In a separate article in this issue, I discussed management of powdery mildew with conventional fungicides. Here I would like to talk about powdery mildew management of cucurbits with organically approved products. I will describe two studies, one with all organically approved products and a second with a combination of organic and conventional products. All…Read more about Organic Powdery Mildew Control[Read More]
Cucurbits
Late in the 2015 season, I observed some unusual symptoms of anthracnose on watermelon fruit. I wanted to discuss these symptoms, but first a little background of cucurbits. An extension bulletin on this subject may be found at https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/bp/bp-180-w.pdf. Anthracnose of cucurbits, caused by Colletotrichum orbiculare, is responsible for lesions on leaves, stems and fruit. Crops affected…Read more about Symptoms of Anthracnose of Watermelon on Fruit[Read More]
Pumpkin season is here. Keeping up with the best management practices through harvest and storage will help the year wrap up on a good note. The steps below are a reminder of actions that can make a difference. Handle fruit as little as possible. Harvest fully orange and healthy pumpkins. Half-orange pumpkins may turn orange,…Read more about Harvest and Post-harvest Care for High Quality Pumpkins[Read More]
I have observed this disease in several pumpkin fields this year. It is not clear to me why this disease seems to be more widespread compared to recent seasons. However, it makes sense to review Plectosporium blight here. Plectosporium blight is usually not a serious disease. The occurrence of this disease is usually sporadic. However, when…Read more about Plectosporium Blight[Read More]
When used as a verb, to rogue means to get rid of items that don’t conform to a certain standard. In plant pathology, the word rogue is used to describe a technique whereby diseased plants are removed or rogued to slow the spread of disease. I’d like to describe the practice as it might be used…Read more about Roguing as a Tool to Manage Phytophthora Blight of Pumpkin[Read More]
Downy mildew has been confirmed on jack-o-lantern pumpkins in Daviess and Jasper Counties and on acorn squash in LaPorte County. These are the first confirmed reports of this disease on Cucurbita pepo in Indiana in the 2015 season. There are unconfirmed (but reliable) reports of downy mildew on pumpkins in Parke, Washington, and White Counties. This disease has…Read more about Downy Mildew of Cucurbit Update[Read More]
On July 22, I announced that downy mildew had been observed on watermelon in Knox County in southwestern Indiana. This article in the Vegetable Crop Hotline issue 603, https://ag.purdue.edu/hla/Extension/VegCropsHotline/Pages/Latest-Articles.aspx?article=118, describes the outbreak and management options. Downy mildew has now been reported on cucumber and cantaloupe in Knox and cucumber in La Porte County Indiana and pumpkin in Jasper County….Read more about Downy Mildew Update[Read More]
Code Red Webinar. Thursday, August 27, 2015. 12:00 P.M. – 1:00 P.M. EDT. The Code Red tool developed by the Purdue Women in Agriculture Team is a must have for every family, business, and farm operation. The tool includes important information such as passwords, bank account information, rental agreements, insurance papers, power of attorney documents,…Read more about Upcoming Events[Read More]
We have received a number of reports of outbreaks of spider mites, primarily in watermelons and in high tunnels. The problems in high tunnels are not unexpected because one of the primary causes of mortality in mite populations is rainfall washing them off the plants and, of course, that is lacking completely in high tunnels….Read more about Spider Mites[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 about Green Stink Bug[Read More]