Dear Valued Vegetable Crops Hotline Readers,
Welcome to this issue of the 2026 Vegetable Crops Hotline newsletter! Our mission remains steadfast: to deliver crucial updates on pest management, production practices, food safety, and marketing opportunities that directly impact your farming operations.
Growers and Purdue Extension Educators, your input and expertise make this newsletter a truly useful resource. If you have hot topics you’d like us to cover, success stories to share, or questions for our Extension specialists, please email Petrus langenhoven or reach out to the specialist directly. We also welcome high-quality photos of pest issues, unusual symptoms, or innovative production practices you’ve implemented on your farm.
What’s Inside This Issue
This week’s Vegetable Crops Hotline issue covers four topics for Indiana vegetable producers. With watermelon and cantaloupe transplanting wrapping up and above-normal rainfall creating favorable conditions for disease, growers are reminded to initiate fungicide applications preventively and to record their first spray date when using the MELCAST system to track Environmental Favorability Index values. Resources are available through Extension bulletin BP-67-W and the MELCAST website. The Purdue cut flower team shares mid-season observations from demonstration sites in Vincennes, Indianapolis, and West Lafayette on cool-season species including snapdragon, stock, and ornamental cabbage, with the southern Indiana site currently ahead of the others in bloom development. Registration is now open for both the Purdue Fruit and Vegetable Field Day (July 16, Meigs Horticulture Research Farm, Lafayette, $48) and the Purdue Small Farm Education Field Day (July 23, Purdue Student Farm, West Lafayette, $48), each running 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and featuring demonstrations on topics ranging from high tunnel pest management and Scotch bonnet pepper variety trials to cut flower production, low tunnel construction, and postharvest sanitation. On the weather front, statewide temperatures averaged about 2°F below normal over the past 30 days, with Modified Growing Degree Day totals since April 1 ranging from roughly 150 units in northern Indiana to nearly 980 in the south. Finally, mark your calendars for the 2027 Indiana Horticulture and Small Farm Conference, scheduled for January 26–28 in Danville, Indiana.
Subscription Information
Hard Copy Subscribers
If you need a hard-copy subscription form and don’t have internet access, please contact your nearest Purdue Extension office. Extension Educators, please download the hard-copy subscription form.
Digital Subscribers
If you receive the newsletter via email, you do not need to take any action. You will continue to receive the newsletter on the issue date.
New digital subscribers can now register their email address
In addition, digital subscribers receive emails with information about articles or announcements that need your immediate attention. These articles will be posted under Hot Topics on the VCH webpage and will be included in the next issue. All previous articles published in the VCH newsletter are available on the Vegetable Crops Hotline website.
Website Links in Newsletter Articles
We frequently include links to websites or online publications. If you can’t access these resources, don’t hesitate to contact your local Purdue Extension office or us to request a hard copy of the information.
Midwest Vegetable Production Guide
The 2026 Midwest Vegetable Production guide is now available for growers, or you can download and print a guide from your computer. The guide is also available for $20 per copy. Contact your Extension Office or Stephen Meyers directly to buy a copy.
Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports
Are you still considering purchasing vegetable seeds? The Midwest Vegetable Trial Report features many articles to help you make an informed decision. The resource also hosts production-related research results.
Best regards,
Petrus Langenhoven, Editor
Clinical Assistant Professor and Vegetable Extension Specialist
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
Purdue University