This is a newly released video about when to plant watermelons. https://youtu.be/tHT2mAnNRWk Watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber plants are very sensitive to low temperatures. Even when frost has passed, soil temperatures below 60°F can result in transplant establishment failure. Check soil temperatures before planting. The rule of thumb is to plant watermelon, cantaloupe and cucumber transplants when…Read more about When to Plant Watermelons[Read More]
Cucurbits
Dear Watermelon Growers, At our past winter technical meeting, several growers suggested fertilizer recommendations need to be reevaluated for watermelon production in our area. This suggestion is timely and critical. We plan to initiate a project for the 2020 watermelon production season to reevaluate the fertility and irrigation practices used in Indiana. We will identify…Read more about Watermelon Fertility and Irrigation Management[Read More]
Warm-season vegetables like tomato, cucumber, pepper etc. often receive premium prices if they were sold at farmers’ markets earlier in the season. The same happens on summer squash, with the different fruit shape and color, summer squash provides a great diversity to the market. High tunnels that are planted with warm-season vegetables are often closed…Read more about Summer Squash Cultivar Selection for High Tunnel Production[Read More]
Thanks to the support from NC-SARE, we are going to continue the study of evaluating grafted cucumbers for early season production in greenhouses and high tunnels by collaborating with farmers in 2020. You can find our 2019 on-farm trials’ summary here: https://ag.purdue.edu/arge/swpap/Documents/Summary%20of%202019%20On-farm%20Grafted%20Cucumber%20Trials.pdf. The same as in previous years, we are going to supply grafted and…Read more about Call for Growers’ Participation of Grafted Cucumber Research[Read More]
You may be seeing a few “stink bug-like” insects crawling around on your cucurbit crops this time of year. However, these slightly more slender insects are not stink bugs, they are actually squash bugs. Similarly to stink bugs though, they do give off quite an odor when crushed! Squash bug adults and nymphs (immatures) (Figures…Read more about Do You Need to Squash those Bugs on Your Pumpkins?[Read More]
Winter squash – butternut, acorn, and kabocha – in our downy mildew sentinel plot at Pinney Purdue were showing some wilted and stunted plants by late July (Figure 1). They are easily pulled up, the stem breaking off at ground level, revealing a brown stringy decayed-looking stem base (Figure 2). Sometimes there is a little…Read more about Wilting Cucurbits! What could it be?[Read More]
I have observed this disease in scattered commercial pumpkin and squash fields across Indiana. Symptoms: Bacterial spot causes ⅛-¼ inch angular leaf lesions that are white to light brown in color (Figure 1). These leaf lesions may be accompanied by yellowing (chlorosis). The more important symptom are the lesions on fruit that are scabby to…Read more about Bacterial Spot of Pumpkin[Read More]
Cucurbit downy mildew has been observed on cucumber in the southwest corner of Michigan, just across the border from La Porte County and LaGrange Counties, Indiana. All cucurbit growers in Indiana should be scouting for downy mildew. Cucurbit growers in northern Indiana should be managing for downy mildew. The organism that causes downy mildew of…Read more about Downy Mildew of Cucurbits in Michigan[Read More]
Powdery mildew is particularly severe in high tunnel and greenhouse growing conditions (Figure 1). It affects a wide range of crops including tomatoes and cucumbers. In addition to using synthetic fungicides to control this disease in high tunnels, we found powdery mildew on cucumbers can also be effectively controlled through variety selection and intensive plant…Read more about Variety Selection is Important for Managing Cucumber Powdery Mildew in High Tunnels[Read More]