Severe Hail in Southern New Jersey

On Thursday night areas of southern New Jersey were hit with severe hail. A significant amount of damage was done on all crops across a few of counties (Salem, Gloucester, and Cumberland). 

At RAREC, 95% of the transplants that were just set in the field for two of our research trials were stripped of leaves and in many cases the tops of the plant were just completely ripped off the plant. Most of the plastic mulch was also peppered with holes which will lead to weed issues later in the season.  Transplants still in trays suffered the most damage (Figs 1 and 2) as may be the case in some operations were transplants were waiting on wagons to be set in the field.

Remember, the wounds on stems, leaves, and fruit of vegetable plants created by hail opens the plant up to fungal and bacterial infections. Hail, on most occasions, comes down in narrow streaks so one part of a field may be heavily damaged while another part may look completely untouched.  For growers with operations who were hit with hail, goals to accomplish over the next few days is to carefully walk fields and assess the amount and severity of damage done. Growers should also carefully inspect for damage in any transplant trays that may have been hit.

Serious decisions will have to be made over the next few days as the consequences of the damage develop. In order to reduce the chances for bacterial and fungal infections, growers should consider apply a disinfectant, such as Oxidate or OLF, to transplants and plants already in the field. Remember, Oxidate must be applied by itself and should be used in between a standard protectant fungicide rotation which should include a copper in each application to reduce bacterial disease pressure. If transplants look to particularly poor, they may never recover properly and growers will have to decide if they should be transplanted or not.