- No reports of Late blight in region. To track the progress of Late blight in the US please click here.
- Cucurbit downy mildew remains active on cucumber in southern New Jersey. There have been no reports of CDM in other cucurbit crops in the region to date. For a review of CDM control please click here. To track the progress of CDM on your phone or PC please visit the CDM forecasting website.
- Cucurbit powdery mildew (CPM) season is here. For a review of CPM control strategies please click here.
- All cucurbit plantings that are no longer in production should be destroyed immediately after the last harvest by mowing or with herbicide to reduce the risk of harboring of CDM, CPM, and virus.
- Bacterial wilt, Plectosporium blight, and Virus have been reported in cucurbit plantings. For more information on Plectosporium please click here and for more information on bacterial wilt please click here.
- Pepper anthracnose has been reported in southern New Jersey and is a serious problem in all bell and non-bell peppers, especially in fields with a history of the disease. For more information on controlling pepper anthracnose please click here.
- Bacterial leaf spot is extremely active in in bell and non-bell peppers. For more information on BLS and copper resistance please click here.
- Phytophthora blight has been reported in pepper and cucurbit crops. For more information please click here.
- Basil downy mildew (BDM) remains active. All growers are encouraged to initiate preventative fungicide programs on DMR and non-DMR basil. For control options and to follow the progress of BDM in the US on your phone or PC please click here.
- With the on and off again heavy rains we have been getting, along with warmer weather, all growers should consider applying at-transplanting fungicides for root rot control. Please click here to see these articles.
- 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.
- For more information on the control of the diseases mentioned above please see The 2020/2021 Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations Guide which 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.
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.
August 1, 2020 Andy Wyenandt
Vegetable Disease Update – 8/1/20
July 29, 2020 Kris Holmstrom and Joe Ingerson-Mahar
Vegetable IPM Update 7/29/20
Sweet Corn
European corn borer (ECB) adults continue to be very low, although a few traps in Cape May and Burlington counties have shown initial signs of a second flight. Numbers are low and isolated such that no map will appear in this edition.
The highest nightly trap catches of ECB for the week ending 7/29/20 are as follows:
| Eldora 2 | Downer 1 |
| Cinnaminson 1 | Medford 1 |
Fall armyworm (FAW) larval infestations are generally low, but IPM technicians report more frequent occurrences in the central counties. This is the time of the summer when FAW can show up, resulting in significant injury to whorl and even seedling stage corn. Injury from newly hatched larvae shows up as “window panes” or areas where leaf tissue has been eaten down the the lower epidermis (see photo at far left). This injury leads down into the whorl. As larvae gain size, they begin to consume leaf tissue in its’ entirety, creating ragged holes and lots of droppings (see photo at near left). FAW can be tough to manage because it is resistant to synthetic pyrethroid insecticides (IRAC 3A) and because larvae are often covered by their own droppings, making contact with the insecticide more difficult. Treat when 12% or more plants exhibit FAW injury alone, or in combination with ECB injury.
Corn earworm (CEW) moth captures have remained largely unchanged in blacklight traps this past week. This moderate mid-Summer population poses a significant risk to silking corn. Blacklight catches were highest overall along the Atlantic coast (see map at left), with blue areas on this map representing a 4-5 day spray schedule.
The highest nightly trap catches of CEW in black light traps for the week ending 7/29/20 are as follows:
| Denville 2 | Crosswicks 1 | Hackettstown 1 |
| Jones Island 2 | East Vineland 1 | Medford 1 |
| Matawan 2 | Elm 1 | New Egypt 1 |
| Allamuchy 1 | Green Creek 1 | Tabernacle 1 |
July 28, 2020 Rick VanVranken
USDA Farmers To Families Food Box Program – New Round Solicitation
Listening in USDA’s webinar reveals major changes in this latest solicitation for the third round of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program. This time they only want multi-commodity ‘combination boxes’, i.e. produce plus meat/dairy plus optional eggs! — check out the specs on page 4 of the solicitation here – https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/FFFB_solicitationRound3.pdf). They are much more specific on items (weights/types) to be included in box.
The general information site is here: https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/farmers-to-families-food-box.
There is also new emphasis on not passing on costs to food banks/NGOs – the contracted vendor now responsible for covering the cost of delivery from foodbank to individual (the last mile of distribution!?) so that needs to be included in the proposed box price.
There is no deadline for submission and proposals can be submitted immediately. This time the govt will review the proposal and then return for revision if there are questions or missing items (not done in first 2 rounds). They will help identify what is missing or needing revision! This solicitation will close when the Government has enough awardees in each region so it means the faster a complete proposal is submitted, the more likely of receiving a contract. Awards will begin on approval and last through Aug. 15, 2022.
As soon as it’s available a recording of the webinar will be made available.
Key Takeaways:
- Read the solicitation completely (this is completely different from earlier program so need to reapply)
- Important to get the most up-to-date information from USDA’s acquisition staff.
- Two key submissions
- Adobe pdf
- Excel spreadsheet (don’t modify the template!)
- Submit questions to FFFBQuestions@usda.gov
July 28, 2020 Rick VanVranken
Unsolicited Seeds From Foreign Sources
Several states are now reporting and you may have read or heard news reports of packets of seeds arriving in the mail from foreign shipping addresses that were not ordered. If you receive such a packet, DO NOT open or discard them. Rather, follow these directions from the NJ Dept of Agriculture:
UPDATED NJDA ALERT (https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/news/hottopics/topics200727.html)
We have been receiving reports of people receiving seeds in the mail from China that they did not order. Sometimes the seeds are sent in packages stating that the contents are jewelry. Unsolicited seeds could be invasive, introduce diseases to local plants, or be harmful to livestock.
Here’s what to do if you receive unsolicited seeds from another country:
This is known as agricultural smuggling. Report it to the USDA!
- DO NOT plant them and if they are in sealed packaging don’t open the sealed package.
- Take a photo of the package and seeds and send the photos to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture Joseph.zoltowski@ag.nj.gov and USDA SITC at SITC.Mail@aphis.usda.gov
- Maintain the seeds and packaging and send to the USDA Office located at 1500 Lower Rd, Linden NJ 07036 for evidence.
If individuals are aware of the potential smuggling of prohibited exotic fruits, vegetables, or meat products into or through the USA, they can help APHIS by contacting the confidential Anti-smuggling Hotline number at 800-877-3835 or by sending an Email to SITC.Mail@aphis.usda.gov. USDA will make every attempt to protect the confidentiality of any information sources during an investigation within the extent of the law.
****************************************************************
July 22, 2020 Rick VanVranken
NYCAMH/NEC Farmworker Needs Assessment Survey
The New York Center for Agricultural Medicine & Health/Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety in Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing based in Cooperstown, NY is conducting a farm worker health needs assessment to help them better address worker health and safety needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. [Read more…]
July 22, 2020 Kris Holmstrom and Joe Ingerson-Mahar
Vegetable IPM Update 7/22/20
Sweet Corn
European corn borer (ECB) adults continue to be very low, and no map will appear in this edition.
The highest nightly trap catches of ECB for the week ending 7/22/20 are as follows:
| Allamuchy 1 | Crosswicks 1 |
| Denville 1 | |
| Cinnaminson 1 | Downer 1 |
Fall armyworm (FAW) larval infestations are light and widely scattered. This is the time of the summer when FAW can show up, resulting in significant injury to whorl and even seedling stage corn. Injury from newly hatched larvae shows up as “window panes” or areas where leaf tissue has been eaten down the the lower epidermis (see photo at left). This injury leads down into the whorl. As larvae gain size, they begin to consume leaf tissue in its’ entirety, creating ragged holes and lots of droppings (see photo at right). FAW can be tough to manage because it is resistant to synthetic pyrethroid insecticides (IRAC 3A) and because larvae are often covered by their own droppings, making contact with the insecticide more difficult. Treat when 12% or more plants exhibit FAW injury alone, or in combination with ECB injury.
Corn earworm (CEW) moth captures increased in blacklight traps this past week. Although the increased numbers do not represent a large influx, they do pose an elevated risk to silking corn. Blacklight catches were highest overall along the Delaware Bay (see map at left), with blue areas on this map representing a 4-5 day spray schedule.
The highest nightly trap catches of CEW in black light traps for the week ending 7/22/20 are as follows:
| Centerton 2 | Cinnaminson 1 | New Egypt 1 |
| Allamuchy 1 | East Vineland 1 | Old Bridge 1 |
| Bellemeade 1 | Elm 1 | Pedricktown 1 |
| Cedarville 1 | Jones Island 1 | Springdale 1 |
