May 29, 2025

Vegetable IPM Update 5/30/25

Greetings from the Veg IPM team! The program welcomes Martina Lavender and Coco Lin as the first two scouts of the season, servicing North and Central Jersey respectively.

Sweet Corn

We’ve put out corn earworm pheromone traps throughout the state. While silking corn is the main target of CEW activity, we set the traps early to detect overwintering moths. So far, we haven’t spotted any serious corn pests through visual inspection.

Cole Crops 

A shiny black beetle with straight antennae stands on a leaf surrounded by circular feeding holes.

Flea beetle surrounded by feeding damage. Picture by Maria Cramer.

Flea beetle remain active in various cole crops. This year, they have been especially prevalent in lacinato kale, Napa cabbage and bok choy. Young plants are especially vulnerable to attack from flea beetles. The treatment threshold for flea beetles in heading cole crops is 50% infestation.

 

Left: Smooth caterpillar, tapered at each end. Right: fuzzy caterpillar. Both are on brassica leaves.

Left: Diamondback moth caterpillar, showing characteristic tapering at each end. Right: Imported cabbageworm caterpillar showing characteristic fuzziness. Pictures by Maria Cramer.

We’re seeing caterpillar activity (imported cabbageworm in the North and diamondback moth in the South) in cabbage and other cole crops. Treatment thresholds vary between crops and growth stage, but for heading cole crops between early vegetative and cupping, the treatment threshold is 30%. At this stage, sprayable Bt products (IRAC 11A) such as Dipel, Xentari, or Javelin can be effective on young imported cabbage worm caterpillars. Other materials approved for caterpillar control include Entrust/Radiant (IRAC 5), Proclaim (IRAC 6), Torac (IRAC 21A), and Exirel (IRAC 28). Diamondback moth has resistance to many insecticide groups, and pyrethroids (IRAC 3A) are not effective for their management. For Bt products and contact insecticides, coverage on the undersides the leaves is essential.

Tomatoes

In high tunnels and the first field plantings of tomatoes, we’re seeing limited aphid, thrips, and spider mite activity. If dealing with primarily aphids, products such as Beleaf (IRAC 29) are recommended, especially if plants have reached the flowering stage. We have seen aphid populations decline over the last couple of weeks without spray, probably due to lady beetle predation and parasitism from wasps. For thrips, Entrust, Radiant (IRAC 5) and Torac (IRAC 21A) can be used. For spider mites, Nealta (IRAC 25) is an effective material that is more friendly to beneficial insects, but Portal (IRAC 21A) and other materials can be used to manage populations. We’ve seen very few Colorado potato beetles, so while no controls are needed yet, we’ll keep an eye out for increasing populations.

Colorado potato beetle adult in tomato

Diseases

With little break in the rainy weather, we’re seeing plants stressed by flooding and some bacterial and fungal diseases popping up in tomatoes, peppers, and cole crops. If you’re seeing disease symptoms and need a diagnosis, samples can be sent to Rutgers Plant Diagnostic Laboratory.

We’ve detected bacterial leaf spot of tomatoes and peppers on a few farms in the central and northern parts of the state (see photos below). Copper may help mitigate symptoms, but some strains have developed resistance due to continued copper use. Other products that may help include Actigard and Quintec. Otherwise, properly managing nutrients and growing conditions for the plant will be crucial for reducing the severity of this disease.

Bacterial leaf spot on tomato

Bacterial leaf spot on pepper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite the rain, we also saw some rhizoctonia in cole crops, which shows up when transplant plugs dry out. For more information on this disease, check out the recent update in the PPA.

Please consult the Mid-Atlantic Commercial Vegetable Production Guide for a more comprehensive list of materials that are labeled for specific crops and pests. As always, be sure to follow label rates and application instructions.

Authors: Amanda Quadrel (Northern NJ Veg IPM coordinator) and Maria Cramer (Southern NJ Veg IPM coordinator)

Filed Under: Organic Production, Plant Diagnostic Lab, Uncategorized, vegetable, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , , ,
May 28, 2025

Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus present in tomato

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) has caused significant problems for some fresh-market tomato and pepper growers in New Jersey the past few growing seasons. TSWV has already been detected in tomato this growing season. Although TSWV is not uncommon, economic losses these past few years have been extensive on some farms.

