- Anthracnose fruit rot has been found on pumpkin.
- Bacterial stalk rot in sweet corn has been reported.
- Downy mildew has been reported in bok choy. Cole crops, as well as leafy greens, need to be scouted on a regular basis and preventative sprays applied as long as wet weather continues.
- Pepper anthracnose has been reported. If found in field, weekly fungicide maintenance sprays are needed. Abandoned fields should be mowed down immediately.
- Bacterial leaf spot and Phytophthora blight and fruit rot remain active in pepper and cucurbit crops.
- Alternaria leaf spot has been reported on broccoli.
- Anthracnose has been reported in turnip.
- Cercospora leaf spot has been reported on swiss chard and beets.
- Basil downy mildew is being reported. Recent weather has been ideal for its development. For more information on Rutgers newly-released DMR sweet basils Obsession, Devotion, and Thunderstruck please click here. Follow the Rutgers Basil Downy Mildew Breeding Program on Instagram at #RutgersBasil
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.
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NJ Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations
Rutgers Weather Forecasting - Meteorological Information important to commercial agriculture.
Vegetable Disease Update – 10/01/18
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
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.
Webinar on Best Practices for Pesticide Aerial Application
Register for September 27 Webinar on Best Practices for Pesticide Aerial Application
EPA is hosting a webinar titled “Best Practices for Aerial Application” on September 27, 2018, from 2 – 3:30 pm ET. This webinar is tailored for growers, pesticide applicators, pest management professionals, and other interested stakeholders who work in crop production.
Webinar presenter, Dr. Bradley Fritz, is an agricultural engineer from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and serves as the Research Leader of the Aerial Application Technology Research Unit at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. The presentation will cover different methods of aerial application, best practices for reducing spray particle drift when using aerial application equipment, nozzle selection, and the use of adjuvants as they relate to aerial application.
Learn more about reducing pesticide drift.
Vegetable Disease Update – 9/18/18
- Cucurbit downy mildew. All cucurbit growers should scout their fields on a regular basis and inlcude a downy mildew specific fungicide to their weekly maintenance sprays.
- The 2018 FRAC Table for Cucurbit Downy and Powdery Mildew Control in the mid-Atlantic Region can be found and downloaded for FREE here and is essential for developing control strategies for both diseases.
- Bacterial stalk rot in sweet corn has been reported.
- Downy mildew has been reported in bok choy. Cole crops, as well as leafy greens, need to be scouted on a regular basis and preventative sprays applied as long as wet weather continues.
- Pepper anthracnose has been reported. If found in field, weekly fungicide maintenance sprays are needed. Abandoned fields should be mowed down immediately.
- Alternaria leaf spot has been reported on broccoli.
- Anthracnose has been reported in turnip.
- Late blight has been reported on tomato in Western PA. There have been no reports of late blight in the immediate region.
- Bacterial leaf spot and Phytophthora blight and fruit rot remain active in pepper and cucurbit crops.
- Cercospora leaf spot has been reported on swiss chard and beets.
- A nice article by Dr. Beth Gugino, Penn State, on gray mold and late blight in high tunnel tomatoes can be found here.
- Remember, copper applications on hot days with high relative humidity can cause phytotoxicity on a number of crops.
- Basil downy mildew is being reported. Recent weather has been ideal for its development. For more information on Rutgers newly-released DMR sweet basils Obsession, Devotion, and Thunderstruck please click here. Follow the Rutgers Basil Downy Mildew Breeding Program on Instagram at #RutgersBasil
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…]
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…]