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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Quick Links:
NJ Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations
Rutgers Weather Forecasting - Meteorological Information important to commercial agriculture.
Pesticide Applicator or Dealer Storage Inventory with Cover Letter Due May 1st to Fire Department
REMINDER – South Jersey Integrated Vegetable Crop Management Meeting Tonight
Just a quick reminder hoping to see you tonight. In addition to the announced agenda below, newly appointed State Executive Director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency Bob Andrzejczak will be joining us to (re)introduce himself to the farm community.
Integrated Vegetable Crop Management Twilight Meeting
THURSDAY, April 7, 2022
6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
East Vineland Fire Hall
4931 Landis Ave., Vineland, NJ
across from the Savoy Restaurant
(please park behind the building and enter conference room door in rear)
6:30 pm Tools for Pesticide Safety & Regulatory Compliance for Growers & Pesticide Handlers
- Pat Hastings, RCE Pesticide Education Program Coordinator
7:00 pm Understanding the New FSMA Water Rule
- Wes Kline, RCE Cumberland
7:20 pm Cover-crops for Fertility Management
- Michelle Infante-Casella, RCE Gloucester
7:40 pm Cover-crops and Other Weed Management Strategies for Plasticulture Crops
- Thierry Besancon, RCE Specialty Crop Weed Specialist
8:10 pm Disease Control Options for Spring Vegetable Crops
- Andy Wyenandt, RCE Vegetable Plant Pathologist
8:40 pm Pepper Weevil & Early Season Diamond Back Moth Management Options
- Joe Mahar, Vegetable IPM Coordinator
9:10 pm COVID-19 and New Roles for Extension Going Forward
- Rick VanVranken, RCE Atlantic
9:30 pm Adjourn
Pesticide Recertification Credits
Hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Richard VanVranken, Agricultural Agent, Atlantic County
Wesley L. Kline, Agricultural Agent, Cumberland County
Michelle Infante-Casella, Agricultural Agent, Gloucester County
April is National Sexual Harassment Awareness Month – Farm Workers at Risk
From MorningAgClips.com posting (4/7/22) <https://www.morningagclips.com/free-training-tools-available-to-address-sexual-harassment-of-farmworkers/> from 4/5/22 press release from Equitable Food Initiative <https://equitablefood.org/latest-news/free-training-tools-available-to-address-sexual-harassment-of-farmworkers/>
Free training tools available to address sexual harassment of farmworkers
Equitable Food Initiative supports awareness initiatives during Harassment Prevention Month
WASHINGTON — Equitable Food Initiative, the workforce development and certification organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumer advocacy groups, has collaborated with Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (PNASH), a part of the University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, to support the development of a worksite training and toolkit, ¡Basta! Preventing Sexual Harassment in Agriculture.
April is National Sexual Harassment Awareness and Prevention Month, and EFI is using the time to shine a light on this important topic. Several studies have found that 75%-80% of female farmworkers have experienced sexual harassment at work, compared to 50% in non-agricultural office settings as reported by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The EFI website offers statistics, facts and study citations on harassment at work, links to access the ¡Basta! Preventing Sexual Harassment toolkit, which features videos in both English and Spanish, and educational materials that can be used in workplaces (posters, shareable graphics and a detailed fact sheet). The information and resources can be found at equitablefood.org/harassment, and all are provided free of charge.
“Development of the ¡Basta! toolkit was catalyzed by female farmworkers in Eastern Washington who brought the issue of sexual harassment to PNASH,” explained Dr. Jody Early, a professor at University of Washington who worked on the project. “This is the first program created by and for agricultural stakeholders to address the prevention of sexual harassment, and we tailored it to the needs of Latino/a/x farmworkers, growers and supervisors.”
The PNASH team worked for six years and engaged more than 48 different stakeholders in the development – including farmworkers, grower associations, health care advocates, human rights organizations, state and federal agencies, farmworker rights groups, private businesses and nonprofits like Equitable Food Initiative.
“This can be a difficult topic, but it’s essential that we address it industrywide,” said LeAnne Ruzzamenti, director of marketing communications for EFI. “We know that harassment happens more frequently among farmworkers, we know that it goes unreported, and we know that agriculture workplaces include characteristics that make women more vulnerable to it.”
EFI’s certification program goes beyond a simple audit and introduces workforce development solutions along with training in communication, conflict resolution, problem-solving and collaboration. Third-party evaluation studies have found that the program fosters culture shifts on farms that result in respectful and trusting workplaces where women and indigenous workers report reduced harassment and discrimination.