TSWV is vectored by various species of thrips, a common vegetable insect pest that seems to be on the incline and very difficult to control in vegetable production throughout the state. The most important vector of TSWV is the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis. It’s mode of transmission is persistent propagative, meaning that thrips nymphs have to feed on an infected plant, whereby followed by a short incubation period (lasting from hours to days), the virus is then persistently transmitted throughout the rest of the insect’s life span.

TSWV cannot be passed from infected females to eggs; and TSWV is not transmitted in seed.

The western flower thrips and TSWV both have a wide host range! Western flower thrips host range includes: tomato, pepper, onion, celery, cucumber, lettuce, potato, basil, strawberry; a wide range of herbaceous ornamentals (e.g., impatiens, geranium, marigold, petunia, dahlia, gerbera daisy, carnation) as well as many common weeds (e.g., pigweed, chickweed, lambs quarter, thistle, galinsoga). TSMV can infect over 1,000 plant species from more than 90 plant families.

In California and other tomato production regions, resistance-breaking (RB) strains (C118Y, C118F, T120N) of TSWV have recently been discovered that can overcome the single gene resistance (Sw-5b) bred into widely-grown processing and fresh-market tomato varieties. Recent research in TX has also shown that RB TSWV strains may increase western flower thrips fitness (ability to reproduce) by prolonging the adult period and increasing fecundity (i.e., a measure of an insect’s reproductive success, often expressed as the number of eggs or offspring produced by an insect) compared to non-RB and non-viruliferous controls. Unfortunately, the breakdown of genetic resistance along with the potential increase in TSWV-infected thrips reproduction rates, may lead to significant problems in thrips and TSWV control in New Jersey and elsewhere.

Recent work in Texas has shown that RB-TSWV can break resistance (conferred by the commonly deployed TSW-mediated single gene resistance) in TSWV-resistant pepper (Capsicum annuum) with varying levels of symptom development in both resistant and susceptible cultivars; with none being completely immune.

In October 2022, samples of a TSWV-infected fresh market tomato variety with Sw-5b resistance were collected in southern New Jersey and sent for analysis. Results determined that RB (C118Y) TSWV was present in the state; and the strain found in New Jersey was similar to the RB TSWV found in fresh-market tomato from Mexico and processing tomato in California suggesting a high potential for its widespread movement.

So, where do we go from here? Based on the isolated reports of TSWV and RB-TSWV being found on on a few farms the past few growing seasons, it does not appear that RB TSWV is currently widespread throughout the state. However, this may likely change and all growers need to be diligent.

All vegetable growers, those who produce their own transplants or bring them in, need to carefully evaluate their thrips monitoring and mitigation programs this winter.

  1. Start fresh. Prior to the transplant production season, clean and disinfect the greenhouse or any other structure where you might be holding transplants. Remove any weeds within and around the structure. Use sticky cards to monitor the potential carryover thrips population during the winter months, especially if you have any plant material in the greenhouse during those months.
  2. Never produce or keep tomato or pepper transplants you start yourself or bring in, in the same greenhouse with any ornamental plants.
  3. Segregate any transplants that are brought into your operation from your own transplants, as well as segregate different source of transplants as best you can.
  4. Evaluate all incoming transplants for thrips damage.
  5. Treat all incoming transplants with an insecticide immediately.
  6. Use yellow sticky cards to continually monitor for thrips populations in the greenhouse from the start of the transplant season until the end.
  7. Consider using biological or natural control(s) in the greenhouse.
  8. The use of silver reflective mulches have been shown to reduce thrips populations in fields.
  9. Develop a season-long insecticide program prior to the production season; from applying an insecticide at transplanting through cover sprays until harvest.
  10. Monitor thrips populations and feeding damage in the field with regular scouting and sticky cards.
  11. Closely monitor thrips feeding injury on pepper and tomato fruit during the production season.
  12. Proper weed control is essential since many weeds may harbor the virus or infected thrips. This includes areas around the production field.
  13. Rogue out any suspicious looking plant(s) prior to transplanting, or any suspicious looking plant early in the production season (e.g., any plant that starts to stunt out early) to help mitigate the within field spread.

