![]() Note brown hyphae growing on surface of infected root |
Rhizoctonia root rot on infected strawberry. |
![]() Note circular spots with dark red margins |
Leaf spot on strawberry. |
![]() Note: Secondary pathogens such as Alternaria can infest bleached out areas of stems over time |
Sunscald injury on stems of newly transplanted pepper seedlings caused by stems laying against edges of black plastic mulch on hot, sunny days. |
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.
Vegetable Diseases of the Week – 4/26/13
Vegetable Disease Update – 4/26/13
- Cole crops
- Spinach
- Strawberry
Cole crops
Downy Mildew and Alternaria – Symptoms of downy mildew include purple to yellowish-brown spots on upper leaf surfaces. A grayish-white spore mass will develop and cover the underside of leaves under ideal temperatures (night temperatures of 46 to 61°F and day temperatures below 75°F. Downy mildew can kill young plants. Heavily infected leaves may drop providing entry points for bacterial infections (black rot and soft rot).
Symptoms of Alternaria on infected leaves include small, expanding circular lesions with concentric rings that may have a ‘shot-hole’ appearance as lesions age. Heavily infected seedlings may result in damping-off. [Read more…]
Leaf spots showing up rapidly in spring greens
A number of growers have reported of leaf spots appearing in spinach and other greens. Alternaria and Cladosporium leaf spots have been identified in fields in our region. Fields should be scouted on a regular basis to find ‘hot spots’. [Read more…]
NJ Farmers Soil Fumigant Compliance Inspection Advisory
During the weeks of May 13-17 and June 3-7, the NJDEP Pesticide Control Compliance and Enforcement will be conducting inspections of NJ farmers who currently or previously reported using soil fumigants, primarily Vapam (metham sodium).
There are about 50 NJ farms reporting fumigant use. These farms will be the targets of the compliance assistance inspections. The inspections are being conducted by NJDEP as non-citation “compliance assistance” in response to changing regulations from US EPA for assuring safety of fumigant application workers by licensed applicator farmers.
Growers Guide to Protectant Fungicides (FRAC codes M1 – M9)
Protectant (contact) fungicides typically offer broad spectrum control for many different pathogens. Protectant fungicides belong to FRAC groups which have a low chance for fungicide resistance to develop. These include:
- the inorganics (copper, FRAC code M1) and sulfur (FRAC code M2),
- the dithiocarbamates (mancozeb, FRAC code M3) and chloronitriles (chlorothalonil, FRAC code M5)
Vegetable Disease Update 4-19-13
- Cole crops
- Spinach
- Strawberry
- Keep in mind these disease tracking sites:
- Late blight http://usablight.org/
- Cucurbit downy mildew http://cdm.ipmpipe.org/