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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April 21, 2022

ATTENTION: Department of Agriculture Allows Controlled Open Burns to Protect Crops

With the state continuing to experience colder spring temperatures, the Department of Environmental Protection has agreed with NJDA Secretary Douglas Fisher’s request to allow farmers to do controlled open burning or use specialized torches known as smudge pots to protect flowering crops from damage beginning today, April 20, through Wednesday, May 4.

Damage from freezing weather now can significantly reduce yields of certain fruits and vegetables that are in the flowering stage.

 

Please see the link below for more information:

NJDA Press Release 4/20/2022

 

Filed Under: Blueberry, Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Fruit, Organic Production, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape
April 21, 2022

Understanding Protectant Fungicides
(FRAC groups M01 – M12) in 2022

Protectant (contact) fungicides, such as the inorganics (copper, FRAC group M01) and sulfur (FRAC code M02); the dithiocarbamates (mancozeb, M03), phthalimides (Captan, M04), and chloronitriles (chlorothalonil, M05) are fungicides which have a low chance for fungicide resistance to develop. Protectant fungicides typically offer broad spectrum control for many different pathogens.

Why wouldn’t fungi develop resistance to protectant fungicides? Protectant fungicides are used all the time, often in a weekly manner throughout much of the growing season.

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Filed Under: Vegetable Crops Tagged With:
April 20, 2022

Damping-off: Identifying and Controlling Pathogens in Transplant Production in 2022

It is extremely important to know which pathogen is causing damping-off problems and which fungicide to properly apply. The key to controlling damping-off is being proactive instead of reactive. Always refer to the fungicide label for crop use, pathogens controlled, and application rates.

Damping-off is caused by a number of important vegetable pathogens and is very common during transplant production. Damping-off can kill seedlings before they break the soil line (pre-emergent damping-off) or kill seedlings soon after they emerge (post-emergent damping-off). Common pathogens that cause damping-off include Pythium, Phytophthora, Rhizoctonia and Fusarium spp.

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Filed Under: Vegetable Crops Tagged With: ,
April 19, 2022

Wine Grape Twilight – I

When: May 4 (Wed) @ 4 PM

Where: Tomasello Winery: 225 N White Horse Pike, Hammonton, NJ 08037

Frank Salek Memorial Lecture, Sponsored by the Outer Coastal Plain Vineyard Association. Dennis Rak, owner of the Double A Vineyard Nursery will talk on ‘Grapevine Grafting: Fundamentals of Why and How’

Pesticide Recertification Credits: CORE (1 credit), PP2 (5 credit), 1 A (5 credit) [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blueberry, Cranberry, Fruit, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Uncategorized, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape Tagged With: , , , ,
April 12, 2022

Pest Counts & Action Thresholds in the Greenhouse

Scouting Methods & Options:

There are essentially three options available when scouting your greenhouse crops for insect/mite pests. 1- No scouting performed with pesticides being applied on a calendar timetable. 2- Simply scouting for pest existence  with pesticides applied when presence is observed. 3- Scouting crop and making pesticide application decisions based on pest counts and action thresholds. The third option is part of an integrated pest management (IPM) approach that has been promoted throughout the green industry the past few decades.

Greenhouse pest populations are measured by trapping or direct plant inspection, and both involve determining pest numbers. Counting pests and using action thresholds requires time and knowledge, but results in less pesticide use, reduced potential for insect resistance, and can improve plant quality. It is important to remember that trapping (e.g., yellow, or blue sticky cards) improves the efficiency when scouting your greenhouse but does not replace the actual inspection of individual crop plants (Fig. 1 & Fig. 2). This is particularly the case when scouting for aphids and mites.

Fig.1. Yellow or blue colored sticky traps are used to capture flying insect pests in the greenhouse. The blue traps attract the western flower thrips more effectively. (Photo Credit: Steven K. Rettke, Rutgers Coop. Ext.)

Fig. 2. The optivisor (3x) at top of photo works best when counting or viewing the insects captured on sticky traps. The other magnifiers shown (5x, 16x, 20x) are used to more closely view pests on crop plants. (Photo Credit: Steven K. Rettke, Rutgers Coop. Ext.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Nursery, Plant Diagnostic Lab, Vegetable Crops
April 11, 2022

North Jersey Tree Fruit And Vegetable Twilight Meeting II Full Program

North Jersey Fruit and Vegetable Twilight Meeting II

April 19, 2022
4:30 PM-7:30 PM
Alstede Farms, Chester, NJ

4:30 PM – Registration / Light Refreshments

4:45 PM – Apple Fruit Rots: Environment, Infection Timing and Fungicide Efficacy
Norm Lalancette, Specialist in Tree Fruit Pathology, Rutgers NJAES

5:15 PM – Farm Tour of Fruit and Early Season Vegetable Production
Kurt Alstede, Craig Steely, Hector Ruiz, John Ferrante, Alstede Farms

5:30 PM – Tree Fruit Insect and Disease Update
Dean Polk, Statewide Fruit IPM Agent, Rutgers NJAES

5:45 PM – Disease Control Options for Spring Vegetable Crops
Andy Wyenandt, Specialist in Vegetable Pathology, Rutgers NJAES

6:00 PM – Early Season Weed Control Update
Thierry Besancon, Specialist in Weed Science, Rutgers NJAES

6:15 PM – Insect Control for Spring Vegetable Crops
Kris Holmstrom, Vegetable IPM Research Project Coordinator, Rutgers NJAES

6:30 PM – Greenhouse and High Tunnel Considerations for Early Season Vegetable Production
AJ Both, Extension Specialist in Controlled-Environment Engineering, Rutgers NJAES

6:45 PM – Tour of Pesticide Storage and Loading Facility
Kurt Alstede, Craig Steely, Alstede Farms
Patricia Hastings, Extension Pesticide Safety Education Coordinator, Rutgers NJAES

NJ Pesticide Recertification Credits
1 unit CORE, 3 units 1A, 3 units 10, 3 units PP2

Please RSVP for the meetings with a call to Kim Crommelin at
908.788.1338 or
kfrey@co.hunterdon.nj.us

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Fruit, Organic Production, Tree Fruit, Vegetable Crops