The seedcorn maggot, Delia platura, is one of the first pests that will cause damage to vegetables in the spring in our region. This fly, which resembles a house fly but is smaller (Figure 1), begins to emerge from the overwintering pupal stage in the soil in early spring. Upon emergence, the flies quickly aggregate[Read More…]
Onions
The Purdue Small Farm Education Field Day is presented on July 27, 2023, at the Purdue Student Farm in West Lafayette, IN. Registration for the field day is now open. To reserve your spot, visit https://cvent.me/ewWN3b. Students register for free! Please get in touch with Lori Jolly-Brown to receive the discount code for student registration.[Read More…]
Onions are poor competitors with weeds. Their narrow leaves do not compete well for light, and their shallow root system makes them poor competitors for water. Tight in-row and between-row plant spacing make mechanical weed control, including hand-weeding, difficult. Chemical weed control can be effective and reduce the amount of time required to hand-weed onions.[Read More…]
The warm weather of late did not only pull us out of our winter slumber but definitely awoke some of our overwintering pests as well. Cucumber beetles and seedcorn maggots are likely on the hunt for food, and your early-season crops may be exactly what they are looking for. Striped cucumber beetles (Figure 1) are[Read More…]
The 2022 Purdue Small Farm Education Field Day was a big success. Nearly 72% of attendees reported that they learned something new. Nearly half indicated they plan to adopt recommended practices for diversified farming systems, and over a third (36.0%) plan to adopt recommended practices for creating, improving, or strengthening their business. Half (52.0%) indicated[Read More…]
The 2022 Purdue Small Farm Education Field Day was a big success. Nearly 72% of attendees reported that they learned something new. Nearly half indicated they plan to adopt recommended practices for diversified farming systems, and over a third (36.0%) plan to adopt recommended practices for creating, improving, or strengthening their business. Half (52.0%) indicated[Read More…]
What is Optogen®? The active ingredient in Optogen® (Figure 1) is bicyclopyrone. Corn growers may recognize bicyclopyrone as one of the four ingredients in Acuron® herbicide. Bicyclopyrone is a Group 27 herbicide with pre- and post-emergence activity on select weed species. Group 27 herbicides inhibit an enzyme known as “HPPD”, resulting in an inhibition of[Read More…]
In November of last year, a grower brought onion samples to my attention. The samples had been stored on a greenhouse bench after harvest. A black mold had developed on many of the onions. Some of the onions appeared to have developed rotten areas on the top of the onion at the neck (Figure 1).[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…]
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…]