Southwest Purdue Ag Center High Tunnel Tour Date: June 13, 2018 7:00-9:00 pm Eastern Time Location: Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center, 4369 North Purdue Road, Vincennes, IN, 47591 The SWPAC high tunnel tour will be held on the evening of June 13, 2018. Attendees will have the opportunity to see a wide range of research projects…Read more about Upcoming events[Read More]
Many pesticides for use on vegetables have varying rules for use in different states. This article will review the different classes of labels for pesticides and where to find labels online. The shorthand names for classes of labels come from the section of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act that governs each class. National…Read more about Finding Pesticide Labels for State-specific Registrations[Read More]
I have recently received a number of calls from growers about how to prune determinate tomatoes in a stake and weave system. Although this is relatively easy compared to how to prune indeterminate tomatoes with a trellis system, there are a few things I would like to call to your attention. What to prune The…Read more about Prune Determinate Tomatoes[Read More]
I recently encountered some lesions of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV) that appeared relatively large and had a ring-like structure. I was able to confirm the presence of the virus, but at first glance, the lesions could be mistaken for a very common tomato disease: early blight. This article will describe how the foliar lesions…Read more about Tomato Lesion Primer[Read More]
One of the most problematic insect pests that organic vegetable growers have to deal with is the striped cucumber beetle. The insect feeds on all the cucurbit crops, but can be particularly devastating to muskmelons and cucumbers because those two crops are susceptible to bacterial wilt of cucurbits, which is caused by a bacterium carried…Read more about Organic Control Methods for Striped Cucumber Beetles[Read More]
The Midwest Vegetable Production Guide for Commercial Growers 2018 (ID-56) was printed in December 2017. At the same time, the on-line version was posted at mwveguide.org. As updates need to be made to the ID-56, I will make those updates to the on-line version. I will announce these updates in the Hotline as I post…Read more about Updates to the Midwest Vegetable Production Guide[Read More]
Today, seven out of 10 Americans use social media to share information, find entertainment, and engage with businesses (Pew Research Center, 2017). Social media have become an important information source for Millennials; yet, Baby Boomers and Generation Xers are significantly increasing their use of Facebook and other social media platforms. Among social media platforms, Facebook…Read more about 5 Social Media Best Practices to Help You Increase Sales[Read More]
Entomologists are looking for growers willing to participate in research examining the detection and distribution of striped cucumber beetles. We would like to visit your fields on multiple occasions this year to count the number of cucumber beetles we encounter in your crop. If you grow slicing cucumbers in the field, and are interested in helping to improve…Read more about Entomologists Looking for Cucumber Beetles[Read More]
It’s that time of year, where we are prepping high tunnels and getting back into the full swing of production, slowly, here in the Midwest. Many of you have already begun to transplant and may have encountered your first pests on these new crops. Aphids are one that remain a problem in high tunnels, and…Read more about Aphids in High Tunnels[Read More]
One way insects communicate with individuals of the same species is with pheromones. Pheromones are volatile chemicals released by an insect that usually can be detected only by individuals of the same species. There are a number of different types of pheromones, but the most common type is the sex pheromone. Usually the females will…Read more about Pheromones and Pheromone Traps[Read More]