Archives for June 2013

June 13, 2013 Andy Wyenandt

Vegetable Briefs 6-14-13

Basil downy mildew has been reported near Vineland!
Bacterial leaf spot has been reported on tomato.
Phytophthora blight has been reported on summer squash.
No late blight has been reported in the region to date. The Late blight found in greenhouse tomatoes in WV two weeks has been reported to be US23. To track late blight in the US please visit http://usablight.org/
Want more information on what’s going on, please sign up for the Jersey Vegetable Crop Ag Updates at: http://jerseyvegcropsagupdates.blogspot.com/.

Vegetable Disease of the Week

Symptoms of downy mildew on
infected sweet basil leaf

Basil downy mildew sporulating on the
underside of an infected leaf.

June 13, 2013 Andy Wyenandt

Vegetable Disease Update – 6/14/13

Basil
Pepper
Potato
Tomato

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Vegetable Crops

June 13, 2013 Administrator

Back on May 24, I posted about my observation of crabgrass emerging in areas that had very thin turf cover and very high levels of crabgrass seed in the soil. Crabgrass is now emerging from areas with healthier turf and good density (and has not received a preemergence herbicide application). Recent and forecast rains are likely to intensify crabgrass pressure over the coming days and weeks. It is time to start scouting areas for breakthrough of crabgrass, if this is a concern. Postemergence control options were summarized in my earlier post. Click here to access Dr. Stephen Hart’s fact sheet on crabgrass and goosegrass control.

You can see our herbicide evaluation trials (synthetic and organic products) during the Rutgers Turfgrass Research Field Days on 30 and 31 July 2013 at Hort Farm No. 2 in North Brunswick NJ. Register online for one or both days; click here to register.

Filed Under: Turf

June 13, 2013 Andy Wyenandt

Breeding for Basil Downy Mildew Resistance

Rob Pyne¹, Kathryn Homa ^1,2, Bill Barney^1,2, Andy Wyenandt¹, and Jim Simon¹
¹Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, Rutgers University ²IR-4 Program

In 2010 a basil variety and breeding line trial was conducted as an initial screen for potential sources of genetic resistance to downy mildew caused by Peronospora belbahrii, a destructive pathogen of basil introduced in the US in 2009. This trial was expanded from 30 to over 40 varieties representing six different Ocimum species in 2011. Varying levels of disease susceptibility were observed with the highest tolerance associated with O. americanum, O. citriodorum, O. gratissimum, and O. tenuiflorum varieties and USDA-GRIN accessions. In contrast, the most severe symptoms and extensive sporulation were consistently observed in O. basilicum accessions, including the popular commercial sweet basil varieties. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Vegetable Crops Tagged With: basil, basil downy mildew

June 13, 2013 Cesar Rodriguez-Saona

Blueberry Pest in Detail: Blueberry Maggot

The first trap capture was seen on June 7 in Burlington County which started the clock for those growers on a calendar based spray program if exporting fruit to Canada. See Fruit IPM report for this week.

Blueberry Maggot Trap

Life Cycle
Monitoring and Management
Adult Identification
Control Options

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blueberry

June 13, 2013 Steven K. Rettke

Redheaded Flea Beetle Emerges in NJ Nursery

Last week (6-8-13) the first emergence of the adult red-headed flea beetle (Systena frontalis) was observed in a Cumberland County nursery. This insect has been a major pest at numerous NJ nurseries during the past several years. Primarily a concern with container crops in nurseries, it has an extensive host range. The foliage damage to plants from this 0.2-0.25 inch adult beetle can become extreme.