Organic Farm Advisory

The Plant & Pest Advisory serves NJ growers by reporting on important pests and recommending responses that are grounded in reproducible trials.

Articles in this section contain information helpful to the NJ commercial organic grower.

Sharing organic practice trial results between land-grant universities is a cost effective way to create a common knowledge base built on the strengths of individual programs. In the sidebar, find institutions with programs in organic agriculture which augment knowledge developed at the Rutgers New Jersey Ag Experiment Station.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension Field Guides: These concise guides help with decision making from pre-planting to harvest. For each crop listed, learn what pests to proactively look for as the season progresses, how to look for them, and when to take action.

Field Guide List

December 18, 2024

Hurry – Apply for the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) Program– Applications Due January 8, 2025 – Contact Your Local FSA Office Now

The MASC program, administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) using Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds, provides eligible specialty crop producers with marketing assistance payments to help them engage in activities that aid in expanding domestic specialty crop markets or in developing new markets for their specialty crops in 2025.

SPECIALTY CROPS ELIGIBLE – Fruits (fresh, dried) Nursery crops, Christmas trees, and floriculture, Vegetables (including dry edible beans and peas, mushrooms, and vegetable seed) Culinary and medicinal herbs and spices, Tree nuts, Honey, hops, maple sap, tea, turfgrass, and grass seed. Payments are capped at $125,000 per producer, and if demand exceeds the allocated $2 billion, payments may be prorated. Final payment factors will be determined after the application period closes.

To be eligible for payments, persons or legal entities must:
• Be in the business of producing a specialty crop at the time of application and be entitled to an ownership share and share in the risk of producing a specialty crop that will be sold in calendar year 2025;
• Be a U.S. citizen, resident alien, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or other organizational structure organized under State law, Indian Tribe or Tribal Organization, or a foreign person or foreign entity who meets certain eligibility requirements;
• Comply with the provisions of the “Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation” regulations, often called the conservation compliance provisions;
• Not have a controlled substance violation;
• Submit a complete MASC application form (FSA-1140) and provide all required documentation as specified in the documents section below.
To be eligible for payments, a person or legal entity must have an average adjusted gross income (AGI) of less than $900,000 for tax years 2021, 2022, and 2023, unless the person or legal entity’s average adjusted gross farm income is at least 75 percent of their average AGI.

Eligible producers can apply by completing the FSA-1140, Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) Application, and submitting it to any FSA county office by January 8, 2025.

FSA-1141, Marketing Assistance For Specialty Crops (MASC) New Producer Expected Sales Worksheet (New producers only)
New producers must complete and sign the new producer expected sales worksheet and provide along with their FSA-1140 to any Farm Service Agency county office nationwide.

See link for more information: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/tools/informational/fact-sheets/marketing-assistance-specialty-crops-program 

Filed Under: Blueberry, Christmas Trees, Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Nursery, Organic Production, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Turf, Uncategorized, vegetable, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape Tagged With: ,
December 4, 2024 and

Webinar: FSMA PSR, Pre-Harvest Water – Wednesday, January 8, 2025, 12 pm – 1 pm

During this one-hour lunchtime webinar, learn the ins and outs of the Food Safety Modernization Act: Produce Safety Rule (FSMA: PSR), Pre-Harvest Water changes. The final rule establishes requirements for systems-based pre-harvest agricultural water inspections and assessments for hazard identification and risk management decision-making on covered farms.

Covered farms – those that are subject to the requirements in the FSMA: PSR – that use pre-harvest agricultural water for covered produce are required to conduct agricultural water inspections and assessments at least once annually, or whenever a significant change occurs that increases the likelihood that a known or reasonably foreseeable hazard will be introduced into or onto produce or food contact surfaces. As part of their pre-harvest agricultural water assessments, farms must evaluate certain factors that could impact produce safety as a result of pre-harvest agricultural water use (e.g., agricultural water use practices, crop characteristics, environmental conditions, etc.).

The deadline to register is Monday, January 6, 2025. To sign up or for more information go to https://onfarmfoodsafety.rutgers.edu/trainings/.

 

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Organic Production, vegetable, Vegetable Crops
November 27, 2024

Get Ready for the 2025 NJ Ag Convention – February 3-6

It is that time of year again to sign up for the annual NJ Agricultural Convention, co-sponsored by the Vegetable Growers Association of New Jersey, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, and the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. Visit the VGANJ website at https://vganj.com/convention-tickets to register.

