Those are good looking bud clusters especially from wild vines.
Yes, I would definitely recommend spraying them. They are especially fond of grapes. I found here at my location if I wiped out the nymphs I didn’t have any problems later in the year.
My late fry is putting out a ton of flower clusters, at least four per shoot and many already having five or six clusters. It is on its third leaf although more like second since I had to cut back the arms and regrow them after terrible cicada damage last year.
I think I should thin it, probably leaving the ones closest to the arms since they should mature earlier. Should I thin them now to keep them from wasting energy or wait to see what fruit set? It is also needed to pollinate the Supreme next to it, so I don’t know if leaving all flowers for now will help, particularly since I expect they’ll open at different times.
Thoughts?
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Leave it be. It may bud out or you might get another shoot from the roots. If it comes back from the roots it grows really fast.
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My thoughts for today. The secret to muscadines survival in the wild in my opinion is their ability for the male and female to bloom simultaneously. Then along comes self fertile varieties and this almost changes everything except that we still have several females to get pollinated. As I looked over my female vines yesterday I spotted a few open flowers and I started thinking that they won’t get pollinated. Never fear because even though the self fertile don’t need outside pollen they still have the habit of the flowers opening in almost perfect sequence as the female vines. As of the day before I didn’t see any open flowers on my self fertile Hall but today it was at about 20 % open. Now all I need to be concerned with is the weather and of course the voracious appetite of the Japanese Beetles which also appears to be peeking as the muscadine flowers open.
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Made a big harvest this morning. Not muscadines but I did collect about 30 Japanese Beetles. As of now I’m pleased with my new location and my vines planted in February 2021 appear to be growing well. Some of the vines are getting close to the soil so I will need to do a little lower trim before the next cutting. The vines grew well last year with a considerable amount of attention and they are all loaded with buds and blooms. Hall has the heaviest set of blooms but Oh My has a pretty sizeable amount also.
Oh My
Hall
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Muscadines flower profusely but rarely set more than 4 or 5 grapes per cluster. Redgate is the only variety I know of that sets very large clusters.
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The beetles are congregating in larger groups of 2-5. I’m collecting about this many twice a day. Every once in awhile one escapes my container of soapy water.
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I like to see the heavy set of flowers but I only get a good feeling about the crop size when they get bb to pea size.
Pyganic is a very effective organic control for Japanese beetles. It is a deadly poison that must be handled with care. Spray muscadines twice a week for a month and the japanese beetles will roll off the vines dead for about an hour after each spray. It is also useful for beans and other vegetables for which organic pest control is desired.
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I’ve got flowers on my young Late Fry…I believe this is only its second year.
One cordon has reached the end of the 10 foot length but the other cordon has a couple more feet to go.
Should I allow it to set fruit?
Not sure it even will…
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I let my vines fruit when they are a little short. Some growers would remove the fruit.
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Noticed today that i’ve got trunk splitting on my frost damaged Black Beauty. Honestly it looks like it’s nearing death. I don’t know how to describe it…but it feels damp and cold to the touch in a way that the unaffected vines do not and it has lichen starting to grow on it in patches. Scratch test still shows some life but it doesn’t look vibrant.
Should I cut it back to the ground?
I think I contributed to it with my first clumsy vine pruning attempt (followed the Isons guide).
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If your sure the vine won’t survive I would cut it back. Another option would be to just go ahead and plant a replacement vine.
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Thanks for suggesting Pyganic. It is scheduled to arrive Tuesday.
You’re welcome. Please read the instructions carefully. I’ve been using a level tablespoon to a gallon of water. Shake the sprayer or stir well to mix it into the water. It is most effective in the 3 hours immediately after spraying and has little or no effect after 24 hours. Japanese beetles roll off the vines dead, particularly if you get the spray on them direct. I also use neem oil which has some antifungal effect.
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Pyganic followup from my one experience. I applied it to one 80’ row of muscadines that had plenty of Japanese Beetles. Because it’s a contact spray It was applied near sunset to help reduce the kill of other insects. It’s my understanding that it’s only effective while wet so applying late in the day might help keep it in that state longer. The Japanese Beetles have an immediate reaction to being sprayed by moving. I came back around about fifteen minutes later and they were all gone so I’m assuming it killed them and they dropped off. If anyone else decides to use it I suggest reading the label for the correct application. My first opinion was good. Now I’m wondering if it will kill Plum Curculio.
Re PC, yes, it kills them, but it is very difficult to catch them on the plant during the time the spray is active.
What I like a lot about pyganic is that there is almost no residual activity after 24 hours. This means it is highly effective on Japanese Beetles that stay on the plant and hang around while you spray, but it is not very effective on any insect that flies away at the first disturbance.
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It also appears to kill aphids and possibly ants. Thanks