Archives for August 2013

Blueberry Pest in Detail: Putnam Scale – 2nd Generation

Crawler counts have increased again since last week. Growers who had infested berries during the first generation should treat this generation as soon as possible. Esteem and Diazinon are the suggested products.

Life History

Scales feed on plant sap, decreasing plant vigor and fruit yield. Adult scales are protected from insecticide sprays by a waxy covering. These insects are common in older canes when not removed, and located mostly under loose bark. In New Jersey, the Putnam scale has two generations a year. It overwinters as second-instar nymphs under loose bark. Spring activity begins in early February. Eggs from the first generation are laid in late April, and immature “crawlers” begin to appear in mid-May. Peak crawler emergences occur in late May and early June. Peak crawler emergences for the second generation occur in early to mid-August (this time of the year).

Monitoring and Management

Growers that have a scale problem need to treat post harvest for the 2nd generation of crawlers (use Diazinon or Esteem). Crawlers can be monitored by wrapping black electricians’ tape covered by double-sided sticky tape around canes. Use a hand lens to see crawlers on the sticky tape. Sprays should coincide with crawler emergence.

Vegetable IPM Update: Week Ending 8/14/13

Note: A complete update will not be issued today.

Sweet Corn

Corn earworm (CEW) adult catches are rising throughout most of the state now. Only the northernmost counties still have few individual moth captures. Elsewhere, growers should be shortening their silk spray schedules to three days even if specific sites have abnormally low catches. Northern growers should prepare for the population to increase in their area very soon.
Generally, spray schedules should be as follows:
North: – 4 days
Central: – 3 days
South: – 3 days

Fruit IPM Report: Week Ending 8/17/13

Fruit IPM Report 8-17-13 – Click to View | Download | Print

In this report:

Scorpion- Pome and Stone Fruits

Section 18 Emergency Exemption
for use and distribution only within the state of New Jersey
for control of BMSB in pome and stone fruit
CLICK TO VIEW LABEL

  • BMSB
  • Peach
  • Apple
  • Grape
  • Scouting Calendar
  • Blueberry
  • Trap Counts

Potato Disease Forecasting Report 8-13-13

Potato Disease Forecasting Report 8-13-13 – Click to Download

We will be tracking DSVs for Late blight development and calculating P-days for initiating the first early blight fungicide application.

The first late blight fungicide application is recommended once 18 DSVs accumulate from green row. Green row typically occurs around the first week in May in southern New Jersey. An early season application of a protectant fungicide such as mancozeb (Dithane, Manzate, Penncozeb) or Bravo (chlorothalonil) as soon the field is accessible is suggested. Please be vigilant and keep a look out for suspect late blight infections on young plants. No late blight has been reported in our region to date.

Remember the threshold for P-days is 300!  Once 300 P-days is reached for your location early blight fungicide applications should be initiated. Growers who are interested in using this model should chose the location above that is closest in proximity to their farming operation and should regularly check the Cornell NEWA website (http://newa.cornell.edu/) where this information is compiled from. Click on Pests Forecasts from the menu, select your weather station, and click on tomato diseases, set accumulation start date and a table of daily and total DSVs will be generated.

Tomato Disease Forecasting Report 8-13-13

8-13-13 Tomato Report – Click to Download

Disease severity values (DSVs) for early blight, septoria leaf spot, and tomato anthracnose development are determined daily based on leaf wetness (due to rainfall, dew) and air temperature.

On a daily basis DSV values can range from 0 to 4 where 0 = no chance for disease development to 4 = high chance for disease development.
DSVs are accumulated during the production season.

Fungicide applications are based on an individually determined DSV threshold. The first fungicide application for the control of these three diseases is not warranted until 35 DSVs have accumulated from your transplanting date. After that, growers can base fungicide applications on different DSV thresholds.

Potato Disease Forecasting Report 8-9-13

Potato Disease Forecasting Report 8-9-13 – Click to Download

We will be tracking DSVs for Late blight development and calculating P-days for initiating the first early blight fungicide application.

The first late blight fungicide application is recommended once 18 DSVs accumulate from green row. Green row typically occurs around the first week in May in southern New Jersey. An early season application of a protectant fungicide such as mancozeb (Dithane, Manzate, Penncozeb) or Bravo (chlorothalonil) as soon the field is accessible is suggested. Please be vigilant and keep a look out for suspect late blight infections on young plants. No late blight has been reported in our region to date.

Remember the threshold for P-days is 300!  Once 300 P-days is reached for your location early blight fungicide applications should be initiated. Growers who are interested in using this model should chose the location above that is closest in proximity to their farming operation and should regularly check the Cornell NEWA website (http://newa.cornell.edu/) where this information is compiled from. Click on Pests Forecasts from the menu, select your weather station, and click on tomato diseases, set accumulation start date and a table of daily and total DSVs will be generated.