Rutgers University | New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station | Pesticide User Responsibility

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.

July 17, 2019

Vegetable IPM Update 7/17/19

Sweet Corn

There have been very modest increases in European corn borer (ECB) moth captures this past week.  Most measurable catches occurred in central and northwestern Burlington County (see ECB map at left). These individuals  represent a second flight.  The next 2 weeks will give us an indication of how significant this flight will be.  In recent years, the second and later flights have been very low.  New feeding should appear within 2 weeks, but may be obscured by fall armyworm (FAW) feeding by that time.

Growers should continue to scout whorl and pre-tassel stage plantings weekly and consider treating when infested plants exceed 12% in a 50 plant sample.  As plantings proceed to the pre-tassel stage, ECB larvae may be found in emerging tassels.  It is a good idea to treat individual plantings as they move into the full tassel/first silk stage one time.  This eliminates any ECB larvae that have emerged with the tassels as they begin to move down the stalk to re-enter near developing ears.

Useful insecticides for this particular application include synthetic pyrethroids (IRAC Grp 3), spinosyns (including OMRI approved Entrust) IRAC Grp 5), and diamides such as Coragen (IRAC Grp 28) or materials such as Besiege which include the active ingredient in Coragen.  Synthetic pyrethroids alone should NOT be used for corn earworm (CEW) protection on silking corn.  Control with these materials is very inconsistent.

The highest nightly trap catches of ECB for the week ending 7/17/19 are as follows:

Califon   1 Folsom   1 Milltown   1
Cinnaminson   1 Green Creek  1 Sergeantsville   1
Crosswicks   1 Hillsborough   1
Dayton   1 Medford   1

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops
July 17, 2019

Vegetable Disease Update – 7/17/19

  • Cucurbit downy mildew has been reported on butternut squash in Gloucester County this week. All cucurbit growers are encouraged to scout their fields on a regular basis and to initiate a downy mildew specific fungicide program. This is the first report of CDM in butternut squash in New Jersey this growing season. To track the progress of CDM in the US please visit the CDMpipe forecasting website here.
  • There have been no reports of late blight in the region to date. Phytophthora nicotianae has been reported in the region in recent weeks. Symptoms caused by P. nicotianae look similar to late blight. If you suspect late blight on potato or tomato please contact your county Extension office.
  • Basil downy mildew has been reported in southern New Jersey on BDM susceptible sweet basil lines. All basil growers are encouraged to initiate a BDM specific fungicide program. To track the progress of BDM in the US please visit here.
  • Black leg symptoms have been reported on potato vines. Growers should dig up a few hills with aerial black leg symptoms to see if bacteria has worked its way into developing tubers. If tubers “stink” then traditional black leg is present. If rotten tubers are present and have no smell, please contact your County agent so samples can be collected and tested.
  • Bacterial leaf spot has been reported in tomato and pepper.
  • Phytophthora blight has been reported in pepper and other crops.
  • Angular leaf spot has been reported on cucurbit crops. Click here for a nice review of diagnosing angular leaf spot, bacterial leaf blight, downy mildew, and anthracnose in cucurbit crops from Dr. Beth Gugino, vegetable pathologist, at Penn State.
  • Cucurbit powdery mildew has been reported. Apply and rotate fungicides that are specific for CPM control.
  • The 2019 Fungicide Resistance Management Guide for Vegetable Crops in the mid-Atlantic Region is now available for FREE online.
  • For more information on controlling these and other important diseases please see the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Commercial Vegetable Production Guide. The guide is available for FREE online by following the links on the Plant and Pest Advisory website. Hardcopies of the 2019 guide can be purchased through your local county Extension office.
Filed Under: Vegetable Crops
July 10, 2019

Vegetable IPM Update 7/10/19

Sweet Corn

Very low numbers of European corn borer (ECB) moths were again captured this past week, but not enough to generate a map image.  These individuals likely represent the onset of a second flight.  New feeding should occur after an increase in adults.

Growers should continue to scout whorl and pre-tassel stage plantings weekly and consider treating when infested plants exceed 12% in a 50 plant sample.  As plantings proceed to the pre-tassel stage, ECB larvae may be found in emerging tassels.  It is a good idea to treat individual plantings as they move into the full tassel/first silk stage one time.  This eliminates any ECB larvae that have emerged with the tassels as they begin to move down the stalk to re-enter near developing ears.

Useful insecticides for this particular application include synthetic pyrethroids (IRAC Grp 3), spinosyns (including OMRI approved Entrust) IRAC Grp 5), and diamides such as Coragen (IRAC Grp 28) or materials such as Besiege which include the active ingredient in Coragen.  Synthetic pyrethroids alone should NOT be used for corn earworm (CEW) protection on silking corn.  Control with these materials is very inconsistent.

The highest nightly trap catches of ECB for the week ending 7/10/19 are as follows:

Crosswicks   1
Dayton   1
Matawan   1
Sergeantsville   1

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops
July 8, 2019

Vegetable Disease Update – 7/8/19

  • Cucurbit downy mildew has been reported cucumber in Salem County. All cucumber growers are encouraged to scout their fields on a regular basis and to initiate a downy mildew specific fungicide program. This is the first report of CDM in New Jersey this growing season. To track the progress of CDM in the US please visit the CDMpipe forecasting website here.
  • There have been no reports of late blight in the region to date. Phytophthora nicotianae was reported on potato on the eastern shore of Virginia a few weeks ago. Symptoms caused by P. nicotianae look similar to late blight. If you suspect late blight on potato or tomato please contact your county Extension office.
  • Basil downy mildew has been reported in southern New Jersey on BDM susceptible sweet basil lines. All basil growers are encouraged to initiate a BDM specific fungicide program if not already done so.
  • Black leg symptoms have been reported on potato vines. Growers should dig up a few hills with aerial black leg symptoms to see if bacteria has worked its way into developing tubers. If tubers “stink” then traditional black leg is present. If rotten tubers are present and have no smell, please contact your County agent so samples can be collected and tested.
  • Bacterial leaf spot has been reported in tomato and pepper.
  • Phytophthora blight has been reported in pepper.
  • The 2019 Fungicide Resistance Management Guide for Vegetable Crops in the mid-Atlantic Region is now available for FREE online.
  • For more information on controlling these and other important diseases please see the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Commercial Vegetable Production Guide. The guide is available for FREE online by following the links on the Plant and Pest Advisory website. Hardcopies of the 2019 guide can be purchased through your local county Extension office.
Filed Under: Vegetable Crops
July 4, 2019

Cucurbit Downy Mildew Alert – 7/4/19

Cucurbit downy mildew has been reported on cucumber in southern New Jersey (Salem County). This is the first report of CDM this growing season in the state. All cucumber growers are encouraged to scout fields on a daily basis and begin preventative fungicide programs if already not initiated.

Filed Under: Uncategorized, Vegetable Crops
July 3, 2019

IPM Update 7/03/19

Sweet Corn

A few European corn borer (ECB) moths were captured this past week, but numbers are very low, and no map will appear in this edition.  It is unclear at this stage if these individuals represent the onset of a second flight.  Catches over the upcoming week will clarify the situation with this pest.   No new feeding should occur until the second flight arrives.

Growers should continue to scout whorl and pre-tassel stage plantings weekly and consider treating when infested plants exceed 12% in a 50 plant sample.  As plantings proceed to the pre-tassel stage, ECB larvae may be found in emerging tassels.  It is a good idea to treat individual plantings as they move into the full tassel/first silk stage one time.  This eliminates any ECB larvae that have emerged with the tassels as they begin to move down the stalk to re-enter near developing ears.

Useful insecticides for this particular application include synthetic pyrethroids (IRAC Grp 3), spinosyns (including OMRI approved Entrust) IRAC Grp 5), and diamides such as Coragen (IRAC Grp 28) or materials such as Besiege which include the active ingredient in Coragen.  Synthetic pyrethroids alone should NOT be used for corn earworm (CEW) protection on silking corn.  Control with these materials is very inconsistent.

The highest nightly trap catches of ECB for the week ending 7/03/19 are as follows:

Denville   1
Flanders   1
Milltown   1
Monroeville   1

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops