but less so for the Hudson Valley. This is due to ascospore maturity and release differentials between regions, but also weather patterns - this is still a ways off and conditions could change.

At this time, if you choose to recover after this event, I am recommending i) sulfur for maximum scab protection, ii) cobalt + biology for the more holistic-minded, iii) add copper (Cueva) to either of the above for an additional boost. Sticking with the straight holistic approach is likely less protective, but I have been seeing very good results with cobalt applied through the primary scab season. 

And of course for the more biodynamically inclined, a spray of 501 after the rains or 508 before and after, can provide biodynamic activity by creating warmth and drying, tissue strengthening, and anti-fungal activity. 

** If you're a Know Your Roots client, you should have already received specific recommendations - or you will shortly, for the period following Friday's rains. 

Fireblight – if you have open blossoms (Hudson Valley), then there is a very slight threat of fireblight according to NEWA. However, RIMpro is not indicating any real potential fireblight threat at this time. This threat may shift over the next week to 10 days as the weather warms and more blossoms open up. RIMpro is predicting no fireblight infection periods (Hudson Valley) until late next week at the earliest, and you can rest assured that WNY is further behind still. Everyone should have applied copper this spring for any latent infection or cankers, so inoculum should still be low. 

Options here are few and far between. i) Blossom Protect works but is $$ and must be applied in advance of an infection to allow build up of the organism, ii) Thymegard does have antibiotic activity and has been shown to have some efficacy in university trials, iii) Cueva + Double Nickle. 

Rust – always a threat this time of year. The standard scab sprays should be giving some protection, though there is no bullet in the holistic realm. The "standard" is Regalia + oil applied before and after an infection period, but beware that if there are flowers opened, it can also thin mildly. 

Brown Rot – All stone fruit in the Hudson Valley is at or within 1-2 days of bloom. Protectant sprays should be going on and continued through bloom until 100% petal fall. Sulfur is your best bet here, along with other scab materials (see above), including potentially the biodynamic sprays. 

Insects – there are no real insect threats at this time. As growers creep closer to bloom, European apple sawfly, tarnished plant bug, plum curculio, Obliquebanded leafroller, green fruit worm all becomes insect pests of concern. If you have historical issues, then a pink insecticide application (e.g., Entrust + Surround) should be considered. Otherwise wait until petal fall and treat for all of the above. An application of a Bt material to take care of OBLR, gypsy moth, or green fruit worm is suggested if there are identifiable problems. Everyone should have already treated for scale and/or mites (oil) to reduce overwintering population viability. If you haven’t then what are you waiting for?

-    Pear psylla has been out and about since early on. Oil, Surround, and/or Pyganic can all reduce populations of adults, nymphs, and reduce viability of eggs. 
-    Black stem borer – first adult catch has been reported by the Hudson valley lab. Treatments vary on history, block, rootstock, etc. but should be timed as trunk sprays for now through early June. More detail to follow. WNY is obviously further behind. 
-    Stone fruit – there are no insect pest concerns in stone fruit until at least late shuck split to early shuck fall, unless scouting indicates otherwise. However, the Entrust + Surround spray is what will be recommended at shuck split. 

Nutrition – micronutrients and light nitrogen foliar fertilizers can help reduce any winter damage and ensure that fruit buds are strong going into bloom. Concerns over certain micronutrient applications leave this nutrient up to grower discretion. My feeling that timing is everything. So the earlier in tight cluster (closer to ½” green) can reduce any issues. As well, the prescribed rate is well below labeled rates. 20-20-20 can NOT be applied past pink or it may reduce pollination and/or induce blossom thinning. I have never had any problems with any of these product alone or in combination, unless inappropriately applied. 

Thinning – is still a ways away for WNY growers, but for Hudson Valley growers this should be staring you right in the face at this time. Stone fruit pruning and apple blossom thinning at this time can reduce the chemical or handthinning requirements quite dramatically. Apple growers should be applying blossom thinners (Regalia + oil) shortly based on the Apple Pollen Tube Growth models available to one and all through NEWA. We have been particularly excited about these models since they allow for more accurate timing of blossom thinning, reducing the need to fruitlet thinners and/or later costly handthinning. You can read all about if HERE, and if you’d like help using this tool, please let me know. 

Recommendations – and as always, there are no recommendations in this newsletter. All recs are grower specific and based on on-the-ground observations. Any mention of materials, rates, or timings in this newsletter are merely for general reference.