Andy Wyenandt

This is an archive of Dr. Wyenandt's posts on the Plant and Pest Advisory.

July 27, 2026

Vegetable Disease Update – 7/27/26

There have been no reports of Late blight in the region.

There have been no reports of basil downy mildew.

Anthracnose fruit rot in pepper has been reported in southern New Jersey.

There have been continued reports of southern blight caused by Athelia rolfsii (formerly Sclerotium rolfsii) in tomato and pepper in southern New Jersey. For more information on Southern blight and Timber rot please click here.

Phytophthora blight has been reported on multiple crops in New Jersey.

There have been no reports of cucurbit downy mildew in New Jersey and the mid-Atlantic region. CDM has been reported as far north as North Carolina on cantaloupe and cucumber to date. To follow the progress of CDM in the US please visit the CDMpipe website here.

Bacterial leaf spot in pepper and tomato continues to be reported.

Resistance-breaking strains of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (RB-TSWV) have been reported in southern New Jersey. Please click here for more information on TSWV.

Please follow our weekly Vegetable IPM Updates to stay current on insect pests and vegetable diseases throughout the growing season!

For more information on these diseases and their control please see the NEW 2026/2027 Mid-Atlantic Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations Guide.

Filed Under: Vegetable Crops
July 27, 2026

Anthracnose fruit rot in bell and non-bell pepper

Pepper Anthracnose

Pepper Anthracnose

Pepper anthracnose was reported last week in southern New Jersey.

Unlike in tomato, where symptoms are only present in mature (red) fruit, pepper anthracnose can infect bell or non-bell pepper fruit at any growth stage. Unfortunately, there are no commercially-available bell or non-bell peppers with known resistance to anthracnose; however breeding efforts continue. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Vegetable Crops Tagged With: ,
July 1, 2026

Vegetable Disease Update – 7/1/26

There have been reports of southern blight caused by Athelia rolfsii (formerly Sclerotium rolfsii) in tomato and pepper in southern New Jersey. For more information on Southern blight and Timber rot please click here.

Phytophthora blight has been reported on multiple crops in New Jersey.

There have been no reports of cucurbit downy mildew in New Jersey and the mid-Atlantic region. CDM has been reported as far north as southern Georgia on cantaloupe and cucumber to date. To follow the progress of CDM in the US please visit the CDMpipe website here.

Bacterial leaf spot in pepper has been reported.

Resistance-breaking strains of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (RB-TSWV) have been reported in southern New Jersey. Please click here for more information on TSWV.

Please follow our weekly Vegetable IPM Updates to stay current on insect pests and vegetable diseases throughout the growing season!

For more information on these diseases and their control please see the NEW 2026/2027 Mid-Atlantic Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations Guide.

Filed Under: Vegetable Crops
June 19, 2026 , and

Resistance-breaking tomato spotted wilt virus alert 6/19/2026

This week we have detected two cases of resistance-breaking tomato spotted wilt virus (RB-TSWV) in South Jersey. Read further for more information.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, vegetable, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , , ,
May 8, 2026

Controlling Rhizoctonia root rot

Rhizoctonia root rot has been reported over the past  week in transplanted crops. Rhizoctonia root rot, caused by Rhizoctonia solani, is an important soil-borne fungal pathogen with a very large host range. The pathogen can survive saprophytically on living or dead plant material (organic matter) or as sclerotia in the soil (for more than 3 years). Disease development is favored by warm temperatures, dry (or very well drained) soils and stressed plants. Symptoms of Rhizoctonia root rot may begin as stunted plant growth (with poor root systems) with the appearance of brown lesions at the base of the stem causing wilting with lesions eventually girdling the stem and killing the infected plant. Rhizoctonia root rot infections only extend about an inch above the soil surface (Figure 1), unlike Phytophthora blight infection which can extend much farther up the stem. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , ,
May 1, 2026 , and

Tomato spotted wilt virus alert 5/1/2026

We have seen a couple scattered cases of tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) in Southern NJ greenhouses this spring. Be on the lookout for any tomato plants that seem abnormal [Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, vegetable, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , ,