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.
COVID-19: NJDEP Updates 2020 and 2021 Pesticide Certification & Licensing
Webinar Tomorrow: “Ask the Ag Agent” Fall Series, Every Other Wednesday at 7:00PM
Farmers and others are welcome to join this bi-weekly teleconference every-other Wednesday night from 7:00pm-8:00pm in September and October. 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. Debate on the New Jersey Law on eliminating plastic bags and other containers
2. Public perception of agriculture with the pandemic
3. Update on the hemp industry and Rutgers hemp research
4. Discussions on winter educational programs with Rutgers Cooperative Extension
5. NJ DEP Pesticide License Testing to be handled by Rutgers OCEP in the future
6. Obtaining pesticide recertification credits next year
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.
Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Program Improvements For Direct Marketers
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced modifications to the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) program to decrease paperwork and recordkeeping burdens for direct marketers beginning with the 2021 crop year.
“These changes will allow more direct marketers who previously could not meet reporting requirements a way to participate in the Whole-Farm program and provide better and more affordable coverage to these diversified growers,” RMA Administrator Martin Barbre said. [Read more…]
Vegetable IPM Update 9/23/20
Sweet Corn
Corn earworm (CEW) moth captures have declined dramatically with cold night temperatures. As nights warm again toward the weekend, we may see some recovery in adult activity. Growers should consider this pest to still be at moderately high population levels in the state unless warmer nights indicate that the threat has diminished. The current population poses a significant risk to silking corn. Green areas on this map (see map at left) represent a 3-day spray schedule. However, night temperatures in the 40 to low 50 F range, may permit the extension of that spray interval by a day. 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 9/23/20 are as follows:
| Long Valley 8 | Morristown 2 | Downer 1 |
| Hackettstown 3 | New Egypt 2 | Elm 1 |
| Denville 2 | Allamuchy 1 | Old Bridge 1 |
| Farmingdale 2 | Cedarville 1 | Tabernacle 1 |
Farm Worker Housing Simulator Shows How To Help Reduce COVID-19 Spread
Partnering with the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety (NEC), the Vessel Dynamics Laboratory at George Mason University created an online app that shows how various practices aimed to slow the spread of COVID-19 among farm workers in shared housing can work.
Room for Improvement: An Online Tool for Reducing the Spread of COVID-19 in Farmworker Housing allows you to put in information about your on-farm housing and it will show how coronavirus can spread through farmworker housing. You can change the size of the room, type of beds, number of workers housed, and a variety of preventative practices to see the impact on spread of the disease.
The simulator is available at https://vesseldynamics.com/research/farmworker-housing-simulator/. (Note that the simulator works best in Google Chrome.)
More information about farmworker safety programs from the NEC are available at https://www.necenter.org/.
Climate Adaptation Fellowship Program Seeks Farmer and Advisor Applicants
Climate change is bringing challenges for vegetable and small fruit growers. For farmers to reduce their risk, they need to adapt. To address this increasing need, the Climate Adaptation Fellowship was created. The 1-year program provides a peer-to-peer curriculum for farmers and advisors. Its framework is designed to integrate climate science with a land manager’s knowledge that builds climate resilience within specific commodity areas.
The first full Climate Adaptation Fellowship program with northeast vegetable / small fruit growers and agricultural advisors will be offered in 2021-2022 and is now accepting applications through October 1. [Read more…]
