Americans are eating more greens, and salad mixes (i.e., spring mix, salad kits, packaged salad) are among the top drivers of this increased consumption. Salad mixes include different varieties of lettuce, spinach, cabbage, arugula, and other leafy greens. Salad mixes have gained popularity as a modern alternative to traditional vegetables, primarily due to their nutritional[Read More…]
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Striped (Acalymma vitattum; StCB) and, to a lesser extent, spotted (Diabrotica undecimpunctata; SpCB) cucumber beetles are damaging pests on crops in the family Cucurbitaceae (e.g., cucumber, squash, pumpkin, watermelon). These pests not only inflict severe damage to various plant parts, including roots, leaves (Figure 1), flowers (Figure 2), and fruits (Figure 3), but transmit the[Read More…]
Background Sweet potato is a staple crop that provides nutritional benefits to humans globally, but weed interference (Figure 1) can reduce yields by 22 to 90%. Despite increased organic sweet potato production in the United States, growers face challenges with limited weed management options and often resort to cultivation and hand-weeding. Objectives and Methodology To[Read More…]
What is integrated management? Regardless of the size of a farm, crops grown, or growing practices, integrated pest management (IPM) is a framework that can be used by all growers. The idea of IPM is that you are taking measures at all stages of production and utilizing a variety of tools to minimize the damage[Read More…]
There is some very exciting news this week for Indiana with respect to the U.S. Drought Monitor. For the first time since April 25, 2023, the entire state is void of any Abnormally Dry (D0) or Drought (D1-D4) conditions. I would include the map, but … drumroll, please … there’s nothing to show! This is[Read More…]
Harvesting of high tunnel-grown strawberries has started from southern to central Indiana. Early cultivars in open-field plasticulture are fruiting in southern Indiana, with harvest right around the corner. The crops are generally a week earlier than last year. Late cultivars, second-year patches, and fields covered with straw in the winter are slightly lagging behind. Moving[Read More…]
There was an interesting conversation among drought experts this week about how best to communicate drought, particularly when surface conditions appear so saturated. I thought of Indiana a lot during this discussion because with all the rain the state has received over the last several weeks (over twice the normal amount!), there is localized flooding,[Read More…]
Welcome to the Vegetable Crops Hotline (VCH), Purdue Extension’s exclusive newsletter for people in the business of growing vegetables. This issue is packed with information. We are featuring several articles on weeds, including weed management in vegetable systems, how insects benefit from winter weeds, and a weed spotlight article on Common Chickweed. The insect spotlight[Read More…]
In addition to frost protection, disease management is pivotal during the blooming stage, particularly concerning gray mold (caused by Botrytis spp.) and Anthracnose. To protect the fruit, fungicide application should commence at or even before blooming. The pressure of both diseases is heavily influenced by weather conditions, with Botrytis favoring wet and cool climates and[Read More…]
Grafted plant use is increasing rapidly but is still far below its estimated potential Grafting makes one plant out of two, the root system coming from the rootstock and the above-ground fruiting portion from the scion. Grafted planting stock is the norm in many areas of the world, and although it is less common in[Read More…]
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