- Cucurbit downy mildew has been confirmed on cucumber in Warren County in northern NJ. This is the second report in the state this growing season. All cucumber growers should scout their fields on a regular basis and consider adding a downy mildew specific fungicide to their weekly maintenance sprays. CDM has been reported in cantaloupe in MD this past week, and in acorn, summer squash, watermelon and butternut squash as far north as North Carolina to date.
- The 2018 FRAC Table for Cucurbit Downy and Powdery Mildew Control in the mid-Atlantic Region can be found and downloaded for FREE here.
- There have been no new reports of late blight in the region.
- Cucurbit powdery mildew is being reported.
- Basil downy mildew is being reported. For more information on Rutgers newly-released DMR sweet basils Obsession, Devotion, and Thunderstruck please click here.
- Bacterial leaf spot and Phytophthora blight have been reported in pepper.
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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July 23, 2018 Andy Wyenandt
Vegetable Disease Update – 7/23/18
July 18, 2018 Anne Nielsen
Spotted Lanternfly in NJ
NEW PEST ALERT
Spotted lanternfly in grape – photo credit E. Smyers
Spotted lanternfly (Lycorma deliculata, SLF) has been found in NJ. SLF is an invasive plant hopper species that could be very devastating to some NJ crops. Since its discovery in Pennsylvania in 2014, SLF has been placed under a state quarantine encompassing 13 Pennsylvania counties. Populations are also present in Virginia.
SLF adults and nymphs are phloem feeders that feed in large aggregations on woody tissue. Over 65 host plants were reported in Asia, many of which grow in the mid-Atlantic area. These host plants include hardwood trees such as Tree of Heaven, black walnut, and red maple and agricultural crops such as grape, apple, and hops. Feeding occurs on the trunk and limbs of plants, not on the fruit or leaf tissues. However, because they feed in aggregations and produce large amounts of honey dew (or sugar water), sooty mold can grow on plant surface and fruit, leading to reduced photosynthesis and plant vigor. In Pennsylvania, adults and nymphs have been observed feeding in commercial vineyards on cultivated grape. Economic estimates of injury are not available but growers report direct yield losses due to sooty mold and reductions in plant health and canopy coverage. Insecticides are effective but due to the high mobility of this pest, in highly infested areas, vines should be monitored closely for new bugs. Populations and injury are higher along vineyard edges, especially near Tree of Heaven. Interestingly, SLF tends to aggregate on a few trees or vines. Survey for SLF along the perimeters of fields and on Tree of Heaven, Black Walnut, Red Maple, and wild grapevines at the edges of wood lines. Aggregations of adults were found on commercial apple trees in PA near apples harvest in 2017, so apple growers need to be diligent as well.
The adults are large (~1” long) and quite colorful with a black head, grayish black spotted forewings and reddish black spotted hind wings. Adults may start to appear mid-late July (now) and will feed through the first hard freeze in the fall. Young nymphs hatch from eggs in late Spring/early summer and are black with white spots and as they get older they become red and black with white spots. While 4th instars have been reported in NJ, adults are present in VA, so be on the lookout for all life stages.
Spotted lanternfly on Tree of Heaven – photo by A.L. Nielsen
If you think you seen or collected a spotted lanternfly please report it the New Jersey Department of Agriculture and the Department of Entomology at the Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences by emailing slanternfly@njaes.rutgers.edu
July 18, 2018 Kris Holmstrom and Joe Ingerson-Mahar
IPM Update 7/18/18
Sweet Corn
European corn borer (ECB) moth catches in black light traps are showing signs of increase now. This is an indication that the second flight is getting under way. Catches overall are still quite low however, and there will be no map in this edition. We expect to see increased feeding signs over the next two weeks, although this second generation feeding is sometimes 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…]
July 13, 2018 Kris Holmstrom and Joe Ingerson-Mahar
Cucurbit Downy Mildew and Beet Armyworm Alert 7/13/18
Cucurbit Downy Mildew – New Occurrence
Cucurbit Downy Mildew (CDM) was discovered on cucumbers near Belvidere, Warren County on Friday 7/13. This occurrence is in addition to the previously reported infection sites in Salem County. All growers statewide, should be adding appropriate downy mildew specific fungicides to their protection programs on cucumbers. Look for yellow “panels” on the upper leaf surface, with dark sporulation on the lower leaf surface (see photos at right). It should be noted that, in the Belvidere case, adjacent crops of summer squash and muskmelons were uninfected. Additionally, no pumpkin or winter squash fields are known to be infected at this 
time. Most races of CDM will infect cucumbers, while there are limited strains that will infect other cucurbits like musk and watermelons as well as pumpkins and winter squash. Please refer to the CDM Forecast http://cdm.ipmpipe.org/ for updates on disease outbreaks and forecasts for this disease. Useful fungicides and rotations are to be found in the 2018 Commercial Vegetable Production Guide Cucumber section.
Beet Armyworm
A number of beet armyworm (BAW) pheromone traps are deployed in southern NJ counties each year. BAW has, at times been a troublesome pest of peppers in south Jersey, and occasionally in the north as well. This week one trap in the Woodstown area of Salem County increased from low single digit nightly catches to 15-16 per night. While no field infestations by this pest have been discovered thus far, these moth numbers are a warning to all pepper growers in the area that fields should be scouted at least weekly. BAW can cause extreme defoliation of plants, beginning near the upper terminals (see photo at lower right, courtesy of Univ. of Georgia). If left untreated, the larvae will consume much of the foliage and bore into fruit. BAW are largely resistant to synthetic pyrethroid insecticides. Effective insecticides include those in the IRAC classes 5 (Radiant, Entrust 
(OMRI approved)) and 28 (Coragen, Exirel). For a complete list of useful insecticides, see the Pepper section of the 2018 Commercial Vegetable Production Guide.
July 11, 2018 Kris Holmstrom and Joe Ingerson-Mahar
IPM Update 7/11/18
Sweet Corn
European corn borer (ECB) moth catches in black light traps continue to be very low. There will be no map in this edition due to insufficient catch. There have been isolated incidents of new feeding in the far south of the state, but generally, the threat to corn should be low until the second flight begins in earnest. 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…]
July 4, 2018 Kris Holmstrom and Joe Ingerson-Mahar
IPM Update 7/04/18
Sweet Corn
European corn borer (ECB) moth catches in black light traps remain very low; situation unchanged from last week. There will be no map in this edition due to insufficient catch. Incidents of feeding are declining as infested plantings proceed to silk and whorl stage corn has not been exposed to egg laying. We should be in a period relatively free of whorl infestations now. The next whorl infesting pest will be fall armyworm (FAW). As yet, no infestation of this pest have been detected. [Read more…]
