Greenhouse Sanitation Important for Disease Management in Transplant Production

Proper greenhouse sanitation is important for healthy, disease-free vegetable transplant production.

Efforts need to be made to keep transplant production greenhouses free of unnecessary plant debris and weeds which may harbor insect pests and disease. Efforts need to be taken throughout the transplant production season to minimize potential problems.

  • All equipment, benches, flats, plug trays and floors should be properly cleaned and then disinfested prior to use.
  • Any weeds in or around the greenhouse structure should be removed prior to any production.
  • Any transplant brought into the greenhouse from an outside source needs to be certified ‘clean’, as well as, visually inspected for potential insects and diseases once it reaches your location.

Remember, disinfestants, such as Clorox, Green-Shield, or hydrogen dioxide products (Zerotol – for commercial greenhouses, garden centers and Oxidate – commercial greenhouse and field), kill only what they come into direct contact with so thorough coverage and/or soaking is necessary. The labels do not specify time intervals for specific uses, only to state that surfaces be ‘thoroughly wetted’. Therefore, labels need to be followed precisely for different use patterns (i.e., disinfesting flats vs. floors or benches) to ensure proper dilution ratios. Hydrogen dioxide products work best when diluted with water containing little or no organic matter and in water with a neutral pH.

 

Immediate Potential for Boxwood Blight Throughout NJ THIS WEEK

Boxwood Blight Risk Assessment as of 4/10/2024
Region Location CODE 10-Apr 11-Apr 12-Apr 13-Apr 14-Apr 15-Apr
Southern Upper Deerfield NJ50 Very Low  Minor Risk  High Risk Very Low  Very Low  Very Low 
Central Howell / Freehold NJ10 Low  Low   High Risk Very Low  Very Low  Very Low 
Northern High Point NJ59 Very Low   High Risk  VERY High Risk Very Low  Very Low  Very Low 
W TH F S Sun M
 Please check YOUR LOCAL risk (click here)

There is a potential for boxwood blight infections this Thursday and Friday  throughout ALL of NJ. Incoming rains, coupled with consistent temperatures may initiate boxwood blight infections this week.

  • It is time to begin protective fungicide applications in boxwoods throughout the state if you have not already done so.

  • If BWB is important to your business Use the USPEST – PUSH Alerts – (click here) – to setup weekly email alerts. Create an account, watch the tutorial, and then set up your subscriptions. You select which locations (as many as you like), days you want to receive emails (pick Sunday/Monday), and what you would like to receive alerts about (BWB and a variety of other pests and diseases). Rutgers is not directly affiliated, however this is an incredible tool. 

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Early Season Tree Fruit Pest Control for 2024

  • Dormant season oil sprays
  • Dormant season copper sprays
  • Dormant season urea sprays

[Read more…]

Southern NJ Commercial Nursery Growers IPM Roundtable (Tu) 2/27/24

SOUTHERN NJ – COMMERCIAL NURSERY GROWERS – ONLY in Cumberland and surrounding counties.
  • Southern NJ Nursery IPM Roundtable – Tuesday 2/27/24 6-8pm.
  • The event is free but please RSVP by calling 856-451-2800 ext. 1 and mention this meeting.
  • In response to many conversations, nursery visits, and phone calls I have had with folks over the last few years, this type of meeting is long overdue, especially since we all face the same pests, diseases, weeds, and seasonal problems.
  • Please consider joining this face-to-face discussion centered around Nursery IPM.
Topics on deck:
  • What pests are important to you – and what questions do we need answered
  • Pest Scouting approaches – RU Pest Scouting Guides – Rutgers Plant and Pest Advisory
  • Pesticide Regimes, New Vs ‘Old’ materials – what works, what doesn’t
  • Invasive Pests and New Diseases – what to be looking for
  • Worker safety and leveraging REIs
  • Cultural practices and irrigation system modifications
Please consider joining, and please RSVP to the Cumberland County office at 856-451-2800 ext. 1.
NOTE: If you are outside Southern NJ, we will be planning similar events in the near future, near you, and I ask that you wait until that time as space is limited. 

