Plectosporium blight, also known as Microdochium blight or White speck, caused significant problems in some pumpkin fields last summer in New Jersey. The soil-borne fungal pathogen, although somewhat uncommon, can unexpectedly show up in some years and cause significant losses if left uncontrolled. The fungus survives in the soil on decaying plant debris where it […]
Continue reading...July 4, 2022 Andy Wyenandt
Destroying cucurbit plantings after harvesting is a must to help mitigate downy mildew
Now is a good time to start thinking about ways to help mitigate cucurbit downy mildew pressure later in the production season. All cucurbit fields, especially cucumber and other summer squash fields should be destroyed immediately after the last harvest to help limit potential inoculum sources for cucurbit downy mildew. For a review of CDM […]
Continue reading...July 3, 2022 Andy Wyenandt
Diagnosing important diseases in Cucurbit crops – Reference Guide
The following images consist of important diseases in cucurbit crops. These images can be used as a quick reference for diagnosing important fungal and bacterial pathogens. For best results, please turn your device (i.e., cell phone) sideways. For information on commercial control recommendations, please visit the cucurbit sections of the 2022/2023 Mid-Atlantic Commercial Vegetable Production […]
Continue reading...July 3, 2022 Andy Wyenandt
Controlling basil downy mildew in the field in 2022
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 […]
Continue reading...July 2, 2022 Cesar Rodriguez-Saona
Sparganothis Fruitworm Degree-Day Update: as of July 02, 2022
Based on our degree-day (DD) model for Sparganothis fruitworm, first eggs hatched at about 895 DD (see chart). As of July 02, Sparganothis has accumulated 1101.5 DD (using April 15 as biofix). This indicates that eggs have started to hatch, and fruit will become susceptible to infestation since larval injury to fruit usually begins after […]
Continue reading...July 2, 2022 Andy Wyenandt
Vegetable Disease Update: 07-02-22
Powdery mildew has been reported in cucurbit crops. For more information on the control of CPM please click here. Cucurbit downy mildew has been reported on cucumber in southern New Jersey and Eastern PA. For more information on CDM control please click here. Bacterial leaf spot has been reported in pepper. More more information on […]
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