Growers should continue to utilize TSWV-resistant tomato and pepper varieties realizing the effectiveness of those in limiting TSWV is becoming compromised. All growers need to continue to follow best management practices (such as those listed above) and pay careful attention to current weaknesses in their production practices and thrips control programs and adjust their management practices heading into 2025 growing season.

by: Andy Wyenandt and Kris Holmstrom

References:

Macedo MA, Melgarejo T, Cespedes M, Rojas M, Lazicki P, Turini T, et al. (2024) An all-out assault on a dominant resistance gene: Local emergence, establishment, and spread of strains of tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) that overcome Sw-5b-mediated resistance in fresh market and processing tomatoes in California. PLoS ONE 19(7): e0305402.

Tomato spotted wilt virus on pepper and tomato. Inga Meadows and Andy Cooper, NCSU 2024

Gautam et al., 2022. First report of a resistance-breaking strain of tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus infecting Capsicum annuum with Tsw resistance gene in Texas. Plant Dis. 107:1958.

 

Filed Under: Organic Production, vegetable, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: ,
May 21, 2025

Vegetable IPM update 5/22/25

Greetings from the Veg IPM team! No major changes have taken place between last week and this week, and with the continuing rainy weather, scouting has been limited.

Sweet Corn

We’ve put out corn earworm pheromone traps throughout the state. While silking corn is the main target of CEW activity, we set the traps early to detect overwintering moths. We’ve seen quite a few already, showing that some CEW moths are definitely overwintering in both North and South New Jersey.  So far, we haven’t spotted any serious corn pests through visual inspection.

Several moths are captured in the top of a wire mesh Texas Hartstack trap

Corn earworm moths captured this week in Burlington County. Picture by Maria Cramer

Cole Crops 

A shiny black beetle with straight antennae stands on a leaf surrounded by circular feeding holes.

Flea beetle surrounded by feeding damage. Picture by Maria Cramer.

Flea beetle remain active in various cole crops. This year, they have been especially prevalent in lacinato kale, Napa cabbage and bok choy. Young plants are especially vulnerable to attack from flea beetles. The treatment threshold for flea beetles in heading cole crops is 50% infestation.

 

Left: Smooth caterpillar, tapered at each end. Right: fuzzy caterpillar. Both are on brassica leaves.

Left: Diamondback moth caterpillar, showing characteristic tapering at each end. Right: Imported cabbageworm caterpillar showing characteristic fuzziness. Pictures by Maria Cramer.

We’re seeing caterpillar activity (imported cabbageworm in the North and diamondback moth in the South) in cabbage and other cole crops. Treatment thresholds vary between crops and growth stage, but for heading cole crops between early vegetative and cupping, the treatment threshold is 30%. At this stage, sprayable Bt products (IRAC 11A) such as Dipel, Xentari, or Javelin can be effective on young imported cabbage worm caterpillars. Other materials approved for caterpillar control include Entrust/Radiant (IRAC 5), Proclaim (IRAC 6), Torac (IRAC 21A), and Exirel (IRAC 28). Diamondback moth has resistance to many insecticide groups, and pyrethroids (IRAC 3A) are not effective for their management. For Bt products and contact insecticides, coverage on the undersides the leaves is essential.

Tomatoes

In high tunnels and the first field plantings of tomatoes, we’re seeing limited aphid, thrips, and spider mite activity. If dealing with primarily aphids, products such as Beleaf (IRAC 29) are recommended, especially if plants have reached the flowering stage. We have seen aphid populations decline over the last couple of weeks without spray, probably due to lady beetle predation and parasitism from wasps. For thrips, Entrust, Radiant (IRAC 5) and Torac (IRAC 21A) can be used. For spider mites, Nealta (IRAC 25) is an effective material that is more friendly to beneficial insects, but Portal (IRAC 21A) and other materials can be used to manage populations. We’ve seen very few Colorado Potato Beetles, so while no controls are needed yet, we’ll keep an eye out for increasing populations.

Colorado Potato Beetle adult

Beneficials

While scouting we’ve seen many beneficial insects, including predators like lacewings, lady beetles, and spined soldier bugs, as well as signs of parasitism, like aphid mummies. These natural enemies can help suppress certain pest populations. Lacewings, lady beetles, and soldier bugs feed on a wide range of soft-bodied pests, including aphids and caterpillars. Parasitoid wasps are more specialized, attacking one particular host. Basing sprays on treatment thresholds and using more selective insecticides helps preserve these natural enemies.

Picture A shows the underside of a cabbage leaf with a group of oval shaped lacewing eggs on stalks. Picture B shows a cluster of small red spined soldier bug nymphs on a corn leaf next to the empty eggs they recently hatched from. Picture C shows a bronze-colored aphid mummy on a tomato leaf.

A) Green lacewing eggs on the underside of a cabbage leaf, B) Recently hatched spined soldier bug nymphs, and C) An aphid mummy. Pictures by Maria Cramer.

Please consult the Mid-Atlantic Commercial Vegetable Production Guide for a more comprehensive list of materials that are labeled for specific crops and pests. As always, be sure to follow label rates and application instructions.

Authors: Amanda Quadrel (Northern NJ Veg IPM coordinator) and Maria Cramer (Southern NJ Veg IPM coordinator)

Filed Under: Organic Production, Uncategorized, vegetable, Vegetable Crops
May 16, 2025 and

Deer Damage Control in the Vineyard

New Jersey’s high deer population significantly threatens vineyards, particularly those near wooded areas. Deer are a pest, especially on young vines and in the early growing season when food sources are scarce, and tender shoots are emerging. If the vineyard is close to the deer population, management is needed for the long-term productivity of the vineyards.

Identifying the deer damage: Deer browse on leaves and tender shoots using the lower front teeth. Deer do not have upper incisors, so the leaves browsed by deer have a rough, torn, and shredded appearance but no tooth marks (Figure 1). This can cause substantial crop loss and even compromise the health of the vines, specifically if the same vine is damaged over the years (Figure 1). Fortunately, secondary buds of grapevines can grow and produce replacement shoots when the actively growing shoot tip from the primary bud is damaged. A new shoot from a basal bud may not be as productive, however, it will ensure new vegetative growth, sustaining the canopy of the grapevine. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blueberry, Cranberry, Fruit, Organic Production, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Uncategorized, vegetable, Wine Grape Tagged With: , , , ,
May 15, 2025 and

Vegetable IPM Update 5/15/25

Greetings from the Veg IPM team! No major changes have taken place between last week and this week, and with the rainy weather, scouting has been limited.

Sweet Corn

We’ve put out corn earworm pheromone traps throughout the state. While silking corn is the main target of CEW activity, we set the traps early to detect overwintering moths, which have become more common with warmer winters. As a reminder, we’re no longer using blacklight traps as of this year, and we’ll be reporting pheromone trap counts in the Plant Pest Advisory as the season progresses. So far, we haven’t spotted any corn pests through visual inspection.

Cole Crops 

A shiny black beetle with straight antennae stands on a leaf surrounded by circular feeding holes.

Flea beetle surrounded by feeding damage. Picture by Maria Cramer.

Flea beetle are active in various cole crops. This year, they have been especially prevalent in Napa cabbage and bok choy. Young plants are especially vulnerable to attack from flea beetles. The treatment threshold for flea beetles in heading cole crops is 50% infestation.

 

Two picture, the picture on the left shows a smooth caterpillar that tapers at both ends. The picture on the right shows a caterpillar that is fuzzy all over and does not taper at either end.

Left: Diamondback moth caterpillar, showing characteristic tapering at each end. Right: Imported cabbageworm caterpillar showing characteristic fuzziness. Pictures by Maria Cramer.

