This is the fourth article in a series that describes the three primary bacterial diseases of tomato: bacterial canker, bacterial speck and bacterial spot. This article is a general summary of management options for these diseases. All three of these diseases may be seed borne and brought into to field situation on transplants. It is[Read More…]
Solanaceous Crops
We received more than 8 inches of rain since the evening of July 24 at Southwest Purdue Ag Center. This article discusses a few plant physiological disorders we observed after the heavy rains. We noticed a large percentage of cracked fruit on tomatoes at the stem end (Figure 1). Fruit cracking is a physiological disorder[Read More…]
The following is an article in one of a series about bacterial diseases of tomato. Previously, articles about bacterial canker and bacterial spot have been featured here. The next article will be about general management methods for bacterial diseases of tomato. Bacterial speck causes lesions on all above ground portions of the tomato, in a[Read More…]
We observed a large amount of unmarketable pepper fruit hanging on the plants during on-farm visits and at the research farms recently. Damage appears on the sides or at the bottom of the fruit (Figure 1). The symptoms that occur at the fruit bottom are similar to tomato blossom end rot (BER), a plant physiological[Read More…]
At Pinney Purdue (PPAC) 1.66 inches of rain fell June 25 through July 11. The potential evapotranspiration (PET) over the period was 2.79 inches. Estimates for water use by the crops are lower than potential evapotranspiration because it is only 5 weeks after transplanting. For tomatoes, estimated water use was 2.01 inches, and for watermelons,[Read More…]
After planting on May 16, we only received 1.4 inches of rain in June. The early-setting tomatoes on plants grown on the unirrigated bed had more than 40% fruit blossom end rot (BER) (recorded on June 23). It was 3% on plants grown in a bed that received 17 irrigation events in June and 10%[Read More…]
The tobacco hornworm is one of the most devastating tomato pests in Indiana, if left unchecked. There are several natural enemies that help suppress this pest, such as stilt bugs (Figure 1), spined soldier bugs (Figure 2) and the parasitoid Cotesia congregata (Figure 3). Often, these natural enemies are not abundant until later in the[Read More…]
In the Midwest, three major bacterial diseases threaten tomato production. These diseases are bacterial canker, bacterial spot and bacterial speck. Although these diseases are all caused by bacteria, they vary in symptomology, biology and management options. In the last issue of the Vegetable Crops Hotline, we discussed bacterial canker. In this second in the series,[Read More…]
At Southwest Purdue Ag Center (SWPAC) and Pinney Purdue Ag Center (PPAC), we demonstrate irrigation impacts on several fruiting vegetable crops. Tomato, pepper, eggplant, watermelon, and cantaloupe are planted on plastic-covered beds with drip tapes. They grow on beds side-by-side with and without irrigation. We used two approaches to schedule irrigation, one bed is irrigated based on[Read More…]
In the Midwest, three major bacterial diseases threaten tomato production. These diseases are bacterial canker, bacterial spot and bacterial speck. Although these diseases are all caused by bacteria, they vary in symptomology, biology and management options. We will discuss symptoms, biology and management of the three bacterial diseases in a series of newsletter articles. This[Read More…]