Despite the many challenges 2020 has thrown at all of us, Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources has been successful in filling two positions vital to NJ’s commercial agriculture industries. While these positions are located in Burlington and Salem Counties respectively, they greatly enhance our regional and statewide expertise and outreach resources. [Read more…]
Vegetable Crops Edition
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.
Subscriptions are available via EMAIL and RSS.
Quick Links:
NJ Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations
Rutgers Weather Forecasting - Meteorological Information important to commercial agriculture.
October 13, 2020 Nick Polanin
Building Our Capacity: Newest Team Members in Crop Production and Field and Forage
October 13, 2020 Michelle Infante-Casella
Fall “Ask the Ag Agent” Discussion Forum Wednesday, 10/14 at 7:00PM
Farmers and others are welcome to join this bi-weekly teleconference every-other Wednesday night from 7:00pm-8:00pm in October. The 10/14/20 webinar/call in event is the 3rd of 4 events. The last webinar in this series will be on October 28th. Events are hosted by Rutgers Cooperative Extension Agricultural Agents working with the farming industry.
This call-in or WebEx webinar event features updates on farm management, crop conditions, farm industry observations, agricultural agency programs and other topics discussed by farmers, agricultural agents and other agricultural service providers.
Some topics for this Wednesday include:
1. Status of the New Jersey Vegetable Growers Convention in 2021
2. Fall Season Updates
Hosted by Agricultural Agents Bill Bamka, Stephen Komar, Michelle Infante-Casella and Meredith Melendez, this bi-weekly communication provides a forum for discussion for farmers and all involved in NJ agriculture, including agricultural agency personnel, non-profit organizations and others.
To join the “Ask the Ag Agent” forum each week on a computer/tablet/smartphone via the WebEx Videoconference
Click Here to Join or use the link https://go.rutgers.edu/g4v4gy0x
To Join by phone call:
+1-650-429-3300 passcode 1202639477##
For this event and other Rutgers Cooperative Extension events see the NJAES Calendar.
October 7, 2020 Nick Polanin
Update – Agricultural Water Permits and COVID19
In accordance with the Permit Extension Act signed by NJ Governor Murphy on July 1, the term of certain governmental permits, approvals, and deadlines that were due to expire on March 9, 2020, or the specified period following it, were extended. In addition and in accord with the rules published in the NJ Register on Sept. 8, an official request for such an extension via a NJDEP website was required for approval of the COVID-19 extension period by October 8, 2020.
These requests were finalized today on behalf of the growers through information provided by NJDEP Bureau staff and the efforts of ANR Department members to obtain missing required information, updating spreadsheets, and inputting information online.
This effort encompassed 613 agricultural water permits across the state with expiration dates from 2020 through 2024. In consultation with NJDEP, it was decided to include a wide a window as possible to accommodate the unknown future regarding COVID19 and NJ’s public health emergency declarations.
Growers who currently hold an ag water permit and a valid email address should have already received an auto-generated email from the NJDEP website once their information was uploaded confirming a permit extension request. If the permit holder had no email on record, ANR emails were included and the county faculty or staff member received the confirmation email. These should be filed locally with the allocation permit information, and a printed copy shared with the grower as soon as feasible.
I want to acknowledge Terry Pilawski, Jennifer Myers, Matthew Myers, Christa VanHaren, Yvens Dessalines (NJDEP) and Monique Purcell (NJDA) who reached out to initiate this collaboration, and Talia Zirin, Amina Lamrabat, and our ANR members and county office staff across the state for assisting me in this important endeavor.
The accommodations provided by the Permit Extension Act of 2020 supplement actions taken by Governor Murphy by way of Executive Order and by the NJDEP to address the impacts of COVID-19.
October 7, 2020 Andy Wyenandt
Neopestalotiopsis – Something to scout for in fall-transplanted strawberry
A fungal disease has been identified in some fall-transplanted strawberry fields in New Jersey. The pathogen, Neopestalotiopsis spp., causes a leaf spot and fruit rot in strawberry. Up until recently, the pathogen was considered a secondary pathogen. However, the disease has been found in strawberry production in FL where leaf, fruit, petiole, crown, and root symptoms were observed, and yield was severely affected. Dieback has been up to 50% in some New Jersey plantings this fall (Fig. 1). Symptoms on infected leaves include brown to tan circular spots (Fig. 2) that under the right environmental conditions will produce numerous black pycnidia (Fig. 3). Fruit infections look similar to anthracnose fruit rot. Growers who have purchased strawberry plants this fall should scout their fields immediately and contact their County Agricultural Agent if suspect plants are found.
For more information on Neopestalotiopsis please see links below from NCSU and FL.
https://strawberries.ces.ncsu.edu/2020/09/a-new-disease-is-emerging-neopestalotiopsis-fruit-rot/
https://vegetablegrowersnews.com/news/neopestalotiopsis-fruit-rot-seen-n-florida-strawberries/
(Article for use with permission only)
October 7, 2020 Tim Waller
H-2A Employer Audit Webinar hosted by Maryland Farm Bureau
Maryland Farm Bureau will be hosting a webinar on how to prepare for an H-2A employer audit. Experts from the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Maryland Department of Labor, and the private sector will be discussing what records need to be kept and produced in response to a labor investigation. Although geared towards Maryland employers, this webinar will certainly provide broadly applicable resources for those utilizing H-2A labor in New Jersey.
When: October 14, 2020, 8:00 a.m.-10:15 a.m.
Agenda
8:00- 8:05 Welcome and Introductions
8:05-8:45 Nicholas Fiorello & Kim Ga, United States Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
8:45-9:25 Jesús Díaz, Maryland Department of Labor
9:25-9:35 Break
9:35-10:05 Jesse Hammock, Esq., Partner, Parker Goodman Gordon & Hammock, LLC
10:05-10:15 Questions & Wrap-up
Moderated by Sarah Everhart, Agriculture Law Education Initiative
October 7, 2020 Kris Holmstrom and Joe Ingerson-Mahar
Vegetable IPM Update 10/07/20
Note: This will be the final regular edition of the Vegetable IPM Update for 2020. We will post alerts should special pest situations arise.
Sweet Corn
Corn earworm (CEW) moth captures continue to decline, although with temporary increases on warm nights. Growers should consider this pest to still be at moderate population levels in the state, with higher risk during stretches of warmer nights. The current population poses a threat to silking corn. Blue areas on this map (see map at left) represent a 4-5-day spray schedule. The low catches in the southern county blacklight traps are contradicted somewhat by the pheromone trap network. For further information on CEW activity, see pheromone trap information below.
The highest nightly trap catches of CEW in black light traps for the week ending 10/07/20 are as follows:
| Crosswicks 3 | Califon 1 | Green Creek 1 |
| Hackettstown 2 | Clinton 1 | Milford 1 |
| Sergeantsville 2 | Eldora 1 | Milltown 1 |
| Bellemeade 1 | Georgetown 1 | Oldwick 1 |
