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Vegetable Disease Briefs – 7/4/15

  • Cucurbit downy mildew has been reported as far north as Eastern Maryland and southern Delaware on watermelon. It was also reported on cucumber in Ohio this past week. All cucurbit growers should scout on a regular basis and consider including downy mildew specific fungicide(s) to their weekly maintenance programs. Wet weather is predicted every day this upcoming week making conditions ideal for downy mildew development around the state and region. For more information on the control of downy mildew on specific cucurbit crops please see the 2015 Commercial Fungicides Recommendations Guide. To track the progress of CDM in the US please visit http://cdm.ipmpipe.org/
  • Bacterial brown spot has been reported on lima bean in southern New Jersey.
  • Anthracnose has been reported on snap bean in southern New Jersey.
  • Phytophthora blight on pepper and cucurbit crops have been reported. The heavy rains that have been around lately have been ideal for P. capsici development. All growers need to scout on a regular basis and applied preventative fungicides on a regular basis as well as remain proactive by removing infected plants from field, making sure water is able to drain away from beds/fields, and cutting plastic to help dry out beds.
  • A new, more aggressive form of Black leg has been reported in potato in southern New Jersey.
  • Bacterial leaf spot is being reported on pepper and tomato.
  • Basil downy mildew remains active. All basil growers should continue to scout and be proactive.
  • Late blight has been reported on potato as far north as North Carolina near the Virginia border. There have been no reports of late blight in the region to date. To track late blight in the US please visit http://usablight.org/

The Weather of Late:
A Double-edged Sword

The weather has been a double-edged sword of late throughout most of the mid-Atlantic region. The extremely hot weather with temperatures at or above 90 these past few days have been good for slowing disease development down. At those temperatures, its even too hot for pathogens to develop!

Unfortunately, the weather has also brought with it a lot of wind and rain these past few days and weeks. We all know what this leads to. Remember that bacteria need a wound or natural opening to enter a plant and cause an infection. The heavy winds and driving rains that beat up plants also help create the wounds that allow this to occur so its not unlikely to see an uptick in bacterial problems across a number of crops, such as in the case of bacterial leaf spot in tomato and pepper, after the weather we’ve had this past week.

Growers need to be proactive with copper applications and/or disinfestant applications prior to and/or after such events. Growers should also avoid working in fields when foliage is wet, if possible. This is extremely important if a bacterial problem is already present in the field!

The wet weather, along with the high humidity and prolonged leaf wetness also makes nice for many fungal pathogens, both leaf and soil-borne. Phytophthora blight in cucurbits, pepper, eggplant and tomato;  Early blight in tomato;  Alternaria and Anthracnose in cucurbits; and downy mildews just to name a few are favored by our current weather conditions, especially after temperatures cool down after todays weather front passes through the region.

During these conditions, all growers need to remain diligent and keep up with their protectant fungicide programs as long as field conditions allow and be proactive instead of reactive. After today, we get a few hours of dry weather before potential rains return on Thursday night into Friday.

Vegetable Disease Update – 5/25/15

Pepper 

Bacterial leaf spot – Symptoms of bacterial leaf spot on pepper leaves include small, brown water-soaked lesions that turn brown and necrotic in the centers. Spots may coalesce and form large blighted areas on leaves and premature defoliation can occur. On fruit, brown lesions can form which have a roughened, cracked wart-like appearance. High temperatures, high relative humidity and rainfall favor Bacterial spot development. Loss from Bacterial spot can be reduced somewhat by maintaining high levels of fertility, which will stimulate new growth. Applying a fixed copper (M1) at labeled rates or may help suppress spread. Quintec (quinoxyfen, 13) at 6.0 fl. oz/A is now labeled for the suppression of bacterial leaf spot in pepper in the mid-Atlantic region. Please see the 2015 New Jersey Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations Guide for more information. [Read more…]

Strawberry Fruit Rots 2015

Anthracnose fruit rot of strawberry

Anthracnose Fruit Rot of Strawberry

Fruit rots in strawberry can cause significant losses if not recognized early and controlled. The use of good cultural practices such as: keeping fields weed-free and promoting good drainage; long crop rotations, and preventative fungicide applications are critical.

Pathogens such as anthracnose, gray mold (Botrytis), and leather rot can become systemic problems in strawberry plantings once established. All three fungal diseases are soil-borne and once in fields can be difficult to manage over the lifetime of the planting.

The use of mulch (matted rows) to prevent/reduce soil splashing and keeping fruit from coming into direct contact with the soil surface can be beneficial in organic production systems where conventional fungicides cannot be used. Use of long crop rotations and staying away from areas of the farm with known instances of any of these pathogens is also important. Remember that same species of Colletotrichum that causes fruit rot in pepper and other crops can also infect strawberry.

[Read more…]

Vegetable Disease Briefs – 8/25/14

  • Late blight was reported in organic tomato field in southern New Jersey on 8/14. There have been no new reports of late blight in the state this past week.
  • Basil downy mildew remains active.
  • Pepper anthracnose has flared up in the southern part of the state.
  • Phomopsis fruit rot has been found on eggplant in Salem County.
  • Conditions for downy mildew development on many crops have been ideal this past week with the cooler temperatures and dewy mornings. Downy mildew has been reported on cucumbers, basil, and crucifer crops. Remember, the fungicides recommended for controlling downy mildew are specific and need to be incorporated into weekly maintenance applications.

Vegetable Disease Briefs – 8/11/14

  • Late Blight: There have been scattered reports of late blight in the Northeast region the last few weeks. There have been no reports of late blight in New Jersey to date this summer.
  • Cucurbit Powdery and Downy Mildew remain active. All cucurbit growers in the state should include powdery and downy mildew specific fungicides in their weekly maintenance programs. As a reminder, all abandoned fields  need to be disced under or sprayed with gramoxone to reduce inoculum pressure.
  • Pepper Anthracnose has been reported in some areas. See Mitigating Losses to Pepper Anthracnose for more information on its control.
  • Bacterial problems on tomato and pepper continue to be an issue. The dry weather this past week should have helped slow things down, however, heavy rain is expected in the state on Tuesday.
  • Results of a Septoria Leaf Spot trial on parsley this summer at RAREC suggest that resistance  is beginning to develop to the FRAC code 11 fungicide, Quadris, and are similar to results from a trial last fall (see Controlling Septoria Leaf Spot in Parsley). Parsley growers, particularly in the Vineland area, should consider using fungicides such as Fontelis (penthiopyrad, FRAC code 7) or Merivon (fluxapyroxad + pyraclostrobin, 7 + 11) in weekly rotations.