Rutgers Cooperative Extension
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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When: May 4 (Wed) @ 4 PM
Where: Tomasello Winery: 225 N White Horse Pike, Hammonton, NJ 08037
Frank Salek Memorial Lecture, Sponsored by the Outer Coastal Plain Vineyard Association. Dennis Rak, owner of the Double A Vineyard Nursery will talk on ‘Grapevine Grafting: Fundamentals of Why and How’
Pesticide Recertification Credits: CORE (1 credit), PP2 (5 credit), 1 A (5 credit) [Read more…]
Scouting Methods & Options:
There are essentially three options available when scouting your greenhouse crops for insect/mite pests. 1- No scouting performed with pesticides being applied on a calendar timetable. 2- Simply scouting for pest existence with pesticides applied when presence is observed. 3- Scouting crop and making pesticide application decisions based on pest counts and action thresholds. The third option is part of an integrated pest management (IPM) approach that has been promoted throughout the green industry the past few decades.
Greenhouse pest populations are measured by trapping or direct plant inspection, and both involve determining pest numbers. Counting pests and using action thresholds requires time and knowledge, but results in less pesticide use, reduced potential for insect resistance, and can improve plant quality. It is important to remember that trapping (e.g., yellow, or blue sticky cards) improves the efficiency when scouting your greenhouse but does not replace the actual inspection of individual crop plants (Fig. 1 & Fig. 2). This is particularly the case when scouting for aphids and mites.
Fig.1. Yellow or blue colored sticky traps are used to capture flying insect pests in the greenhouse. The blue traps attract the western flower thrips more effectively. (Photo Credit: Steven K. Rettke, Rutgers Coop. Ext.)
Fig. 2. The optivisor (3x) at top of photo works best when counting or viewing the insects captured on sticky traps. The other magnifiers shown (5x, 16x, 20x) are used to more closely view pests on crop plants. (Photo Credit: Steven K. Rettke, Rutgers Coop. Ext.)
4:30 PM – Registration / Light Refreshments
4:45 PM – Apple Fruit Rots: Environment, Infection Timing and Fungicide Efficacy
Norm Lalancette, Specialist in Tree Fruit Pathology, Rutgers NJAES
5:15 PM – Farm Tour of Fruit and Early Season Vegetable Production
Kurt Alstede, Craig Steely, Hector Ruiz, John Ferrante, Alstede Farms
5:30 PM – Tree Fruit Insect and Disease Update
Dean Polk, Statewide Fruit IPM Agent, Rutgers NJAES
5:45 PM – Disease Control Options for Spring Vegetable Crops
Andy Wyenandt, Specialist in Vegetable Pathology, Rutgers NJAES
6:00 PM – Early Season Weed Control Update
Thierry Besancon, Specialist in Weed Science, Rutgers NJAES
6:15 PM – Insect Control for Spring Vegetable Crops
Kris Holmstrom, Vegetable IPM Research Project Coordinator, Rutgers NJAES
6:30 PM – Greenhouse and High Tunnel Considerations for Early Season Vegetable Production
AJ Both, Extension Specialist in Controlled-Environment Engineering, Rutgers NJAES
6:45 PM – Tour of Pesticide Storage and Loading Facility
Kurt Alstede, Craig Steely, Alstede Farms
Patricia Hastings, Extension Pesticide Safety Education Coordinator, Rutgers NJAES
Just a quick reminder hoping to see you tonight. In addition to the announced agenda below, newly appointed State Executive Director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency Bob Andrzejczak will be joining us to (re)introduce himself to the farm community.