For 2025 there are new and exciting opportunities to learn about all aspects of the agricultural industry at the educational sessions and from vendors at the trade show. If you came last year, you also saw many new improvements to the convention – more vendors, more educational sessions, a complimentary lunch (limited free tickets) on Tuesday highlighting “what’s new from industry”, a complimentary hot buffet at the Tuesday happy hour/charity auction, youth programs for FFA, and co-convention events with the NJ Department of Agriculture. These offerings and more are coming for 2025. New events like Monday afternoon workshops, a livestock session, an agricultural policy session, an environmental session, and others are confirmed for this coming year. Licensed pesticide applicators will see an increase in recertification credits on the program for 2025. 

To check out the educational programming and NJDEP recertification credits for pesticide applicators see https://go.rutgers.edu/ConvProgram2025 – this is a draft program. Also, note that some events need special sign-up so read the program carefully to see what events need pre-registration.

NJ State Board of Agriculture information for the convention is coming soon. Check out their website at Department of Agriculture | Conventions.

If you have any questions about the VGANJ registration, go to https://vganj.com/#contact. If you need more information about the educational programs please contact the Rutgers Co-Chairs for the convention – bamka@njaes.rutgers.edu Bill Bamka, Agricultural Agent in Burlington County, or minfante@njaes.rutgers.edu Michelle Infante-Casella, Agricultural Agent in Gloucester County.

Filed Under: Agrivoltaics, Blueberry, Christmas Trees, Commercial Ag Updates, Disease Forecasting, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Nursery, Organic Production, pesticide credits, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Uncategorized, vegetable, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape, work shop Tagged With: ,
November 6, 2024 and

Produce Safety Rule Training

The registration deadline is fast approaching for our December 5 and 6, 2024 Remote Food Safety Modernization Act: Produce Safety Rule Training. This training fulfills the requirements of the Food and Drug Administration that at least one person from each farm that produces fresh fruits and vegetables needs to receive a standardized curriculum recognized by the FDA. This class runs from 9:00-1:00 EST and both days are required to receive the certificate. The deadline to register is Sunday, November 17, 2024, exceptions to this deadline cannot be made due to the nature of the remote program and the need for participants to have a copy of the Growers Training Manual prior to the training.  Without the manual at the time of training participants will not receive a certificate.  Manual will be mailed to all registered participants.  For more information and to sign up for the class go to https://onfarmfoodsafety.rutgers.edu/trainings.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Organic Production, vegetable, Vegetable Crops
October 24, 2024 and

Vegetable IPM Program – Corn Earworm Monitoring

Corn Earworm Monitoring – Moving Forward

It is likely that blacklight trapping will not be continued in the Rutgers Vegetable IPM Program beginning in 2025, due to the unavailability of the specific bulb that has been the standard for blacklight traps for decades.  Under these circumstances, the IPM Program will rely on pheromone trapping to determine levels of important crop pests such as the corn earworm (CEW).

The 30” Hartstack trap (see photo at right by K. Albright of Purdue Univ.), also called the Texas pheromone trap (TPT), which is used in the Rutgers IPM Program, as well as many insect monitoring programs in other states, is the best tool for determining spray intervals on silking sweet corn to limit CEW injury.  A number of New Jersey sweet corn growers already have one or more TPTs on the farm, but we encourage all growers of this crop to obtain at least one.

 

Deploying Traps

The TPT is mounted on ½” rebar set at a height of approximately 4’.  The trap is baited with one Hercon Luretape Corn Earworm Lure, available from Great Lakes IPM®.  An additional lure is added every two weeks, and the trap should always be deployed directly adjacent to sweet corn expressing fresh silks.  This means that the trap should be moved frequently during the season.

 

Building or Buying Traps

The TPT is relatively simple to manufacture, and the University of Kentucky has posted the plans and parts list for making these traps in the growers’ shops.  The UKy site for trap design is:  https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef010

For those who wish to purchase this trap rather than making their own, TPTs are available from Mike “O” Olsowski in Geneva, NY.  Mr. Olsowski has made a number of TPT tops for the Rutgers IPM Program and is willing to make and ship these traps to New Jersey growers.  Contact information for Mike “O” Olsowski :

Mike “O” Olsowski

3510 Sutton Rd.

Geneva, NY  14456

Phone:  315-651-5929

 

Recording Catches

Current silk spray intervals based on corn earworm catches in the 30″ Hartstack trap were developed by the Univ. of Delaware some time ago, and are represented on this chart (560k PDF), which may be printed and posted in a convenient site on the farm so that growers can record the catch and determine a silk spray schedule.  This trap record also includes spaces for other insects for which commercial pheromones are available, including beet armyworm and fall armyworm.  Contact information for Rutgers Vegetable IPM Program staff (currently, Amanda Quadrel) is also included on the chart.

 

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops
September 18, 2024

Vegetable IPM Update 9/18/24

Sweet Corn

Corn earworm (CEW) moth captures from northern and central blacklight and pheromone traps continued to decrease  with an extended period of cooler night temperatures.   Pheromone trap information is available from all northern and central sites, but is limited  from southern New Jersey.  With little information from South Jersey, growers there would be wise to assume numbers at least as high as those represented in the central and northern traps.  Should night time temperatures rebound, we should expect increases in CEW catch from both trap types.  We will use a combination of pheromone and blacklight trap types to derive silk spray schedules by region.  Silking corn is at risk of CEW infestation at this time.  Be sure to access information from this publication in the upcoming weeks to determine how frequently you should treat silking sweet corn to protect it from CEW infestation.

 

The highest nightly blacklight trap catches of CEW for the week ending 9/18/24 are as follows:

Denville    3 Flanders   2 Califon   1 Lawrenceville   1
Blairstown   2 Hackettstown   2 Farmingdale   1 Long Valley   1
Chester   2 Sergeantsville   2 Georgetown   1 Pennington   1

The highest nightly pheromone trap catches of CEW for the week ending 9/18/24 are as follows:

Woodstown   68 Berlin   16 New Egypt   7
Georgetown   20 Bellemeade   10 Chester   6
Snyder Farm (Hunterdon)   19 Green Creek   10 Hackettstown   6
Califon   18 Middle Valley   10 Dayton   5

Thanks to Joe LaForest of Univ. of GA, and the Southern IPM Center for producing maps from our NJ CEW data!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using our current pheromone- based thresholds (30″ Hartstack trap) developed by the Univ. of Delaware, nightly corn earworm moth catches translate to:

0 moths – 6-7 day spray schedule

1 moth – 5 day spray schedule

2-20 moths – 4 day spray schedule

>20 moths – 3 day spray schedule

Silking Spray Schedules*:
South – 3 days

Central – 3-4 days

North – 3-4 days

*These recommendations are based on regional catches.  Adhere to tighter spray schedules if indicated by local trap catches.  Synthetic pyrethroids alone should NOT be used for corn earworm (CEW) protection on silking corn, or for fall armyworm (FAW) management at any stage.  Control with these materials is very inconsistent.

 

Beet Armyworm

Beet armyworm (BAW) numbers in pheromone traps in the Woodstown area of Salem County have dropped over the past week, but remain relatively high.  Thanks to a grower cooperator in that area, we know that catches range from 31 – 67/night over the past week in local traps.  This pest can cause significant injury on peppers as well as leafy greens like swiss chard, and kale.  Larvae are beginning to appear as far north as HunterdPlants covered in plasticon County, although it is likely that serious infestations are or will occur in southern NJ now.  Monitor pepper fields weekly for signs of feeding.  BAW larvae (photo at left) feed in the developing foliage in terminal growth of pepper plants.  Initially, leaves are skeletonized, but as larvae grow, they will move onto fruit and damage these as well.   In northern NJ, BAW is an occasional, and typically low level pest of cole crops.  Infestations tend to be very local for unknown reasons.  As with other armyworms, BAW is difficult to control with pyrethroid insecticides.  Effective materials include spinosyns (IRAC 5) and diamides (IRAC 28).

Corn Earworm Traps – 30″ Hartstack type

Growers wishing to purchase corn earworm pheromone traps to conduct their own on-farm monitoring should contact:

Mike “O” Olsowski

3510 Sutton Rd.

Geneva, NY  14456

Phone:  315-651-5929

Mike O manufactures these 30″ Hartstack traps in his shop.  These traps are the same as the ones we use currently in the IPM Program, and spray thresholds are based on this type.

Lures currently used in the Rutgers Vegetable IPM Program corn earworm pheromone traps are:

Hercon Luretape, available from Great Lakes IPM

Lures are placed in the clip at the base of the large cone, and a new one is added at two week intervals.

Welcome!

The Vegetable IPM Program welcomes Amanda Quadrel as the new Program Coordinator for southern New Jersey!  Amanda received her MS. from our Rutgers Entomology Department, working with spotted wing drosophila.  She has an excellent background in IPM tactics, and is currently meeting with growers and becoming familiar with some of our activities (though very late in the season) in the field.  Welcome, Amanda and good luck!

 

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops