Cantaloupe
In the last issue of the Vegetable Crops Hotline, I wrote an article about common diseases of cantaloupe and watermelon transplants. Based on the samples I have received over the last few days, I would like to write about a disease that is not usually a problem: angular leaf spot. Angular leaf spot affects all[Read More…]
1. What caused the water-soaked stem of this watermelon transplant? A-damping-off B-gummy stem blight C-Lightening strike Correct Answer: B 2. Is this problem likely to spread to other transplants? Yes 3. Will this problem likely spread in the field? Yes More information about gummy stem blight can be found in the article Cantaloupe and Watermelon[Read More…]
Each and every spring we get reports of poor seed emergence, seedling and transplant damage in early planted crops of all sorts. Most recently in untreated sweet corn, home gardens and transplanted onions. Lucky for us, we got to dive right into this pest and see them in action, but not so lucky for the[Read More…]
I know this may not come as a surprise to most of you, but it is rare that we get to observe the effectiveness of insecticides in such a dramatic way as we encountered when visiting a melon grower in southern IN recently. And in this case, the decision to apply an insecticide at transplant[Read More…]
On Friday, April 12, the FDA and CDC announced an outbreak of Salmonella Carrau in pre-cut melon products distributed by Indianapolis-based Caito Foods. While an Indiana company has been implicated in the outbreak, the melon product used to create the pre-cut products were not from Indiana and were likely imported from outside of the United[Read More…]
Bacterial wilt is a serious pest of cucumbers and melons. This disease is caused by the bacterium, Erwinia tracheiphila. However, it is spread by the striped or spotted cucumber beetle. Most management schemes have concentrated on controlling the cucumber beetle in order to lessen the severity of bacterial wilt. Currently, management of bacterial wilt often[Read More…]
Watermelon harvest is in full swing in southern Indiana. At this time, we frequently see many types of leaf symptoms. Some of them are caused by foliar diseases, such as anthracnose, Alternaria leaf blight and gummy stem blight. These diseases require special attention, normally in the form of fungicide sprays, to slow spread of the[Read More…]
MELCAST is a weather-based disease-forecasting program that helps growers schedule foliar fungicides. MELCAST stands for MELon disease forCASTer. This program, designed by Dr. Rick Latin, Professor of Plant Pathology at Purdue University, keeps track of weather conditions so that cantaloupe and watermelon growers can apply foliar fungicides to their crops when they are most needed.[Read More…]
This article provides more detailed information about this herbicide. How does Chateau® herbicide work Chateau® is a group 14 mode-of-action herbicide. Compounds in this group are most active on broadleaf weeds. Before Chateau® became available, no other preemergence herbicide with the same mode of action was labeled for use in watermelons and cantaloupes. The active[Read More…]