“EFI’s mission is to improve the lives of farmworkers by bringing everyone in the system together to address the fresh produce industry’s most pressing problems,” Ruzzamenti continued. “I can’t think of a more important goal than creating safer and healthier workplaces through a zero-tolerance approach to harassment.”
About EFI
Equitable Food Initiative is a nonprofit certification and skill-building organization that seeks to increase transparency in the food supply chain and improve the lives of farmworkers through a team-based approach to training and continuous improvement practices. EFI brings together growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumers to solve the most pressing issues facing the fresh produce industry. Its unparalleled approach sets standards for labor practices, food safety and pest management while engaging workers at all levels on the farm to produce Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured® fruits and vegetables. For more information about Equitable Food Initiative, visit equitablefood.org.
View a list of EFI-certified farms at equitablefood.org/farms.
–Equitable Food Initiative
South Jersey Tree Fruit Twilight Meeting – II
When: April 12 (Tuesday) @ 4 – 7 pm
Where: Summit City Orchards: 500 University Blvd. Glassboro, NJ 08028
Approved Pesticide credits: 1A, PP2, 10 (5 credits each)
Schedule
Field visit (in a bus) to a peach block. Field Demonstration and discussion on different rootstocks (Daniel Ward and Lewis DeEugenio), Comments on Orchard Soil Fumigation (Lewis DeEugenio), Observations of bud development in different peach varieties during frost nights (Hemant Gohil), and Field Observations from the IPM Program (Dave Schmitt).
Return to above address in the bus. Light fare will be served.
Indoor presentations: Fundamentals of Tree Fruit Nutrition and Orchard Soil Fertility (Joseph Heckman), Organic Weed Management in the Orchard (Thierry Besancon), Insect-pests Updates in Orchards (Anne Nielsen), Updates on Early Season Disease Control (Norman Lalancette), Coming Changes in the Structure of Fruit IPM Programming (Dean Polk)
7:00 pm Pesticide re-certification credits application and Adjourn
Light fare will be provided. Please call Joan Medany jmedany@co.gloucester.nj.us or call 856-224-8030 if you are planning to attend. If an additional assistance is needed, please contact Hemant Gohil (Program Organizer) at 856-224-8029 prior to the meeting.
Allium leaf miner update: 04/05/22
Allium Leaf Miner (ALM)
Allium leaf miner (ALM) feeding/egg laying scars have been detected in Cape May County as of 4/3/22 (see photo at left). It is likely that this pest is active, and depositing eggs in alliums throughout south Jersey at this time. Many weather stations in southern and central counties exceeded 250 growing degree days (GDD) base 39˚F over a week ago, with northern counties surpassing this threshold more recently. 39˚F is close to the lower developmental temperature (38.3˚ F) which our colleagues at Penn State recommend for predicting the first emergence of ALM adults. Last year, initial feeding/egg laying scars were detected within a few days of local weather stations recording the 250 GDD threshold.
Growers should consider initiating the control method of their choice at this time. Affected crops include chives, scallions, garlic, onions and leeks. Look for neat rows of white spots descending from the upper tips of allium leaves. Initial injury often occurs on the tallest leaves. Under warmer, less breezy conditions, adults may be seen near the tips of leaves (see photo of adult at lower right).
Floating row covers, kept on until this flight ends will help minimize access to plants. Insecticide applications targeting adults may be helpful as well, although frequency of applications is uncertain. Spinosyn materials (Radiant, Entrust (OMRI approved)), pyrethroids (Mustang Maxx, 
Warrior), neonicotinoids (Scorpion, Venom), the diamide Exirel (section 2ee recommendation) and the insect growth regulator Trigard are labeled for miner control.
Adult activity and observations of feeding will be reported on in the IPM Update as they occur. At this time, all growers should prepare to respond to the first adult generation. We will deploy yellow sticky cards and attempt to identify the end of the first flight so that growers know when the risk of infestation has abated.
The World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report
April 8, tune in to this live stream 12:05 pm EDT on the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) prepared and released by the World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB).
The WASDE report is released monthly, and provides annual forecasts for supply and use of U.S. and world commodities of interest to NJ producers like wheat, coarse grains, and oilseeds. The report also covers U.S. supply and use of sugar, meat, poultry eggs and milk.
“On April 8, the Secretary of Agriculture briefings on World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report and the Crop Production report will be livestreamed for the first time at 12:05 pm EDT on USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) youtube channel.
To watch, book mark this youtube channel link entitled Agricultural Statistics Board Briefing and take note of the commentary in the left hand tool bar. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm8HaeFw1A1h0onChnDCLkYgMSxEnpsOk
For more information about the WASDE process and data, visit the WASDE FAQs page.
