Grape and Wine Science Certificate Program will be offered July 22-Aug 16, 2024. This program will provide foundational knowledge in three major areas of grape and wine science – grape growing, wine making, and business operations – following the path of grapes from the field to the winery to the glass. Students will gain competency in all three areas to prepare them for positions in the industry. The program will feature 4 weeks of classroom instruction, complemented by hands-on workshops. Then students will complete a 4-week winery internship where they can put their new knowledge and skills into practice. [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 22, 2024 Kris Holmstrom
Vegetable IPM Update 5/22/24
Sweet Corn
A few scattered European corn borer (ECB) moths have been captured in central and northern counties, and this insect is certainly active in southern parts of the state. Numbers are very low, which is consistent with the last few seasons. Whorl corn is the primary target for egg laying, but as yet, scouts have reported no signs of feeding injury in the few plantings that are of suitable maturity. In northern and central counties, corn plantings that were started on/under plastic have reached a size that will support ECB larvae. We expect to encounter some level of feeding over the next 2-3 weeks, although the majority of plantings have not required insecticide treatments for ECB prior to full tassel in the past several years.
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 5/22/24 are as follows:
| Asbury 1 | Georgetown 1 |
| Califon 1 | Sergeantsville 1 |
| Farmingdale 1 | South Branch 1 |
* No blacklight traps are in operation south of the Columbus (Burlington Co.) area this season.
May 15, 2024 Kris Holmstrom
IPM Update 5/15/24
Sweet Corn
IPM personnel have deployed black light and corn earworm (CEW) pheromone trap networks in central and northern New Jersey counties. As we start our summer field technicians, trap checks are limited. However, even with cool weather and few traps visited, there have been low catches of CEW in several pheromone traps. While this is of little consequence now, it does suggest that local overwintering is a possibility. We have experienced increasing CEW populations in recent years at the time our early plantings silk (mid-June), and the presence of moths in early May points to more of the same this year.
Black light trap derived maps for European corn borer (ECB), CEW and brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) will not appear in the Plant and Pest Advisory, as there is no statewide blacklight trap network. Data from existing black lights in the central and northern counties will appear in table format, with associated information on the relevance of the populations. Provided that data from the southern CEW pheromone traps is available on a regular basis, maps will be generated for this pest/trap type. Limited collections from traps thus far have not contained any target pests.
Slugs
With recent cool wet weather, slug damage (photo at left, by J. Compton) to various crops, including sweet corn has begun to appear. No till or zone till situations give slugs ample hiding places under the surface layer of debris. Plastic mulch can also protect slugs as long as weather remains cool. They are largely active at night but can be found on crop plants anytime conditions are very wet. Most slugs are not as large as the specimen in the picture at right, but even small
garden slugs can do significant damage to seedlings. Be sure to monitor fields during wet and cool conditions. The presence of slugs and their damage may require an application of slug bait to the affected areas. Various slug baits are available, but labels should be consulted to determine which product is permissible on the affected crop. Check the Pest Management section in the 2024 Commercial Vegetable Production Guide for products.
May 8, 2024 Kris Holmstrom
IPM Update 5/08/24
Sweet Corn
IPM personnel have deployed black light and corn earworm (CEW) pheromone trap networks in central and northern New Jersey counties. In areas from central Burlington County southward, grower cooperators have been provided with CEW pheromone traps and will be monitoring these traps on their own properties and reporting catch data to IPM personnel. This is an effort to maintain a statewide reporting program for the most significant economic pest of sweet corn despite a shortage of professional staff this year. The IPM program thanks these growers in the southern counties for their assistance in maintaining this necessary service.
Black light trap derived maps for European corn borer (ECB), CEW and brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) will not appear in the Plant and Pest Advisory, as there is no statewide blacklight trap network. Data from existing black lights in the central and northern counties will appear in table format, with associated information on the relevance of the populations. Provided that data from the southern CEW pheromone traps is available on a regular basis, maps will be generated for this pest/trap type. Limited collections from traps thus far have not contained any target pests.
April 29, 2024 Kris Holmstrom
Allium leaf miner update: 04/29/24
Allium Leaf Miner (ALM)
As of last week, allium leaf miner (ALM) adults were still being captured on sticky cards placed in chive plantings in Mercer and Hunterdon counties, and in a garlic planting in Morris County. Numbers had declined somewhat from catches the week of 4/15. There is a possibility that damaging levels of ALM adults remain. Once we cease to capture adults, another update will follow.
Photo: Sabrina Tirpak. Allium leaf miner oviposition scars on onion
Growers should consider initiating the control method of their choice at this time, if any allium crops are in the field. Affected crops include chives, scallions, garlic, onions and leeks. Look for neat rows of white spots descending from the upper tips of allium leaves (see photo at left). Initial injury often occurs on the tallest leaves. Under warmer, less breezy conditions, adults may be seen near the tips of leaves (see photo of adult at lower right). Perennial chive beds are often the first, and most heavily infested alliums of the spring season, so this makes chives an ideal crop to confirm ALM adult activity.
Floating row covers, kept on until this flight ends will help minimize access to plants. Insecticide applications targeting adults may be helpful as well, although frequency of applications is uncertain. Spinosyn materials (Radiant, Entrust (OMRI approved)), pyrethroids (Mustang Maxx, 
Warrior), neonicotinoids (Scorpion, Venom), the diamide Exirel (section 2ee recommendation) and the insect growth regulator Trigard are labeled for miner control.
April 19, 2024 Michael Monzon
Free event for farmers will dig into historical agriculture using archaeology and insects
On May 1, 2024, an experiential learning workshop for farmers will be held from 10:30 – 2:00 at the Rutgers Specialty Crop Research and Extension Center in Cream Ridge, New Jersey. The workshop focuses on insects recovered from a 1683 grave that was excavated at Historic St. Mary’s City, Maryland. Historic St. Mary’s City was the first permanent British settlement in Maryland, located on a small rural coastal peninsula east of modern-day Washington, DC. Today, the site is still a farming operation that mainly grows field crops.
Registration is free and can be found on the workshop’s homepage here: https://go.rutgers.edu/mll66dzo
Workshop Details
Dr. George Hamilton’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Laboratory at the Rutgers Department of Entomology is studying historical insects from the Philip Calvert grave at Historic St. Mary’s City and the insect biodiversity of the modern site. One goal of this project is understanding if the same beneficial rove beetle species have survived in the area as land use around the site has changed over time.
The workshop’s purpose is to get feedback from the agricultural community on the project after going through some of the activities used to study the historical insects and gather modern site data. First, the workshop will start at 10:30am with learning more about the project and the archaeology of Historic St. Mary’s City through two 10-minute talks. Then, three break-out groups will rotate through guided insect collecting in the field, recognizing historical insect fragments under laboratory microscopes, and seeing how maggots move after leaving a death scene by making insect art.
Everyone who attends will receive a folding pocket scope on behalf of NOFA-NJ for viewing insects they collect and are invited to take home their maggot insect art.
Lunch will be provided around noon after breakout groups complete each hands-on activity. Coffee will be served, and a short talk will give an overview of the investigation’s current findings. Finally, before the workshop ends at 2:00pm project members will lead a brief group discussion about how studying insects in archaeology can be used for sustainable agriculture.
For example, identifying native rove beetles that have existed at a location for 100s of years then developing an IPM farmscaping or habitat manipulation program targeted to increase populations of those beneficial insects.
Additional Background Information
The study of insects and other arthropods in archaeology sites is referred to as archaeoentomology. In Europe archaeoentomology has been used to show fleas and grain weevils moved with migrating humans over 5,000 years ago. Changes in archaeoentomology beetle species found at early European farms represent changing land use once agriculture became established. However, even though insects are all around us, archaeoentomology is usually overlooked when researchers try to design new sustainable agriculture practices.
Very little archaeoentomology research has been conducted in the United States. This provides an opportunity for developing American archaeoentomology as a field focused on understanding changes in the food system over time related to crop pests and beneficial insects.
Parking information and the link to the registration form can be found on the workshop’s homepage here: https://go.rutgers.edu/mll66dzo
In addition to farmers, growers, ranchers, farm workers, beekeepers and other members of the agriculture industry, this workshop is free and open to college students interested in agriculture, Master Gardeners, and other interested community members.
Please contact Mike with any questions at mmonzon@njaes.rutgers.edu
This event is a collaboration between NOFA-NJ, George Hamilton’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Laboratory at the Rutgers University Department of Entomology, and the Fahrenfeld Research Group at the Rutgers University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number GNE22-292.
