For over a decade, basil downy mildew (BDM) has caused significant losses in basil grown in organic and conventional field and greenhouse production across the United States. At the time of its introduction, there were very few fungicides labeled for its control making it nearly impossible to grow a successful crop in many areas of the country. [Read more…]
Organic Farm Advisory
The Plant & Pest Advisory serves NJ growers by reporting on important pests and recommending responses that are grounded in reproducible trials.
Articles in this section contain information helpful to the NJ commercial organic grower.
Sharing organic practice trial results between land-grant universities is a cost effective way to create a common knowledge base built on the strengths of individual programs. In the sidebar, find institutions with programs in organic agriculture which augment knowledge developed at the Rutgers New Jersey Ag Experiment Station.
Rutgers Cooperative Extension Field Guides: These concise guides help with decision making from pre-planting to harvest. For each crop listed, learn what pests to proactively look for as the season progresses, how to look for them, and when to take action.
May 26, 2021 Kris Holmstrom and Joe Ingerson-Mahar
Vegetable IPM Update 5/26/21
Sweet Corn
European corn borer (ECB) moths are now being captured in parts of the state. As yet, numbers are low, and the next 7-10 days will likely
tell whether this flight will be of any significant size. Current “hot spots” are around Salem County and southern Hunterdon into Mercer and Ocean counties (see map at right). Whorl corn is the primary target for egg laying, but as yet, scouts have reported no signs of feeding injury. We expect to encounter feeding over the next week. .
Look for the characteristic “shot-hole” type of feeding (photo below at right) and consider treating when infested plants exceed 12% in a 50 plant sample. As plantings proceed to the pre-tassel stage, ECB larvae may be found in emerging tassels (see photo at left). It is a good idea to treat individual plantings as they move into the full tassel/first silk stage one time. This eliminates any ECB larvae that have emerged with the tassels as they begin to move down the stalk to re-enter near developing ears.
Useful insecticides for this particular application include synthetic 
pyrethroids (IRAC Grp 3), spinosyns (including OMRI approved Entrust) IRAC Grp 5), and diamides such as Coragen or Vantacor (IRAC Grp 28) or materials such as Besiege which include the active ingredient in Coragen. Synthetic pyrethroids alone should NOT be used for corn earworm (CEW) protection on silking corn. Control with these materials is very inconsistent.
The highest nightly trap catches of ECB for the week ending 5/26/21 are as follows:
| Sergeantsville 3 | Clinton 1 | New Egypt 1 |
| Allentown 1 | Crosswicks 1 | Pedricktown 1 |
| Bellemeade 1 | Jones Island 1 | Pennington 1 |
| Centerton 1 | Lawrenceville 1 | Princeton 1 |
May 26, 2021 Meredith Melendez
FSMA Produce Safety Rule Inspections Taking Place on all Covered Farms
Are you a produce farm who has not yet had a FSMA Produce Safety Rule inspection? Have you received communication from the NJ Department of Agriculture about the Produce Safety Rule? Smaller size produce operations are currently being inspected by the NJDA for FSMA PSR compliance. If you have not yet had an inspection you may be subject to one this season. Here is what you need to know:
If you grow and sell over $25,000 in produce annually you may be subject to the FSMA Produce Safety Rule. The NJDA will contact your farm to ask several questions to understand if the rule pertains to you. What crops do you grow? How much in produce sales do you make on an average year? What percentage of your sales are made direct to consumer (farm stand, farmers market, CSA, direct to an individual grocery store, direct to an individual restaurant)? What are your total food sales (including any food for human and/or animal consumption including hay, grain, baked goods, meat, milk, honey, chewing gum, etc.) for an average year? You may have previously answered these questions via a survey that was mailed to you, or over the phone with NJDA staff.
The NJDA is currently scheduling inspections with farms across the state of all sizes. If you receive a phone call or email from the NJDA about a Produce Safety Inspection date, do not ignore the communication. The inspection will take place and warning letters can be sent to farms who are not in compliance with the rule.
Have questions about if your farm is exempt or qualified exempt from the rule? Remember that qualified exempt farms need to prove their exemption status, this can be done by using the qualified exempt review template on page 5 of the recordkeeping guidance from the Produce Safety Alliance.
Farms that need to comply with the rule are required to attend FDA approved training. The next training in NJ will be held online on September 15th and 16th. Other online trainings are available from other states, visit the Produce Safety Alliance website for more details. The approved training covers the Produce Safety Rule requirements and ways of complying with them.
May 25, 2021 Meredith Melendez
USDA Spanish Language Resources Now Available for Organic Stakeholders
The USDA has translated its organic regulations and resources into Spanish. Available online are:
USDA Organic Regulations
Organic Foods Production Act
NOP Handbook
Organic Integrity in the Supply Chain
Training materials
Video resources on certified organic FAQ, preventive practices, and recordkeeping
Tip/Fact sheets on topics ranging from soil assessments, composting, manures, orchards, livestock, dairy, meat, and others
May 19, 2021 Kris Holmstrom and Joe Ingerson-Mahar
Vegetable IPM Update 5/19/21
Sweet Corn
The black light trap network in New Jersey is now operational. To date, one corn earworm (CEW) at Green Creek (Cape May County), and several European corn borer (ECB) moths have been captured. As numbers increase, look for population maps of ECB, CEW, brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) and CEW catches from pheromone traps in this weekly publication. The resulting full-state maps will include interpretive information.
The highest nightly trap catches of ECB for the week ending 5/19/21 are as follows:
| Centerton 1 | Jones Island 1 |
| Clinton 1 | Woodstown 1 |
May 14, 2021 Michelle Infante-Casella
3rd Agritourism Webinar: Visitor Incidents and Media Communication
Rutgers Cooperative Extension is working with other extension professionals in the northeastern states to deliver weekly, one-hour webinar programming for agritourism and on-farm direct market operators. The 3rd session will focus on what to do in the event of an confrontation, accident, or injury, and how to communicate with the media in a crisis. Registration is being handled through the University of Vermont. See information below to join the webinars. There are separate registrations for each event.
Session 3: What to Do when Something Goes Wrong, Incident Response and Media Relations, When: May 18, 2021 7:00-8:00 PM Eastern Time. Presenters: Bill Bamka, Stephen Komar, Bill Hlubik, Rutgers Cooperative Extension – Register HERE
Session 4: Liability Insurance, When: May 25, 2021 12:00-1:00 PM Eastern Time. Presenter will be an insurance agent from VT: – Register HERE
Recorded past sessions will be posted to this website if you missed any sessions: https://www.uvm.edu/extension/vtagritourism/safety-and-liability-farms-during-covid-19
To request a disability-related accommodation to participate in this program, please contact Christi Sherlock at 802-476-2003 or Christi.Sherlock@uvm.edu for assistance.
