Rutgers Cooperative Extension
The second FDA Proposed Produce Food Safety Rule Q & A conference call, coordinated by the Produce Safety Alliance, was held yesterday. This conference call focused on agricultural water use in the proposed rule. To comment on these proposed rules go to Docket Folder Summary: Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption. Comments are due by May 16, 2013
Here are the highlights of yesterday’s conference call: [Read more…]
The program for the control of annual weeds in the orchard should consider the weed free strip under the tree and the sod middles between the tree rows separately. The “Weed Control Season” in orchards starts in late fall, after harvest. The program implemented in the spring depends on what herbicides were applied the previous fall. If herbicides were applied in late fall, applications can be delayed until later in the spring. Residual herbicides should be applied in late winter or early spring after the soil is no longer frozen, if no late fall treatment was applied. [Read more…]
Can’t tell by the weather today (not another snow storm!), but we are entering the window for our last opportunities to make dormant treatments of insecticidal oils. [Read more…]
Tan lesions due to the fungus Cladosporium variable on spinach. Photo: Sabrina Tirpak, Rutgers PDL
Spinach samples were submitted to the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory today from a local organic grower. They were submitted for the diagnosis of a leaf spot disease, but closer evaluation revealed much more. [Read more…]
Brood II of the 17 year cicada (Magicicada sp.) is expected to emerge in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic this spring. The last emergence in 1996 did not cause many problems in southern NJ counties as I recall. Brood II is one of the broods reported on the east coast. This map indicates the possibility of a broad emergence throughout the region.
Cicada’s can damage trees and shrubs by laying eggs in the twigs. Damage can be severe if the adult emergence is large (populations can be in the tens of thousands per acre!). Damage can also come from sap feeding by females. New and young plantings up to 4 years of age are generally most susceptible to damage. Emergence occurs once the soil temperature reaches 64 degrees (sometime in May in southern NJ). Growers should start scouting in late April by listening for cicada songs and looking for damage.
Information on Cicada life history for tree fruit and for wine grape can be found at:
It’s the first day of spring… Consider that roadside vegetation has been exposed to de-icing compounds following several recent late-winter storms. Runoff from treated pavement contains dissolved salts that can injure adjacent vegetation. In plants sensitive to excessive salt, affected foliage may scorch and drop prematurely. In severe cases, the death of twigs, branches, and sometimes the entire plant, may occur.
