- Sand blasting has been reported on a number of leafy green and other crops these past few weeks. Injury from sand blasting predisposes plants to bacterial infections. Remember, all bacteria need a wound or a natural opening, such as a stomata, to gain entry into the plant. Fields with extensive injury need to be scouted regularly, and most likely will need to be sprayed regularly with a copper fungicide or disinfectant-type product to help mitigate infection and spread.
- For a review on how to avoid sunscald injury on transplanted crops please click here.
- Bacterial leaf spot has been reported in sweet basil. BLS of sweet basil is a relatively new disease of basil in the US. The bacterium has a large host range and can survive and overwinter in the soil on infested plant debris. Disease development is favored by hot, humid, rainy weather. Periods of hot, dry weather will help mitigate disease development.
- Club root has been reported in southern New Jersey.
- Cucurbit powdery mildew season is quickly approaching as more cucurbit crops are planted. For a review of CPM control strategies please click here.
- Cucurbit downy mildew has been reported as far north as southern Georgia on cucumber and cantaloupe. To track the progress of CDM please visit the CDM forecasting website.
- With the on and off again rains we have been getting, along with warmer weather this week, all growers should consider applying at-transplanting fungicides for root rot control. Please click here to see this article.
- Weather conditions have been ideal for fruit rot infections in strawberries. For more information on controlling fruit rots in strawberry please click here.
- The following is a nice article by Jeanine Davis from NCSU about mixing Serenade with coppers.
- The 2020/2021 Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations Guide is available for free online! With many county offices running reduced hours or being closed this is the easiest way to obtain the newest recommendations.
- For a quick review on managing fungicide resistance development using tank mixes and fungicide rotations, and information on FRAC group 4, FRAC group 7, and FRAC group 3 and FRAC group 11 fungicides please click on hyperlinks.
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.
Vegetable Disease Update – 5/27/20
Last “Ask the Ag Agent” Webinar Tonight at 7:00PM
The last springtime Rutgers Cooperative Extension, “Ask the Ag Agent” weekly 1-hour sessions for farmers will take place tonight 5/27/20 at 7:00PM. We realize the season is well underway and most farmers are out in the fields. With the regular sessions ending for now, please reach out to your local County Agricultural Agent at anytime for assistance. We are open for business, and as times have changed we have changed with them.
This last online webinar/call in event will begin promptly at 7:00PM with an open forum to discuss ag-related questions about production, marketing, regulations and any other topics farmers wish to discuss.
Thank you to all who joined each week over the past two months and thank you to the Ag Agents and Extension Specialists who have participated. Bill Bamka, Stephen Komar, Meredith Melendez and Michelle Infante-Casella created and hosted this forum one week after the State of NJ went into lockdown and it has been quite the journey. Please join us for one last session for spring. All are welcome.
To access via WebEx on a computer go to https://go.rutgers.edu/rc9n3kxt
Join by phone
+1-650-429-3300 USA Toll
Access code: 799 743 872 # and then # again to join
Reminder for Tonight’s On-Farm Direct Marketing, Farmer Panel Webinar
Tonight at 7:00PM – Last Session for the On-Farm Direct Marketing May Webinar series.
Farmer Panel: Tracy Duffield-Duffield’s Farm Market, Dave Specca- Specca’s Pick-Your-Own Farm and Jess Niederer – Chickadee Creek Farm and CSA will discuss what they have changed on their farms due to COVID-19.
Please join us online at https://go.rutgers.edu/k0d59m8h
or
On the phone 1-650-429-3300 with Access code: 226 795 368 # and then # again.
Wednesday Discussions: Ask the Ag Agent
Last night on “Ask the Ag Agent” we discussed The NJ Department of Health’s “Interim Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Guidance for Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers, Their Employers, and Housing Providers” guidance document. We will continue to facilitate discussion on “Ask the Ag Agent” forum for this topic and others next week. Please feel free to bring up any ag-related topics for discussion on this forum.
“Ask the Ag Agent” weekly 1-hour sessions for farmers will be hosted weekly and continue each Wednesday until May 27th. The online conferencing/call in events will begin at 7:00PM with an open forum to discuss ag-related questions about production, marketing, regulations and any other topics farmers wish to discuss. All are welcome. Events are hosted by William Bamka, Stephen Komar, Meredith Melendez and Michelle Infante-Casella – Agricultural Agents.
To access via WebEx on a computer go to https://go.rutgers.edu/rc9n3kxt
Or, Join by phone
+1-650-429-3300 USA Toll
Access code: 799 743 872
For additional Rutgers Cooperative Extension educational programs check out https://events.rutgers.edu/njaes/
IPM Update 5/20/20
Sweet Corn
The black light trap network is complete at this time. To date, one corn earworm (CEW) was captured at Eldora, Cape May County. A very few European corn borer (ECB) moths have been captured this past week, indicating that as warmer weather begins to arrive, we should see increasing numbers over the next several weeks. This pest poses little threat at this time, as they are few in number and the earliest sweet corn plants are only just reaching suitable size to support larvae.
The highest nightly trap catches of ECB for the week ending 5/20/20 are as follows:
Downer 1 |
Hackettstown 1 |
Medford 1 |
NJMVC Further Extends Driver License, Registration, and Inspection Expiration Dates Due to COVID-19
The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Chief Administrator Sue Fulton, on Monday, May 18th, announced additional extensions to driver license, registration, and inspection expiration dates in the continuing efforts to mitigate COVID-19 and safeguard public health.
Effective immediately, the following documents, if expiring between March 13 and May 31, have been extended to July 31. Documents expiring June 30 are extended two months to August 31, and those expiring July 31 are extended to September 30.
• All Standard driver licenses (including permits) and standard non-driver IDs
• Privately owned and commercial vehicle registrations (including Farmer and Farm Use registrations)
• Vehicle inspections
• Purple Heart/Disabled Veteran placards
• Temporary tags
“Get it done online now, if you’re able,” Fulton suggests. “We do anticipate that volumes will spike once we reopen and when we reach the end of these extensions. Our job is to serve customers in the most efficient way possible and one way we can do that is by steering people to our expanded list of online services.”
On March 13, the NJMVC initially announced two-month extensions for licenses, registrations, and inspection stickers expiring in March, April, and May, timelines that have now been pushed back.
The NJMVC encourages customers to utilize online services, which have been expanded during the COVID-19 crisis. In most cases, customers can renew a license, replace a lost license, change an address, renew a registration, and complete other transactions through the NJMVC’s Online Services portal.
Customers also should check NJMVC.gov for the latest information and updates.