As you prepare to fill your high tunnels and greenhouses or even field plots, take a close peek at the weeds in your area. There can be some sneaky pests that have overwintered on the plant material in and around your farm. In high tunnels in particular, I have recently found overwintering populations of two…Read more about Overwintering Pests[Read More]
Vegetable Crops - General
While not a new technology, I thought it timely to talk about the use of yellow sticky cards as a monitoring tool. These cards will not manage insect pests in your crops, but can be a very valuable monitoring tool in high tunnels and greenhouses. Many of the insect pests that migrate into our crops…Read more about The Utility of Yellow Sticky Cards[Read More]
In the October 2019 issue of the Vegetable Crops Hotline, I referenced the new regulatory changes to herbicides containing the active ingredient paraquat. One of the new requirements is for closed system packaging. To quote the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): “New closed-system packaging (is) designed to prevent transfer or removal of the pesticide except directly…Read more about A Look at the New Closed Transfer System for Paraquat-Containing Herbicides[Read More]
Meteorological winter (December-February) is finally over and we can start looking forward to spring. Across Indiana, winter brought above average precipitation (Figure 1), though below average snowfall. The temperatures were slightly above normal (2°F-6°F; Figure 2) with no record-breaking cold periods. Since there were so few colder-than-normal periods, the overwintering of pests and therefore increased…Read more about The Winter in Review with a Spring Outlook[Read More]
When houseplants and garden seedlings are kept too wet, roots can rot and the fungus that grows in the soil can feed fungus gnats. For houseplants, fungus gnats are usually just a nuisance. When growing seedlings or in a greenhouse adults can spread fungal diseases to flowers. Larvae can spread fungal diseases when they feed…Read more about Proper Watering Prevents Problems with Fungus Gnats[Read More]
One concern for every vegetable grower is finding solutions to pest management problems quickly. An example would be anthracnose of watermelon. You recognize the disease or you have had it officially diagnosed. Or perhaps you anticipate this disease every year and want to start applications of a fungicide early in the season. Where do you…Read more about New Searchable Midwest Vegetable Production Guide[Read More]
Growing media for organic transplant production vary a lot in their chemical composition: pH, electrical conductivity, nutrient levels, and C:N ratio. This of course influences how seedlings grow. Knowing the characteristics of growing media can help growers decide whether adding nutrients or materials to adjust pH are likely to improve seedling growth. As part of…Read more about Submit Your Organic Transplant Growing Media for Chemical Analysis[Read More]
This article introduces a new soil test for high tunnel growers. Why is there a need for a new soil test for high tunnel production? Soil tests are valuable tools helping growers decide how much fertilizers and/or other soil amendments to apply for growing a specific vegetable crop. It also helps growers to detect soil…Read more about A New Soil Test for High Tunnel Growers[Read More]
Beginning this month, Purdue Extension will offer produce food safety trainings throughout Indiana. The trainings utilize the Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) training curriculum and will be offered at multiple locations across the state. For produce farms that are covered under the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule, at least one manager or responsible person…Read more about Dates Announced for Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training[Read More]
As the production season winds down there are two weed-related news items that producers should be aware of: New Requirements for Users of Paraquat Herbicide. Paraquat dichloride is the active ingredient in products such as Gramoxone®, Devour®, Cyclone®, and Quik-Quat®. Earlier this year the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the following changes to paraquat requirements:…Read more about Weed Science Updates[Read More]