This disease has been reported in two different greenhouse situations. Although the disease is not usually economically important, a brief review of the disease is offered here to help tomato growers differentiate pith necrosis from more important problems. Tomato pith necrosis causes dark brown streaks on tomato stems and leaf petioles (Figure 1). Often stems may[Read More…]
Dan Egel
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…]
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…]
Many cantaloupe and watermelon growers have planted transplants in the field or will soon. A question many growers often have is when and how should one apply fungicides. Applying fungicides according to a weather-based system is easy for cantaloupe and watermelon growers. MELCAST was developed at Purdue University by Rick Latin to allow growers to[Read More…]
Most watermelon growers are in the process of placing transplants in the field. I have received several commercial samples of transplants still in trays prior to out-planting. The two diseases I have observed so far are gummy stem blight and bacterial fruit blotch. Below, I discuss these two diseases as well as management options. Gummy stem blight on[Read More…]
Symptoms of this disease include tomato plants with lower leaves that become yellow (chlorotic) and die; plants that begin to wilt; a lesion on the lower stem at ground level (Figures 1 and 2). If tomato plants are removed from the soil and carefully split open from the ground level, a discoloration of the vascular tissue[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…]
This time of year, I receive many questions about what fungicides to apply. I get fewer questions about how to apply fungicides. Below, I will try to address how to apply fungicides. Many years ago, I was told that to successfully use fungicides on vegetables, one must use high spray pressures and hollow cone nozzles. However, I had[Read More…]
Last year at the Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center (SWPAC) we conducted a tomato high tunnel trial described here. In this article, I would like to talk about the trial we will conduct in 2015, a repeat of the 2014 trial. In particular, I would like to talk about what we have done for fertility.[Read More…]
This is the time of year when growers often call to complain about tomato transplants that do not look right. One possibility is that the seedlings suffer from heater problems. In particular, tomato plants are very susceptible to damage from the gas ethylene. In Figure 1, some of the seedlings have leaves that are curled down and stems that are twisted (epinasty in[Read More…]