Cover crops should be killed at least a couple of weeks before planting vegetables. That will give the cover time to partially decompose, and time for any cutworm larvae that may be in the crop to die or pupate. If wet weather delays killing or incorporation of cover crops, the time between incorporation and planting may be shorter than normal, or the cover crop may be larger than normal. There are implications for pest, nutrient, and cover crop management. Black cutworm moths prefer to lay eggs in vegetated areas, including fields with cover crops or weeds. They typically show up in early May. To track black cutworm moth catches in pheromone traps throughout the state, refer to the Purdue Pest & Crop Newsletter at http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/pestcrop/2015/index.html. If larvae are present in the cover crop and they survive until the cash crop is planted or emerges, they may cause serious stand loss.[Read More…]
32 articles tagged "Soil Fertility and Fertilizers".
Sometimes newly transplanted crops don’t take off like we’d expect. Consider the newly transplanted tomato seedlings in these images. In Figure 1, lower leaves are chlorotic (yellow) and leaflet edges and leaves curl downward. In Figure 2, lower leaves are chlorotic or bleached and some had necrotic (dead) spots. In Figure 3, some leaves have died and others have ‘scorched’ margins or tips. Figures 1 and 2 are from a high tunnel; Figure 3 is from the field. What they have in common is that the tomato plants are not thriving after transplanting. It may be hard to say exactly what is going on with each of these, but it would not be surprising if they were cases of over application of a fertilizer or soil amendment, leading to toxicities for the plant. Ammonium toxicity is common when soil is cool and wet, soil pH is low, and there is[Read More…]
