NJ Governor Murphy signed Executive Order #243 rescinding EO#107 which requires employers to accommodate tele-work options for employees, and also lifts indoor mask mandates and 6ft social distancing requirements for vaccinated employees working indoors in businesses not open to public. Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher has provided a summary of the changes that may impact agriculture operations. The full text of his letter is attached here.
Vegetable Crops Edition
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Vegetable IPM Update 6/02/21
Sweet Corn
Attention sweet corn growers! Please take a few moments to complete this survey. Rutgers IPM personnel expect to participate in grant funded research guided by grower responses. See the brief description below. Thank you for your help!
Corn Earworm Management in Sweet Corn Needs Assessment Survey
Dr. Kelly Hamby, Associate Professor/Extension Specialist with the Department of Entomology at University of Maryland, is leading a team of researchers, including Rutgers IPM staff, who have developed a survey to prioritize research and extension efforts for improving corn earworm management in sweet corn throughout the Northeast. We appreciate your participation in this survey and will use results to develop a grant proposal to try to get federal funding to address these needs.
Survey link: https://ume.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9vRh1xHnDp4KEaa
Low numbers of European corn borer (ECB) moths continue to be captured in parts of the state. Cool temperatures over the past weekend have likely suppressed activity, and warmer weather in the upcoming week may trigger a modest rebound. The highest adult activity is currently around the Atlantic-Camden County border (see map at right). Whorl corn is the primary target for egg laying, and injury as high as 16% of plants infested has been found up to northern Monmouth County this week. Feeding levels should rise over the next 3 weeks.
Look for the characteristic “shot-hole” type of feeding (photo below at right) and consider treating when infested plants exceed 12% in a 50 plant sample. As plantings proceed to the pre-tassel stage, ECB larvae may be found in emerging tassels (see photo at left). It is a good idea to treat individual plantings as they move into the full tassel/first silk stage one time. This eliminates any ECB larvae that have emerged with the tassels as they begin to move down the stalk to re-enter near developing ears.
Useful insecticides for this particular application include synthetic pyrethroids (IRAC Grp 3), spinosyns (including OMRI approved Entrust) IRAC Grp 5), and diamides such as Coragen or Vantacor (IRAC Grp 28) or materials such as Besiege which include the active ingredient in Coragen. Synthetic pyrethroids alone should NOT be used for corn earworm (CEW) protection on silking corn. Control with these materials is very inconsistent.
The highest nightly trap catches of ECB for the week ending 6/02/21 are as follows:
Elm 2 | Denville 1 | Pedricktown 1 |
Asbury 1 | Medford 1 | Sergeantsville 1 |
Clinton 1 | Milford 1 | Tabernacle 1 |
Dayton 1 | New Egypt 1 | Woodstown 1 |
Basil downy mildew confirmed in southern New Jersey – ALERT 6/2/21
Basil downy mildew has been confirmed in a home owners garden in Atlantic County in southern New Jersey. This is the first report of BDM in the state and region this growing season and about three weeks earlier than last year. All basil growers are encouraged to scout their fields or greenhouses on a daily basis. [Read more…]
Understanding and controlling angular leaf spot in strawberries
Often considered a minor pathogen, angular leaf spot caused by the bacterium, Xanthomonas fragariae, can cause serious leaf and calyx infections ruining the marketability of fruit if left uncontrolled. [Read more…]
Recognizing cold injury
If the erratic, hot then wet weather wasn’t enough, temperatures have fluctuated the past few days with night time temperatures becoming much cooler in some parts of the state and region. With this comes the potential for cold injury on spring planted crops. Cold injury can take may different shapes on affected plants and developing fruit.
In some cases, symptoms may show up on the newest growth as a result of non-lethal injury to meristematic tissue, in pepper and tomato, new growth may be distorted with misshapen leaves. In some cases, new leaves may have a mottled, or mosaic look much like a plant infected with a mosaic virus. In these instances, plants will grow out of the problem.
In cucumber, symptoms on maturing fruit appear as brownish-tan areas on the epidermis of fruit. The fruit will also show cracking as if it has a dry rot. The effects are physiological where areas of young developing fruit got chilled by the cold night time temperatures.
We have collected a few images below of cold injury from crops from this spring.
![Cuke_cold injury](https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Cuke_cold-injury-300x168.jpg)
Cold injury on cucumber fruit. The initial damage was done a few weeks ago while the fruit was very young.
![Cold injury on young cucumber plant](https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cucumber-plant-cold-injury-300x182.jpg)
Cold injury on young cucumber plant (Photo: M. Casella)
![Cold injury on young cauliflower plant](https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cold-injury-cauliflower-225x300.jpg)
Cold injury on young cauliflower plant (photo: K. Holmstrom)
![Frost damage in strawberry](https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/strawberryfrost-damage-225x300.jpg)
Frost damage in strawberry (photo: T. Besancon)
![Cold injury on sweet corn](https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/sweet-corn-cold-injury-300x300.png)
Cold injury on sweet corn under low tunnel. (photo: M. Casella)
![Cold injury on cucumber seedling](https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cuke_cold-injury-300x300.png)
Cold injury on cucumber seedling (photo: M. Casella)
![Cold injury in emerging asparagus](https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/IMG_2325-asparagus-freeze-damage-comprssd-300x200.jpg)
Cold injury in emerging asparagus spear (photo: Rick VanVranken)
![Freezing of young potato plant](https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/IMG_2343-potato-freeze-damage-comprssd-300x200.jpg)
Freezing of young potato plant (photo: Rick VanVranken)
![Cold injury on snap bean](https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Leaf-Freeze-Tissue-Damage-02-Epidermis-Delaminated-216x300.jpg)
Cold injury on snap bean. (photo: Jack Rabin)
![Freeze damage caused by ice crystal formation in veins of snap bean](https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Leaf-Freeze-Tissue-Damage-08-Ice-Crystals-Froze-in-Leaf-Vein-Tissue-225x300.jpg)
Freeze damage caused by ice crystal formation in veins of snap bean (photo: Jack Rabin)
Controlling basil downy mildew in the field
For over a decade, basil downy mildew (BDM) has caused significant losses in basil grown in organic and conventional field and greenhouse production across the United States. At the time of its introduction, there were very few fungicides labeled for its control making it nearly impossible to grow a successful crop in many areas of the country. [Read more…]