A field day will be held on July 9 to share with the public the various research activities at the Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center in Vincennes, IN. The day will start at 7:30 A.M. with a health fair. Registration starts at 8:30 A.M. Presentation topics include: managing cucumber beetles while protecting bees, production of vegetables…Read more about Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center Field Day[Read More]
Vegetable Crops - General
On May 29, 2015, the EPA issued a proposal to protect bees from acutely toxic pesticides. As stated in the announcement, “EPA is proposing to prohibit the application of pesticides that are highly toxic to bees when crops are in bloom and bees are under contract for pollination services. These restrictions would prohibit application of…Read more about EPA’s Proposal to Protect Bees[Read More]
Indiana is working on a state pollinator protection plan, which is being spearheaded by the Office of the Indiana State Chemist with input from various stakeholders, including growers, farm chemical company representatives and beekeepers. A large part of the plan will involve protecting bees from pesticides. This plan is part of a national movement initiated…Read more about Notes on Recent Pollinator Health Initiatives[Read More]
During the past two weeks, I am aware of two beehives that were almost decimated when insecticides were used nearby. In both cases, the commercial applicators had used the DriftWatch program before spraying to look for sensitive crops or bees near the targeted crop. However, neither hive was recorded in DriftWatch. DriftWatch is a web-based program to help…Read more about DriftWatch.org Worth the Effort[Read More]
In March 2015 the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture appointed Dr. Petrus Langenhoven as Horticulture and Hydroponics Crop Specialist. During the past 18 years Dr. Petrus Langenhoven has dedicated his career to the development of the horticulture sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. His career started off at the Agricultural Research Council in Stellenbosch, South Africa….Read more about Exciting Future for Horticulture in Indiana[Read More]
A field day will be held on July 9 to share with the public the various research activities at the Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center in Vincennes, IN. The day will start at 7:30 A.M. with a health fair. Registration starts at 8:30 A.M. Presentation topics include: managing cucumber beetles while protecting bees, production of vegetables…Read more about Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center Field Day[Read More]
Samples in plug trays, as well as unrooted and rooted cuttings, and plants in pots require extra care when they are packaged for submittal to a diagnostic lab. Before you mail the next sample, please take a few minutes to review these suggestions for packaging and submitting samples. This will help preserve the integrity of…Read more about Tips for Submitting Greenhouse Samples to the Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab[Read More]
Purdue University and the Illiana Watermelon Association (IWA) are offering food safety audit cost-share programs to Indiana fruit and vegetable growers this year. Funds for the programs come from a grant from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture through the USDA Specialty Crops Block Grant Program. Through the Purdue program, Indiana fruit or vegetable growers…Read more about Food Safety Audit Cost-share and Consulting Program[Read More]
Some of the herbicides available for use on vegetables in Indiana are registered under a supplemental label or under a special local needs (SLN, 24(c)) registration. In these cases the instructions for use on vegetables are not on the main label that comes with the purchased product. For instance, in the Midwest Vegetable Production Guide,…Read more about Finding a Special Local Needs Pesticide Label Online[Read More]
Since the season of applying fungicides to vegetable crops has arrived, below I have listed 10 rules that will help vegetable growers apply fungicides effectively and safely. Apply fungicides prior to the development of disease. Although many fungicides have systemic (“kick back”) action they will not completely eradicate diseases after they have started. And by…Read more about 10 Useful Rules for Fungicide Applications[Read More]