I really thought I was staying ahead of the insects in my crucifer greens pretty well, but as you can see from my ravaged arugula plant (Figure 1), I was wrong! It’s that time of year again when holes may be appearing in your favorite crucifer crops, including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, arugula, Brussel sprouts…and[Read More…]
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Cool nights have finally arrived after the first week of October. Before, we had quite a few days when temperatures were above 90°F. The unusual high temperature has caused problems on early-planted broccoli. Broccoli is a heat-sensitive crop. The critical period for heat sensitivity is when plants shift growing tips from vegetative growth to flower[Read More…]
Bolting of crops overwintered in high tunnels is common in the spring. ‘Bolting’ refers to lengthening and blooming of the flowering stalk. Bolting is often a problem because the quality of the marketable part of the plant declines. Also, plants subject to bolting are programmed to die once they complete flowering and seed production so[Read More…]
A fall broccoli trial was conducted in a high tunnel at Southwest Purdue Ag Center in 2016 to test the potential of growing broccoli in high tunnels after tomatoes. This article describes what we found from the trial. Broccoli is a cool-season, frost-tolerant crop. The harvest portion of broccoli is the compact, slightly dome-shaped head[Read More…]
There are three important caterpillar pests of crucifers in Indiana, the imported cabbageworm, the cabbage looper, and the diamondback moth. Each of these caterpillars will feed on leaves and heads. All are capable of producing serious damage to most crucifers. The adult imported cabbageworm is a common white butterfly with black spots on the forewing[Read More…]
Many of our vegetable crops are attacked by one or more species of flea beetles (Figure 1). All species do similar types of damage, chewing small holes in the leaves. Damage is most important on young plants or transplants, so growers should watch young plants carefully. Fortunately, flea beetles are easy to control. Sevin®, the[Read More…]
Crucifers such as cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli are frequently attacked by a variety of caterpillars, with the most important being the imported cabbageworm, diamondback moth, and cabbage looper. The first caterpillar pest to attack crucifers is the imported cabbageworm. The adult stage is the common white butterfly that you will see flying around your field[Read More…]
Three species of seed and root maggots attack vegetables in Indiana. The seedcorn maggot (Figure 1) feeds on seeds and seedlings of sweetcorn, cucurbits, lima and snap beans, peas, and other crops. Cabbage maggots can cause serious damage to transplants of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts and make the fleshy roots of radishes, turnips,[Read More…]
I have seen more green stink bugs this year than at any time in my career. I have no logical explanation for their abundance. It was thought that as the invasive brown marmorated stink bug became established, it might outcompete the native stink bugs such as the green stink bug, causing numbers to decrease. However,[Read More…]
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