- Downy mildew remains active on all cucurbit crops. All cucurbit growers should include downy as well as powdery mildew specific fungicides in their weekly maintenance sprays. Please remember different modes-of-Action (i.e., FRAC groups) to help manage fungicide resistance develop in both pathogens. To track the progress of CDM in the US please visit http://cdm.ipmpipe.org/
- There have been no new reports of late blight in New Jersey. Remember as fall approaches and night temperatures become cooler and light fogs begin to develop conditions for late blight development improve. All abandoned tomato blocks/fields need to be disked under as soon as harvesting is done or sprayed with gramoxone to kill all living foliage. To track late blight in the US please visit http://usablight.org/
- Downy mildew was reported on turnip greens this past week. The cool, damp mornings with lingering dew have been ideal for downy mildew development across many crops.
- Basil downy mildew remains active.
September 21, 2015 Andy Wyenandt
Vegetable Disease Briefs – 9/21/15
September 10, 2015 Andy Wyenandt
RAREC Variety Trials:
Disease-Resistant Hybrid Bell Pepper ‘Turnpike’
Phytophthora blight (P. capsici) and bacterial leaf spot (BLS) are the two greatest pathogen threats to pepper production in New Jersey. Articles in the Plant & Pest Advisory, such as Phytophthora Control During Wet Weather, Controlling Phytophthora Blight in Pepper, and Bacterial Leaf Spot Update, have talked about why growers are experiencing increasing crop losses due to P. capsici and BLS. Work on mitigating the impact of these pathogens has been on-going for decades at the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center. Among the many pepper varieties evaluated at the farm, the new Seminis hybrid, Turnpike, has generated excitement for its fruit quality, yield potential, and resistance against both Phytophthora blight as well as bacterial leaf spot races 0-5 and 7-9.
Phytophthora blight and bacterial leaf spot are issues for growers; Turnpike has performed well and looked strong in the test field. [Read more in American Vegetable Grower/Growing Produce]
Boyd Carey, Ph.D. discusses disease-resistant pepper Turnpike
at RAREC’s Vegetable Twilight Meeting & Research Tour.
Seminis bell pepper breeder Bill McCarthy has worked for many years to develop Turnpike, seen here in the foreground.
September 3, 2015 Andy Wyenandt
Late Blight Found on Tomato: Morris County – 9/2/15
Late blight has been found in a small tomato planting near Chester in Morris County. This is the third late blight report this growing season in New Jersey and the first since mid-August. Although the weather around NJ has been hot and dry the past few weeks, morning dews and fogs are slowly starting to roll in with Autumn around the corner. All tomato growers should scout their fields on a regular basis. Early-season plantings that have been abandoned need to remain on your radar screen, especially if they haven’t been mowed off or hit with gramoxone to kill all living plant material. To track late blight in the US please visit http://usablight.org/
August 28, 2015 Andy Wyenandt
Vegetable Disease Briefs – 8/28/15
- Downy mildew remains active on all cucurbit crops. All cucurbit growers should include downy as well as powdery mildew specific fungicides in their weekly maintenance sprays. Please remember different modes-of-Action (i.e., FRAC groups) to help manage fungicide resistance develop in both pathogens. To track the progress of CDM in the US please visit http://cdm.ipmpipe.org/
- There have been no new reports of late blight in New Jersey since 8/14. Remember as fall approaches and night temperatures become cooler and light fogs begin to develop conditions for late blight development improve. All abandoned tomato blocks/fields need to be disked under as soon as harvesting is done or sprayed with gramoxone to kill all living foliage. To track late blight in the US please visit http://usablight.org/
- Bacterial leaf spot remains active on pepper and tomato crops. Bacterial canker on tomato has also been reported.
- Pepper anthracnose has been reported. All pepper blocks/fields where anthracnose is present and harvesting is completed need to disked under and/or sprayed with gramoxone as soon as possible. Infected plant material left in the field will only serve as a source of inoculum for further spread of the disease.
August 14, 2015 Andy Wyenandt
Late Blight Found on Tomato: Sussex County – 8/14/15
Late blight has been found in a small tomato planting near Layton in Sussex County.
This is the second report this growing season in New Jersey and the first since early July. All tomato growers should scout their fields on a regular basis. The incoming hot, dry weather should help reduce any potential threat from late blight.
August 11, 2015 Andy Wyenandt
Two Important Vegetable Production Pathogens Confirmed in NJ
- Dickeya sp., an aggressive form of Black leg, has been confirmed on potato in New Jersey.
Symptoms of Dickeya infection look similar to Black leg infection and can cause significant rot above ground (stems and foliage) and below ground (tubers). Very little information is available on Dickeya, since it is most likely a new pathogen on potato to the US. It has also been found in Europe in recent years. - Bacterial leaf spot race 6 was confirmed on bell pepper near Vineland this past week. All bell and non-bell pepper varieties currently grown in New Jersey lack resistance to this race of the pathogen.
All pepper growers need to scout on a regular basis and know what BLS resistance packages the varieties they grow carry. Bell pepper varieties such as Tomcat and 1819 carry resistance to races 1 to 5. Thus, if symptoms of BLS appear on either variety then race 6 is most likely present on the farm and any pepper that lacks resistance to race 6 has the potential to become infected.
