Squash bugs and cucumber beetles (both spotted and striped) are in full swing this time of year on your cucurbit crops. We no longer have to worry about flowers developing into harvestable fruits, so it is a time that you need to think strategically about insect pest damage thresholds in relation to the decision to…Read more about Late Season Pest Management in Pumpkins[Read More]
Pumpkins
In the next month, many growers will start to plant pumpkins. This article will introduce aspects of disease management of pumpkins prior to the growing season. The information below is discussed under several of the most common diseases of pumpkins in Indiana. The objective of this article is to discuss what diseases are more likely…Read more about A Brief Primer on Disease Management of Pumpkin[Read More]
While it is not so much of a problem on large farms, with many acres of cucurbits, small farms and organic growers tend to be the most impacted by this pest. The squash vine borer (Figure 1) is a member of the clear-winged moths, a unique group of moths that are active during the daytime….Read more about Looking for Squash Vine Borer (SVB) Trapping Collaborators[Read More]
Downy mildew of cucumbers has been observed in Knox County. This disease has not been observed on pumpkins, but it is possible for downy mildew to spread from cucumbers to pumpkins. Therefore, pumpkin growers should scout for downy mildew and manage for the disease depending on their situation. Pumpkin growers who plan to harvest mid…Read more about Downy mildew of Pumpkin: What to Look for[Read More]
In the last several days I have received complaints of pumpkin plants with yellow leaves. Growers want to know if the yellow is a symptom of disease and what can be done about it. Yellow lesions on leaves may be symptoms of disease. There can be many reasons why pumpkin plants have yellow leaves. Usually,…Read more about Yellow Leaves on Pumpkin[Read More]
For some, we may often forget about the pesky squash vine borer until it’s too late. This pest of cucurbit crops tends to be sporadic in our region; you are either battling it every year or it hardly makes an appearance. And, unfortunately, our urban farmers tend to get hammered. While it is not so…Read more about Time to Scout for Squash Vine Borer (SVB)[Read More]
Pumpkin planting is right around the corner. The recent Vegetable Beet Podcast produced by Great Lakes Vegetable Producers Network featured Brad Bergefurd from The Ohio State University and Nathan Johanning from University of Illinois talking about Pre-season Pumpkin Tips. They shared many of their insights in planting spacing, fertility management, weed control, no-till etc. A…Read more about Pumpkin Resources[Read More]
In a recent Hoosier Ag Today/CCSI Soil Health Podcast, Stephen Meyers of Purdue Horticulture and Dan Perkins of Perkins Good Earth Farm covered spring management of cover crops on vegetable farms. They discussed a variety of methods for terminating: flail mowing and tarping, roller-crimping, tillage, and killing with herbicide. They pointed out that decisions about…Read more about Cover Crops in May: Soil Health Podcast on Spring Management and Observations of Winter Rye at Pinney Purdue[Read More]
At the Pinney Purdue Ag Center in northern Indiana we had plots in 2020 with no-till sweet corn, pumpkins and winter squash following a rye cover crop. As is common when adapting new planting and tillage systems, we had both challenges and successes. Check out the video presentations to see photos of the plots, and…Read more about No-till Sweet Corn, Pumpkin and Winter Squash after Winter Rye – Reports from 2020[Read More]
This time of year you are likely getting bogged down in the fight against pests. The accumulation of plant pathogens, insects, and climatic conditions favoring their growth can make the last few weeks of harvest feel like the toughest point in the battle. For cucurbit growers in particular, there are a number of insect pests…Read more about Cucumber Beetles Just Don’t Quit![Read More]