Septoria leaf spot (SLS) in Parsley can cause significant losses in fields where it has become established. Like other Septoria’s, the leaf spots produced on parsley look much like the leaf spots produced on tomatoes and other crops. Septoria leaf spot overwinters from year to year on infected debris so long crop rotations of 2 or more years are important to help reduce disease pressure. During the season, SLS will spread rapidly with each subsequent rainfall and/or overhead irrigation event. Therefore, early detection and preventative fungicide applications are key to successfully controlling SLS. Unfortunately, very few fungicides are currently labeled making control difficult.
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.
Damping-off: Identifying and Controlling Early-Season Pathogens
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 the spring. 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.
Control of damping-off depends on a number of factors. First, is recognizing the conditions which may be leading to the problem (i.e., weather/greenhouse growing conditions) and second, identifying the pathogen causing the problem.
Conditions Favoring Damping-off
Although all four pathogens are associated with damping-off, the conditions which favor their development are very different. In general, Phytophthora and Pythium are more likely to cause damping-off in cool, wet or overwatered soils that aren’t allowed to dry out due to cloudy weather or cooler temperatures. Conversely, Rhizoctonia and Fusarium are more likely to cause damping-off under warmer, drier conditions especially if plug trays are kept on the dry side to help reduce transplant growth. [Read more…]
Weather Conditions Favor Seed Corn Maggot Activity in Early Cucurbit Plantings
Seed corn maggot larvae and adult flies have been detected in early seeded zucchini squash fields in Gloucester County this week. They are most likely in other areas of Southern New Jersey. Seed corn maggots can also attack other vegetable crops like beans, peas, cucumbers, melons and sweet corn. Cool and wet weather increase activity and survivability of this early season pest. When adult maggots lay eggs near the planting hole, eggs can hatch in just a few days after being laid. Maggots then can burrow into seeds or seedlings, feed for a period of 2 to 3 weeks and then develop into egg-laying adults. There can be many generations per year, but activity is heightened during periods of cool and wet weather.
Adult flies are most abundant in fields with cover crops, fields that have just been tilled, or in fields that have had manure applied. When a seed or seedling is attacked, it may continue to grow, but will be weak and not produce a crop. Preventative control methods are most effective, since once larvae are found causing damage in the field, they are difficult to control underground. Some commercial insecticide seed treatments are available. See page 112 of the Mid-Atlantic Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations, 2018 guide. This information can be downloaded at http://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/publication.php?pid=E001
Other preventative methods include row covers to create a barrier between the insect pest and the seeds or seedlings, waiting to plant in the field until soils and air temperatures are warm enough to quicken germination and plant growth, and selecting fields for early plantings with low organic matter and that do not remain wet for long periods.
Cucurbit Downy Mildew ALERT – 7/17/17
Cucurbit downy mildew was confirmed on cucumber in northern New Jersey (Hunterdon County) today in the cucurbit downy mildew sentinel plot at the Snyder Research and Extension Farm in Pittstown. This is the fourth report of CDM on cucumber in New Jersey this growing season. No other cucurbit crops were affected. All cucumber growers in NJ are encouraged to add downy mildew specific fungicides to their weekly maintenance spray programs. All growers should scout cucumber plantings as well as all other cucurbit crops for symptoms. CDM has also been reported on cucumber in MD, DE, and PA. To track the progress of cucurbit downy mildew in the US through the CDMpipe website through NCSU please click here.
Cucurbit Downy Mildew ALERT – 7/6/17
Cucurbit downy mildew was confirmed on cucumber in northern New Jersey (Warren County) today near Allamuchy. This is the third report of CDM on cucumber in New Jersey this growing season. All cucumber growers in NJ are encouraged to add downy mildew specific fungicides to their weekly maintenance spray programs. All growers should scout cucumber plantings as well as all other cucurbit crops for symptoms. CDM has also been reported on cucumber in MD, DE, and PA. To track the progress of cucurbit downy mildew in the US through the CDMpipe website through NCSU please click here.
Cucurbit Downy Mildew ALERT – 7/3/17
Cucurbit downy mildew was confirmed on cucumber in southern New Jersey (Cumberland County) today. This is the second report of CDM in New Jersey this growing season. All cucumber growers in NJ are encouraged to add downy mildew specific fungicides to their weekly maintenance spray programs. All growers should scout cucumber plantings as well as all other cucurbit crops for symptoms. CDM has also been reported on cucumber in MD, DE, and PA. To track the progress of cucurbit downy mildew in the US through the CDMpipe website through NCSU please click here.