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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Veg IPM Update: Week Ending 5/27/15

Sweet Corn

European corn borer map  May 27, 2015

European corn borer map
May 27, 2015

European corn borer (ECB) adults are being captured with increasing frequency now. Areas of highest activity now include parts of Hunterdon and Morris counties (see ECB map). Within the past 3 days, IPM personnel have found low level ECB infestations in some of the earliest sweet corn plantings. At present, reports of feeding are from Ocean and Somerset counties, however it is likely that feeding is occurring in many early plantings to the south.
[Read more…]

Vegetable Disease Update – 5/25/15

Pepper 

Bacterial leaf spot – Symptoms of bacterial leaf spot on pepper leaves include small, brown water-soaked lesions that turn brown and necrotic in the centers. Spots may coalesce and form large blighted areas on leaves and premature defoliation can occur. On fruit, brown lesions can form which have a roughened, cracked wart-like appearance. High temperatures, high relative humidity and rainfall favor Bacterial spot development. Loss from Bacterial spot can be reduced somewhat by maintaining high levels of fertility, which will stimulate new growth. Applying a fixed copper (M1) at labeled rates or may help suppress spread. Quintec (quinoxyfen, 13) at 6.0 fl. oz/A is now labeled for the suppression of bacterial leaf spot in pepper in the mid-Atlantic region. Please see the 2015 New Jersey Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations Guide for more information. [Read more…]

Hot Dry Weather and Transplant Death

Transplants that are not allowed to harden-off for a few days outside prior to setting in the field may suffer significantly. It is important to expose all transplants to some normal weather conditions before transplanting so they can become acclimated to light intensity as well as the wind and other field conditions. [Read more…]

Vegetable Diseases of the Week – 5/25/15

This week: Anthracnose fruit rot and botrytis fruit rot of strawberry.

Anthracnose fruit rot of strawberry

Anthracnose fruit rot of strawberry.

Botrytis fruit rot of strawberry

Botrytis fruit rot of strawberry

Vegetable Disease Briefs – 5/25/15

  • There have been no new reports of basil downy mildew in NJ this past week.
  • Rhizoctonia has been found in a number of newly transplanted crops where the root ball has remained on the dry side. It’s important to get drip irrigation or overhead going on newly transplanted crops as soon as possible during extended hot, dry weather.
  • No reports of cucurbit downy mildew or late blight in region to date.

Veg IPM Update: Week Ending 5/20/15

Sweet Corn

Click to View

Click to View

European corn borer (ECB) adults are being captured with increasing frequency now. At the present, areas of highest activity include Burlington and Warren counties (see ECB map). Cooler nights for later this week may suppress catches for the next several days.

Most early sweet corn plantings are too young to support ECB larval infestations. However, over the next two weeks we should begin to see feeding in the most advanced plantings. Be sure to begin monitoring the earliest plantings for ECB feeding while they are still in the whorl stage. For detailed information see:

 

The highest nightly ECB catches for the previous week are as follows:
Belvidere 2 Allamuchy 1 Port Colden 1
Blairstown 2 Califon 1 Sergeantsville 1
Denville 2 Centerton 1 Tabernacle 1
Medford 2 Pedricktown 1 Woodstown 1

[Read more…]