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Vegetable Crops Edition

Seasonal updates and alerts on insects, diseases, and weeds impacting vegetable crops. New Jersey Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations updates between annual publication issues are included.
 
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November 27, 2024

Get Ready for the 2025 NJ Ag Convention – February 3-6

It is that time of year again to sign up for the annual NJ Agricultural Convention, co-sponsored by the Vegetable Growers Association of New Jersey, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, and the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. Visit the VGANJ website at https://vganj.com/convention-tickets to register.

For 2025 there are new and exciting opportunities to learn about all aspects of the agricultural industry at the educational sessions and from vendors at the trade show. If you came last year, you also saw many new improvements to the convention – more vendors, more educational sessions, a complimentary lunch (limited free tickets) on Tuesday highlighting “what’s new from industry”, a complimentary hot buffet at the Tuesday happy hour/charity auction, youth programs for FFA, and co-convention events with the NJ Department of Agriculture. These offerings and more are coming for 2025. New events like Monday afternoon workshops, a livestock session, an agricultural policy session, an environmental session, and others are confirmed for this coming year. Licensed pesticide applicators will see an increase in recertification credits on the program for 2025. 

To check out the educational programming and NJDEP recertification credits for pesticide applicators see https://go.rutgers.edu/2025NJACTSProgram – this is a draft program. Also, note that some events need special sign-up so read the program carefully to see what events need pre-registration.

NJ State Board of Agriculture information for the convention is coming soon. Check out their website at Department of Agriculture | Conventions.

If you have any questions about the VGANJ registration, go to https://vganj.com/#contact. If you need more information about the educational programs please contact the Rutgers Co-Chairs for the convention – bamka@njaes.rutgers.edu Bill Bamka, Agricultural Agent in Burlington County, or minfante@njaes.rutgers.edu Michelle Infante-Casella, Agricultural Agent in Gloucester County.

Filed Under: Agrivoltaics, Blueberry, Christmas Trees, Commercial Ag Updates, Disease Forecasting, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Nursery, Organic Production, pesticide credits, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Uncategorized, vegetable, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape, work shop Tagged With: ,
November 25, 2024

Ag Irrigation Water Log Template Simplifies Annual Water Use Reporting To NJ DEP

 

https://go.rutgers.edu/IrrigationLog

 

As 2024 winds down and irrigation pumps are finally being shut off after a very long, dry season, thinking about calculating how much water was used to be able to fill out that NJ DEP report form in a couple of months is likely the furthest thing on your mind. However, the RCE Ag Water Use Log Excel Template <https://go.rutgers.edu/IrrigationLog> can make that process much easier, whether you have used it all season, or just need an easier way rather than tabulating all those hours of pumping by hand. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blueberry, Christmas Trees, Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Turf, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , ,
November 14, 2024

Does your farm, ranch or ag business host visitors?

Be counted! If your farm, ranch, or agricultural business is open to visitors, please take 5 minutes to complete a short survey from our colleagues at the University of Vermont.

Click here to take the survey or copy and paste this link into your browser: http://go.uvm.edu/agt24 

Filed Under: Christmas Trees, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: ,
November 14, 2024

The Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program wraps up its first year of crops research in New Jersey

The Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program is a multidisciplinary group of Rutgers faculty and staff committed to designing and conducting applied agrivoltaics research and outreach for stakeholders in New Jersey and throughout the region.

The Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program (RAP) was initiated over 3 years ago with the signing and passage of the Dual Use Solar Act by the New Jersey legislature. In 2023, agrivoltaics (AV) research installations were established at three Rutgers-New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Stations (NJAES). One at the Clifford E. and Melda C. Snyder Research and Extension Farm in Pittstown, NJ; one at the Animal Farm on the Rutgers New Brunswick (SEBS) Campus, and one at the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center (RAREC) near Bridgeton, NJ. Members of the Rutgers RAP Team in collaboration the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, NJ Department of Agriculture, and NJ-DEP are now in the process of implementing the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program.

 

Specialty crops being grown in a double panel AV plot at the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center near Bridgeton, New Jersey.

An image of specialty crops being grown in a single AV panel plot at the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center near Bridgeton, New Jersey.

 

The agrivoltaics research at the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center (RAREC) near Bridgeton, New Jersey was designed to study the effects of agrivoltaics systems on the production of specialty and agronomic crops. This year eggplant, bell pepper, fresh-market tomato, and soybeans were grown under three different treatments: single-axis tracking array with one row of panels, single-axis tracking array with two rows of panels, and no panels (conventional production as a control) to determine the effects of the panels on crop yield and quality.

Soybeans were grown in two whole blocks at the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center near Bridgeton, NJ in 2024.

Soybeans being harvested between double AV panel arrays at the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center near Bridgton, New Jersey.

 

At the Clifford E. and Melda C. Snyder Research and Extension Farm in Pittstown, NJ the effects of single-axis tracking arrays with one row of panels on forage growth was studied to measure potential impacts on hay yield and quality. There were three cuts of the hay this season along with sampling for forage quality.

Hay being cut in mid-May at the Snyder Research and Extension Farm in northern New Jersey.

Cut hay being wind-rowed at the Snyder Research and Extension Farm in northern New Jersey.

 

At the Rutgers SEBS Cook Campus Animal Farm in New Brunswick, New Jersey, which hosts equine and livestock facilities, research was done to study pasture forage production and animal grazing patterns in combination with vertical bifacial solar panels. In early fall, four gestational cows (led by Buttercup) were introduced to the AV array research pasture for the first time. The research pasture also includes shelter and drinking water for the animals.

Buttercup (on the right) leading the small herd into the field of vertical bifacial panels at the Cook Campus Animal Farm on the campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ.

Buttercup and friends at the watering hole.

The ribbon cutting ceremony held on 30 Sep 2024 at the Cook Campus Animal Farm on the SEBS campus of Rutgers University celebrating the accomplishments Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program.

 

On 30 Sep., over 80 people attended the Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program ribbon cutting ceremony at the Rutgers Animal Farm in New Brunswick, NJ where State officials, University leaders, and invited guests applauded the research and outreach efforts of the Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program and discussed the potential impacts of agrivoltaics for both the agricultural and solar industries in New Jersey.

Results from all three Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program research sites will be presented at upcoming Extension meetings this winter and spring across New Jersey and the region.

UPCOMING PPRESENTATIONS

Dan Ward will be presenting at the New England Fruit and Vegetable Conference on 18 December 2024 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Multiple RAP Team members will be presenting in the morning Agrivoltaics Session at the 2025 New Jersey Agricultural Convention and Trade Show in Atlantic City on 5 February at Harrah’s Resort.

More to be announced!

For more information on the Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program and more AV resources please visit the new RAP website by clicking here. Stakeholders interested in keeping up the what’s going on can now subscribe to the new website and have information send directly to their email account. Just go to our contact page and follow the instructions to subscribe! 

Articles and images can be used by Permission from the Rutgers RAP Team only – For Permission contact RAP at shawn.sorrels@rutgers.edu.

 

Filed Under: Agrivoltaics, Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Vegetable Crops Tagged With:
November 6, 2024 and

Produce Safety Rule Training

The registration deadline is fast approaching for our December 5 and 6, 2024 Remote Food Safety Modernization Act: Produce Safety Rule Training. This training fulfills the requirements of the Food and Drug Administration that at least one person from each farm that produces fresh fruits and vegetables needs to receive a standardized curriculum recognized by the FDA. This class runs from 9:00-1:00 EST and both days are required to receive the certificate. The deadline to register is Sunday, November 17, 2024, exceptions to this deadline cannot be made due to the nature of the remote program and the need for participants to have a copy of the Growers Training Manual prior to the training.  Without the manual at the time of training participants will not receive a certificate.  Manual will be mailed to all registered participants.  For more information and to sign up for the class go to https://onfarmfoodsafety.rutgers.edu/trainings.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Organic Production, vegetable, Vegetable Crops
October 24, 2024 and

Vegetable IPM Program – Corn Earworm Monitoring

Corn Earworm Monitoring – Moving Forward

It is likely that blacklight trapping will not be continued in the Rutgers Vegetable IPM Program beginning in 2025, due to the unavailability of the specific bulb that has been the standard for blacklight traps for decades.  Under these circumstances, the IPM Program will rely on pheromone trapping to determine levels of important crop pests such as the corn earworm (CEW).

The 30” Hartstack trap (see photo at right by K. Albright of Purdue Univ.), also called the Texas pheromone trap (TPT), which is used in the Rutgers IPM Program, as well as many insect monitoring programs in other states, is the best tool for determining spray intervals on silking sweet corn to limit CEW injury.  A number of New Jersey sweet corn growers already have one or more TPTs on the farm, but we encourage all growers of this crop to obtain at least one.

 

Deploying Traps

The TPT is mounted on ½” rebar set at a height of approximately 4’.  The trap is baited with one Hercon Luretape Corn Earworm Lure, available from Great Lakes IPM®.  An additional lure is added every two weeks, and the trap should always be deployed directly adjacent to sweet corn expressing fresh silks.  This means that the trap should be moved frequently during the season.

 

Building or Buying Traps

The TPT is relatively simple to manufacture, and the University of Kentucky has posted the plans and parts list for making these traps in the growers’ shops.  The UKy site for trap design is:  https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef010

For those who wish to purchase this trap rather than making their own, TPTs are available from Mike “O” Olsowski in Geneva, NY.  Mr. Olsowski has made a number of TPT tops for the Rutgers IPM Program and is willing to make and ship these traps to New Jersey growers.  Contact information for Mike “O” Olsowski :

Mike “O” Olsowski

3510 Sutton Rd.

Geneva, NY  14456

Phone:  315-651-5929

 

Recording Catches

Current silk spray intervals based on corn earworm catches in the 30″ Hartstack trap were developed by the Univ. of Delaware some time ago, and are represented on the following chart, which may be printed and posted in a convenient site on the farm so that growers can record the catch and determine a silk spray schedule.  This trap record also includes spaces for other insects for which commercial pheromones are available, including beet armyworm and fall armyworm.  Contact information for Rutgers Vegetable IPM Program staff (currently, Amanda Quadrel) is also included on the chart.

 

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops