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.

Field Guide List

September 26, 2018

IPM Update 09/26/2018

There will be no maps for this edition of the IPM Update.

Sweet Corn

State-wide, European corn borer and fall armyworm have declined in the traps.  There has been little field activity for either moth.

Corn earworm

Corn earworm populations have declined, but based upon blacklight information, most areas of the state will need to continue on a 3-day silk spray schedule for late season sweet corn.  In the pheromone traps of southern NJ, the number of adult males caught has declined indicating a 4-day spray schedule in most locations.

Other vegetable crop pests:

Beet armyworm

Beet armyworm has been generally low in number throughout the summer season.  While there was an increase in trap catches for the Hammonton area this past week, it is not likely to be an economic problem.

Pepper weevil

No other field populations have been detected outside of the Hammonton area.  This will be the last note for this season regarding pepper weevil.

Hawaiian beet webworm

Hawaiian beet webworm on spinach

We have been picking up small numbers of HBWW in the blacklight traps, especially in southern NJ, in the past couple of weeks.  A field was found this week in Cape May County where the HBWW was abundant feeding on pigweed and sugar beets.  The primary host of HBWW is pigweed, but amaranth, spinach, beets, sugar beets, and chard are also fed upon.  The greenish caterpillars feed on the leaves and produce loose webbing which pulls leaves together.  As the larvae mature they become more reddish with longitudinal stripes.  Because localized populations can build up large numbers, farmers should check plantings of susceptible crops for this moth.  If spraying is necessary, refer to the Mid-Atlantic Commercial Production Recommendations for control options.

Soybean Looper in eggplant

An unusual infestation of soybean looper was found in eggplant this past week in the East Vineland area.  The caterpillars resemble cabbage looper but have more distinct white stripes and dark margins on the sides of the head.  Soybean looper can feed on a wide range of plants besides soybean, including tomato and pepper.  This situation stood out for two reasons: 1) that soybean looper was found in the eggplant, and 2) that any caterpillar infestation was found in eggplant requiring control.

soybean loopers on eggplant

Filed Under: Organic Production, Uncategorized, Vegetable Crops
September 12, 2018

IPM Update 09/12/18

Sweet Corn

European corn borer (ECB) moth catches remain low.   Feeding signs in whorl corn are rare.  There will be no map in this edition.  Second generation feeding is often obscured by fall armyworm (FAW) feeding.  Once plants hit full tassel, any ECB larvae present will move downward on the stalk and re-enter the plant near the area where ears are forming.  This can result in direct injury to the ear.  Growers should consider an insecticide application at the full tassel stage to target ECB larvae as they migrate downward.  This application can eliminate larvae that have escaped any earlier insecticide applications. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops
September 5, 2018

IPM Update 09/05/18

Sweet Corn

European corn borer (ECB) moth catches remain low.   Feeding signs in whorl corn are rare.  There will be no map in this edition.  Second generation feeding is often obscured by fall armyworm (FAW) feeding.  Once plants hit full tassel, any ECB larvae present will move downward on the stalk and re-enter the plant near the area where ears are forming.  This can result in direct injury to the ear.  Growers should consider an insecticide application at the full tassel stage to target ECB larvae as they migrate downward.  This application can eliminate larvae that have escaped any earlier insecticide applications. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops
August 29, 2018

IPM Update 08/29/18

Sweet Corn

European corn borer (ECB) moth catches are extremely low.  The second flight has been very weak.  Feeding signs in whorl corn remain low.  There will be no map in this edition.  Second generation feeding is often obscured by fall armyworm (FAW) feeding.  Once plants hit full tassel, any ECB larvae present will move downward on the stalk and re-enter the plant near the area where ears are forming.  This can result in direct injury to the ear.  Growers should consider an insecticide application at the full tassel stage to target ECB larvae as they migrate downward.  This application can eliminate larvae that have escaped any earlier insecticide applications. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops
August 22, 2018

IPM Update 08/22/18

Sweet Corn

European corn borer (ECB) moth catches remain unchanged.  The second flight is weak, with many traps catching no individuals.  Feeding signs in whorl corn have been exceptionally low.  There will be no map in this edition.  Second generation feeding is often obscured by fall armyworm (FAW) feeding.  Once plants hit full tassel, any ECB larvae present will move downward on the stalk and re-enter the plant near the area where ears are forming.  This can result in direct injury to the ear.  Growers should consider an insecticide application at the full tassel stage to target ECB larvae as they migrate downward.  This application can eliminate larvae that have escaped any earlier insecticide applications. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops
August 15, 2018

IPM Update 08/15/18

Sweet Corn

European corn borer (ECB) moth catches in black light traps remain very low.  The second flight is weak, with many traps catching no individuals.  Feeding signs in whorl corn have been exceptionally low.  There will be no map in this edition.  Second generation feeding is often obscured by fall armyworm (FAW) feeding.  Once plants hit full tassel, any ECB larvae present will move downward on the stalk and re-enter the plant near the area where ears are forming.  This can result in direct injury to the ear.  Growers should consider an insecticide application at the full tassel stage to target ECB larvae as they migrate downward.  This application can eliminate larvae that have escaped any earlier insecticide applications. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops