Flea beetles are one of the earliest vegetable pests to be seen in crop fields in spring. They attack many vegetable crops grown in New Jersey.

Several species can be found throughout the year, including the cabbage flea beetle, corn flea beetle, crucifer flea beetle, horseradish flea beetle, eggplant flea beetle, palestriped flea beetle, potato flea beetle, spinach flea beetle, striped flea beetle and the sweet potato flea beetle.

They generally have 1-2 generations per year, and overwinter as adults, usually in soil and litter or other protected areas, becoming active in early spring; early April – May in New Jersey. 

Flea beetle adults feed on the leaves, chewing small holes in the foliage. However, when feeding is extensive and the leaves become riddled, the adjacent tissue dies or dehydrates, and the leaf takes on a bronzed or burned appearance. Leaves will die and drop off the plant. Some species, such as the corn flea beetle, can completely skeletonize leaf tissue of seedling corn, often defoliating the plants. The corn flea beetle adult also transmits a disease, Stewart’s bacterial wilt of corn, which can stunt or even kill corn plants infected early in the season. Larvae are generally root feeders, and several species occasionally cause considerable damage to roots and tubers. [Read more…]

With the cold winter we have experienced this year, one of the first questions our growers are asking is what will the effect of the cold temperatures be on insect populations this spring.

Unfortunately, as with many insect questions there is no easy answer. In some cases the colder temperatures will likely reduce populations of certain pests.  Insects in the soil or under snow cover will have protection from extreme temperatures which will influence survival. Many insects migrate in over the spring from the south, so they were not here to experience our winter weather. Survival conditions for migratory insects are more dependent on their local over wintering conditions. It is difficult to generalize about the impact of cold temperatures on the crop pests we battle. There are influences of fall tillage, soil characteristics, snow cover and soil temperature that play a role.

The bottom line is that our cold winter weather will not relieve you of your scouting duties. Get out in the field on a regular basis and see what is going on, talk to others to find out what they are seeing, and check back with the Plant and Pest Advisory for updates through the season.

A fast and vigorous start for the high tunnel tomato crop is everyone’s goal. Proper and coordinated irrigation and fertility programs can help.
However, there are limits to how much growers can ‘push’ the crop, especially by feeding it. For fertigated tomato crops, ‘feed and water according to documented need’ may be a useful rule of thumb.
– Matt Kleinhenz, Extension Vegetable Specialist, OSU

There are take home messages for New Jersey growers in this week’s VegNet. Vegetable Extension Specialist Matt Kleinhenz discusses grower calls concerning expectations for early tomatoes in high tunnels.  Go to VegNet Volume 21 Number 2 to read the full article.

• Light and temperature drive demand for water and nutrients during young crop establishment. Currently, day length is still short, light level and temperatures are low.
• The higher temperatures seen in the high tunnel does not overcome the starving effect of low light – and may, surprisingly, lead to slower growth of young plants.
• Optimize irrigation water temperature to avoid adversely impacting soil warming and bathing the root zone in cool water which slows plant growth.
• Aggressive irrigation and fertility programs during crop establishment cannot override crop physiology and growing conditions.

If you are aware of any fields in the southern portion of the state (particularly in Salem, Cumberland and Cape May) that has kudzu please contact me by e-mail @ bamka@njaes.rutgers.edu.

As you may have heard the kudzu bug is knocking on New Jersey’s door. In July of 2013 the kudzu bug was found in Sussex County Delaware, just a relatively small trip across the Delaware Bay from New Jersey. This rather new pest is something our soybean industry needs to keep a watchful eye on. You may have read in different farming publications about the presence of bean platasipid (Megacopta cribraria) or more commonly the kudzu bug in the southeastern US. It is referred to as the kudzu bug because it has a tendency to feed on kudzu. Feeding on kudzu has not been viewed as a bad thing in the south. However, in the southeastern US kudzu bug has become a concern because it is also a pest of soybeans.

The NJDA could use your help in tracking the potential presence of Kudzu bug in the state. [Read more…]

NJAES has a new program dedicated to risk management for Agritourism and Direct Marketing. Risk management tools aimed at addressing the following issues can be found our new Extension Training For Agritourism Development website.

• Minimizing farm safety risks
• Managing liability
• Mitigating financial risk through enterprise budgeting
• Improving marketing strategies

Educational videos, enterprise budgets, fact sheets and assessment checklists are some of the helpful tools you will find.