Integrated Vegetable Crop Management Twilight Meeting
THURSDAY, April 7, 2022
6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
East Vineland Fire Hall
4931 Landis Ave., Vineland, NJ
across from the Savoy Restaurant
(please park behind the building and enter conference room door in rear)
6:30 pm Tools for Pesticide Safety & Regulatory Compliance for Growers & Pesticide Handlers
7:00 pm Understanding the New FSMA Water Rule
7:20 pm Cover-crops for Fertility Management
7:40 pm Cover-crops and Other Weed Management Strategies for Plasticulture Crops
8:10 pm Disease Control Options for Spring Vegetable Crops
8:40 pm Pepper Weevil & Early Season Diamond Back Moth Management Options
9:10 pm COVID-19 and New Roles for Extension Going Forward
9:30 pm Adjourn
Pesticide Recertification Credits
Hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Richard VanVranken, Agricultural Agent, Atlantic County
Wesley L. Kline, Agricultural Agent, Cumberland County
Michelle Infante-Casella, Agricultural Agent, Gloucester County
From MorningAgClips.com posting (4/7/22) <https://www.morningagclips.com/free-training-tools-available-to-address-sexual-harassment-of-farmworkers/> from 4/5/22 press release from Equitable Food Initiative <https://equitablefood.org/latest-news/free-training-tools-available-to-address-sexual-harassment-of-farmworkers/>
WASHINGTON — Equitable Food Initiative, the workforce development and certification organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumer advocacy groups, has collaborated with Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (PNASH), a part of the University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, to support the development of a worksite training and toolkit, ¡Basta! Preventing Sexual Harassment in Agriculture.
April is National Sexual Harassment Awareness and Prevention Month, and EFI is using the time to shine a light on this important topic. Several studies have found that 75%-80% of female farmworkers have experienced sexual harassment at work, compared to 50% in non-agricultural office settings as reported by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The EFI website offers statistics, facts and study citations on harassment at work, links to access the ¡Basta! Preventing Sexual Harassment toolkit, which features videos in both English and Spanish, and educational materials that can be used in workplaces (posters, shareable graphics and a detailed fact sheet). The information and resources can be found at equitablefood.org/harassment, and all are provided free of charge.
“Development of the ¡Basta! toolkit was catalyzed by female farmworkers in Eastern Washington who brought the issue of sexual harassment to PNASH,” explained Dr. Jody Early, a professor at University of Washington who worked on the project. “This is the first program created by and for agricultural stakeholders to address the prevention of sexual harassment, and we tailored it to the needs of Latino/a/x farmworkers, growers and supervisors.”
The PNASH team worked for six years and engaged more than 48 different stakeholders in the development – including farmworkers, grower associations, health care advocates, human rights organizations, state and federal agencies, farmworker rights groups, private businesses and nonprofits like Equitable Food Initiative.
“This can be a difficult topic, but it’s essential that we address it industrywide,” said LeAnne Ruzzamenti, director of marketing communications for EFI. “We know that harassment happens more frequently among farmworkers, we know that it goes unreported, and we know that agriculture workplaces include characteristics that make women more vulnerable to it.”
EFI’s certification program goes beyond a simple audit and introduces workforce development solutions along with training in communication, conflict resolution, problem-solving and collaboration. Third-party evaluation studies have found that the program fosters culture shifts on farms that result in respectful and trusting workplaces where women and indigenous workers report reduced harassment and discrimination.
“EFI’s mission is to improve the lives of farmworkers by bringing everyone in the system together to address the fresh produce industry’s most pressing problems,” Ruzzamenti continued. “I can’t think of a more important goal than creating safer and healthier workplaces through a zero-tolerance approach to harassment.”
About EFI
Equitable Food Initiative is a nonprofit certification and skill-building organization that seeks to increase transparency in the food supply chain and improve the lives of farmworkers through a team-based approach to training and continuous improvement practices. EFI brings together growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumers to solve the most pressing issues facing the fresh produce industry. Its unparalleled approach sets standards for labor practices, food safety and pest management while engaging workers at all levels on the farm to produce Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured® fruits and vegetables. For more information about Equitable Food Initiative, visit equitablefood.org.
View a list of EFI-certified farms at equitablefood.org/farms.
–Equitable Food Initiative
