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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January 26, 2018

2018 NJ State Ag Convention Educational Programs Now Online

The 2018 NJ State Ag Convention and Trade Show will be open February 6-8 at the Harrah’s Resort and Waterfront Convention Center in Atlantic City. The final version of the educational program developed by Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension faculty and staff in conjunction with the Vegetable Growers Association of NJ and the NJ Dept of Ag has now been posted at  njveggies.org/convention. In addition to the agenda of educational sessions and workshops, you will find links to membership/registration and meal reservation information. As in the past, Tuesday and Wednesday programs are chocked full of concurrent sessions mornings and afternoons, followed by a day of more intensive workshops on Thursday. Please pay special attention to that day’s Food Safety and Fumigation Certification workshops that require separate pre-registration. Instructions are detailed in each of those workshop agendas.

A special added feature of this year’s convention will be a produce buyers discussion panel moderated by NJDA Division of Markets Director Tom Beaver in the Trade Show area at 5pm on Tuesday afternoon.

If you will be attending as a delegate to the policy sessions of the State Board of Agriculture, a separate program and registration materials are available from the NJ Department of Agriculture’s website.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Uncategorized, Vegetable Crops
January 12, 2018

Best management practices for managing Dickeya dianthicola in potato.

Its the time of year when many potato growers (organic and conventional) are preparing to purchase seed potatoes for the upcoming season. Dickeya dianthicola was detected in ‘Dark Red Norland’ and ‘Kennebec’ seed being sold in retail establishments and in ‘Silverton’ in a commercial seed lot in NJ in 2017. Importantly, all growers are encouraged to follow best management practices for buying seed and best management practices for Dickeya in field production. North American Seed Health Certification records and Dickeya test results should be requested prior to purchasing any seed.  If you suspect Dickeya dianthicola in potato seed during purchasing, cutting, or planting please contact your county Extension agent or Extension Specialist. All suspect potato samples should be PCR tested to confirm the presence of Dickeya or Pectobacterium.

This past fall The University of Maine held a Dickeya and Pectobacterium Summit which was attended by over 150 people from all over the world. A nice summary of the meeting by Dr. Angela Madeiras can be found in the January 11, 2018 UMASS Vegetable Notes Newsletter here.

 The best method for keeping your potato operation Dickeya-free is to adopt your own 0% Dickeya-tolerance policy.

Filed Under: Vegetable Crops Tagged With:
December 27, 2017

New Tax Law’s Impact on Agriculture

Distinguished Professor and Rutgers Cooperative Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management Dr. Barbara O’Neill spent the last week before the holiday break analyzing the newly passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). In the process, she found some information about the law’s impact on farmers. She says basically there are 4 key impacts for agriculture:

  • Increased (doubled) federal estate tax exemption:  $11.2 million for individuals and $22.4 million for a couple (2018 figures), with proper estate planning.
  • 20% deduction on co-op payments to farmer members.
  • Lower tax rates for pass-through business income (new Section 199A deduction); “pass through” businesses include partnerships, LLCs, S corps, and sole proprietorships.
  • New farm equipment depreciation schedule: five years instead of seven.

Many of these changes are complex so first and foremost, she advises consulting your professional tax advisor to determine how they affect you personally.

There was also much debate among her peers about prepaying state and local taxes in 2017 in case they are eliminated or capped in the new law. The final conclusion is that if your municipality is able to collect property  taxes, prepayments are allowed and will be deductible on your 2017 tax bill. However, state and local income taxes are specifically excluded in the new law, so prepayment of 2018 income taxes are NOT deductible on your 2017 tax bill. Again, consult your professional tax advisor to determine if prepayments will benefit you.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops
November 3, 2017

Rutgers Center for Remote Sensing & Spacial Analysis Presents DIY GPS & Drone Workshops

Wondering if/how you can use drones and GPS data on your farms/business? Workshops at Rutgers University Inn/Conference Center in New Brunswick will help you decide if you want to try it yourself –
Dec 11 – Use your Smartphone/Tablet for High-Precision GPS Data Collection
Dec 12 – Learn to Do-it-Yourself – Accurate Drone Mapping Made Easy
Register for one or both days here (preregistration discount ends Nov 15). Detailed agendas are online here or download the Workshop Brochure & Agenda (pdf).

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops
October 25, 2017

Veg IPM Update: Allium leaf miner 10/25/17

Allium Leaf Miner

     

 

A sample of unsprayed/unprotected volunteer garlic near Asbury on the Hunterdon/Warren County border today showed 68% of plants infested with allium leaf miner (ALM).  These maggots were all later stage, and found in the necks, about 1″ above the bulb (see photo at upper left).  We should expect that all untreated/unprotected allium crops are similarly affected at this time.  Interestingly, 100% of infested plants had visible feeding/egg laying scars (see photo at center above), while 100% of uninfested plants showed no visible signs.  None of the plants had mines visible on the surface, but cross sections of the neck revealed clean tunnels the maggots had created on their way down (see photo at right, above).

Our colleagues at Cornell, operating in the Hudson Valley had notified us that they had had no success catching ALM adults on sticky cards, and we have had the same difficulty in NJ this Fall.  This is unlike our experience in the Spring, when we were able to catch numerous individuals at nearly every trap site.  Additionally, the generation of adults emerging in the Spring here in NJ heavily infested chives; the earliest possible host.  This Fall, chives appear to be largely uninfested, while onions, scallions, and leeks are showing the most feeding/egg laying scars.

Be aware that if no program of protection was enacted roughly 3 weeks ago, Fall allium crops may be heavily infested at this time.

 

Filed Under: Vegetable Crops Tagged With: ,
October 12, 2017

Food Safety Survey Looking for Responses from NJ Growers
A National Grower and Processor Needs Assessment currently underway is seeking additional input from the Northeast farmers and food processors who serve local markets. The Local Food Safety Collaborative aims to provide specialized training, education, and outreach. They are conducting a food safety survey until October 31, 2017 to help direct their resources to best enhance fundamental food safety knowledge and help small farmers and processors comply with applicable Food Safety Modernization Act regulations.
How will this work benefit the Northeast? The overall results of this survey will be shared with the region but with enough local responses, specific information relative to the NE can be determined, including identified barriers to implementing food safety practices, such as types of material and training needs for growers and processors.
The survey will take about 20 minutes to complete, is available in English and Spanish, and participants can choose to enter a raffle to win 1 of 20 $100 gift cards.  Responses are anonymous and confidential. The survey can be found at www.localfoodsafety.org/survey.
The Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety (NECAFS) is an FDA-funded Regional Center (RC) hosted by University of Vermont Extension, led jointly with co-directors from Cornell University, University of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania State University and The University of Maryland and in partnership with stakeholders from the Northeast Region.

 

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Fruit, Vegetable Crops