We’re seeing caterpillar activity (imported cabbageworm and diamondback moth) in cabbage and other cole crops. Treatment thresholds vary between crops and growth stage, but for heading cole crops between early vegetative and cupping, the treatment threshold is 30%. At this stage, sprayable Bt products (IRAC 11A) such as Dipel, Xentari, or Javelin can be effective on young caterpillars. Other materials approved for caterpillar control include Entrust/Radiant (IRAC 5), Proclaim (IRAC 6), Torac (IRAC 21A), and Exirel (IRAC 28). For Bt products and contact insecticides, coverage on the undersides the leaves is essential.

 

Tomatoes

In high tunnels and the first field plantings of tomatoes, we’re seeing limited aphid, thrips, and spider mite activity. If dealing with primarily aphids, products such as Beleaf (IRAC 29) are recommended, especially if plants have reached the flowering stage. For thrips, Entrust, Radiant (IRAC 5) and Torac (IRAC 21A) can be used. For spider mites, Nealta (IRAC 25) is an effective material that is more friendly to beneficial insects, but Portal (IRAC 21A) and other materials can be used to manage populations.

 

Please consult the Mid-Atlantic Commercial Vegetable Production Guide for a more comprehensive list of materials that are labeled for specific crops and pests. As always, be sure to follow label rates and application instructions.

Authors: Amanda Quadrel (Northern NJ Veg IPM coordinator) and Maria Cramer (Southern NJ Veg IPM coordinator)

 

Filed Under: Organic Production, vegetable, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , , ,
May 8, 2025 and

Vegetable IPM Update 5/08/25

Sweet Corn

We’ve put out corn earworm pheromone traps throughout the state. While silking corn is the main target of CEW activity, we set the traps early to detect overwintering moths, which have become more common with warmer winters. As a reminder, we’re no longer using blacklight traps as of this year, and we’ll be reporting pheromone trap counts in the Plant Pest Advisory as the season progresses.

Cole Crops 

A shiny black beetle with straight antennae stands on a leaf surrounded by circular feeding holes.

Flea beetle surrounded by feeding damage. Picture by Maria Cramer.

Flea beetle are active in various cole crops. This year, they have been especially prevalent in Napa cabbage and bok choy. Young plants are especially vulnerable to attack from flea beetles. The treatment threshold for flea beetles in heading cole crops is 50% infestation.

 

Two picture, the picture on the left shows a smooth caterpillar that tapers at both ends. The picture on the right shows a caterpillar that is fuzzy all over and does not taper at either end.

Left: Diamondback moth caterpillar, showing characteristic tapering at each end. Right: Imported cabbageworm caterpillar showing characteristic fuzziness. Pictures by Maria Cramer.

We’re seeing caterpillar activity (imported cabbageworm and diamondback moth) in cabbage and other cole crops. Treatment thresholds vary between crops and growth stage, but for heading cole crops between early vegetative and cupping, the treatment threshold is 30%. At this stage, sprayable Bt products (IRAC 11A) such as Dipel, Xentari, or Javelin can be effective on young caterpillars. Other materials approved for caterpillar control include Entrust/Radiant (IRAC 5), Proclaim (IRAC 6), Torac (IRAC 21A), and Exirel (IRAC 28). For Bt products and contact insecticides, coverage on the undersides the leaves is essential.

 

Tomatoes

In high tunnel tomatoes, we’re seeing limited aphid, thrips, and spider mite activity. If dealing with primarily aphids, products such as Beleaf (IRAC 29) are recommended, especially if plants have reached the flowering stage. For thrips, Entrust, Radiant (IRAC 5) and Torac (IRAC 21A) can be used. For spider mites, Nealta (IRAC 25) is an effective material that is more friendly to beneficial insects, but Portal (IRAC 21A) and other materials can be used to manage populations.

 

Please consult the Mid-Atlantic Commercial Vegetable Production Guide for a more comprehensive list of materials that are labeled for specific crops and pests. As always, be sure to follow label rates and application instructions.

Authors: Amanda Quadrel (Northern NJ Veg IPM coordinator) and Maria Cramer (Southern NJ Veg IPM coordinator)

 

Filed Under: Organic Production, vegetable, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , , ,