- Cucurbit downy mildew was confirmed in Wicomico County, Maryland late last week. All growers should continue to scout all cucurbit fields on a regular basis. Once harvesting is finished all fields should be disked under and or sprayed with gramoxone. Please see the 2014 Commercial Vegetable Recommendations Guide for specific fungicide recommendations. To track the progress of cucurbit downy mildew please visit North Carolina State University’s Cucurbit Downy Mildew Forecasting Center at http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/pp/cucurbit/
- Phytophthora crown rot is being reported in multiple crops. Weather conditions for the past few days have been ideal for its development.
- There have been no new reports of Late blight in the region. To date, Late blight has been reported in Lancaster County, PA and confirmed in west central PA; on Long Island, NY and western NY. To track late blight in the US please visit http://usablight.org/.
- Basil downy mildew has been reported in New Jersey. With current weather conditions all basil growers should scout on a daily basis and taking appropriate preventative measures.
- Peppers – Anthracnose fruit rot has been reported! Heavy rain and wind can cause pepper anthracnose to flare up quickly.
Growers with peppers in fields with a history of pepper anthracnose should scout on a daily basis and apply fungicides preventatively. Pepper anthracnose can be very difficult to control once established. Strip picking and removing all fruit from ‘hot spots’ when they first appear may help suppress spread of the pathogen. Preventative fungicide applications should begin shortly before or at flowering. Use a heavy volume of water and make sure coverage is extremely good. Apply high rates of chlorothalonil or Manzate weekly and tank mix and/or rotate weekly with one of the following FRAC group 11 fungicides: Priaxor (fluxapyroxad + pyraclostrobin, 11), Quadris (azoxystrobin, 11), or Cabrio (pyracolostrobin, 11). Please see the 2014 New Jersey Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations Guide for more information.