Have A Say in Field Equipment Sanitation Research!

In an initiative to guide future solution and resources, the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) has designed the Sanitation of Agricultural Field Equipment Questionnaire to begin the research process centered around field equipment sanitation.

The research will develop a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges associated with field equipment sanitation and work toward developing solutions that are effective, implementable and sustainable.

To introduce the survey and forthcoming research effort, Dr. Matt Grieshop Director at The Grimm Family Center for Organic Production and Research College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo says,

“We are a group of agricultural research and extension professionals from across the United States that are curious about grower and agricultural professional perceptions about the importance of field equipment sanitation to mitigate the spread of organisms that pose human health, weed, plant pathogen or other risks.

Agricultural field equipment includes tillage implements, tractors, harvesters, cultivation equipment, trucks, trailers, sprayers, mowers, or any other piece of equipment that is shared across fields.

This information will be solely used to help frame future research questions and outreach activities.  It will not be published or distributed in any form. Answering should take 5 minutes or less and is completely voluntary and anonymous.

If you have questions, comments or concerns contact Dr. Matt Grieshop at mgriesho@calpoly.edu

Thank you for sharing your experience. We truly appreciate the gift of your time and knowledge.”

Your participation is invaluable to future developments in the industry regarding food safety and equipment sanitation.

To contribute, visit here.

For any questions regarding this project, contact Thierry Besancon at thierry.besancon@rutgers.edu.

——

Thierry E. Besançon, PhD

Associate Professor / Extension Weed Science Specialist

 

Timely Reminder Conditions A Perfect Storm For Lettuce Tip Burn

Yesterday as we started the 5th or 6th day of cloudy, wet, high-humidity weather, my inbox had an article from producegrower.com on preliminary results of trials at The Ohio State University by Dr. Chieri Kubota, Director of the Ohio Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (OHCEAC) and Professor in the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, and one of her graduate students, PhD candidate John Ertle. They rated the sensitivity of 20 lettuce cultivars to prime conditions to induce lettuce tipburn, exactly the conditions we’ve had this past week.

As they reported, “Tipburn is caused by calcium deficiency often seen in lettuce (Lactuca sativa) when plants are grown quickly under optimum environmental conditions. The deficiency is also known as “localized” around young leaves at the shoot tip. Therefore, tipburn occurs even with sufficient calcium fertilization of the whole plant.”

While their work was conducted for Controlled Environment Ag (CEA) production, conditions in field production can and often does replicate the controlled environment they created to induce tipburn (same issue with Blossom End Rot of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants). Namely, “conditions that promote overall plant growth (high light, high CO2) yet suppress plant transpiration rate (low air circulation, high humidity) are known to increase the risk of tipburn. In addition, low humidity (high VPD) during nighttime increases tipburn risk in some cases.”

[Citing some of her own work, Kubota explained,] “This is because low humidity at night promotes non- stomatal transpiration (loss of water from leaf surface), reducing xylem pressure and calcium supply to the shoot tip at night.”

The Ohio State team compared various cultivars supplied by different seed companies under controlled growth conditions to induce tipburn and reported significant differences in the severity and time to beginning of symptoms, ranging from 0 to 58%. Yields were not correlated with tipburn incidence.

Researchers in California reported in Overview of Tipburn of Lettuce that their field studies also found significant differences in tipburn severity among cultivars.  Richard Smith et al. concluded, “The greater issue for the development of tipburn in lettuce is the variety,” and that “persistent foggy conditions that reduce transpirational flow of calcium to all parts of the leaves in the last 6-10 days prior to harvest will trigger this disorder in sensitive varieties.”

Unfortunately, studies to find effective controls of tipburn indicate little can be done, including having adequate Ca in soils and foliar applications of Ca during the growing season. The Ca just doesn’t get to the rapidly growing tissue in time to reduce the damage. The general conclusion is to conduct your own field trials to determine best varieties for your farm.