Two types of injury on young warm-season vegetable plants are caused by low temperatures: frost/freezing injury and chilling injury. Frost/freezing injury occurs when temperatures drop below 32°F. Ice formation in plant tissue cuts cell membranes. When the tissue thaws, the damage results in fluids leaking from the cell, causing water soaked damage. Frost/freezing injury is…Read more about Protect Early Planted Warm-Season Vegetables from Low Temperatures[Read More]
Wenjing Guan
Vegetable Crops Hotline Editor & Clinical Engagement Associate Professor
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
Area(s) of Interest: Commercial Vegetable and Melon Production
Wenjing Guan's website
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
Area(s) of Interest: Commercial Vegetable and Melon Production
Wenjing Guan's website
Spring weather is unpredictable. One of the major risks associated with strawberry production is cold damage in the spring. Open strawberry flowers can not tolerate temperatures lower than 30°F, popcorn stage flowers and tight buds may tolerant temperatures low to 26 and 22°F, respectively. If strawberries are in the early blooming stage, the damage might…Read more about Strawberry Cold Protection Made a Difference[Read More]
Warm temperatures this week greatly encouraged strawberry growth and development. Some of the early cultivars may have entered the open blossom stage especially if they are grown with the annual plasticulture system in southern Indiana. Open flowers cannot tolerate temperatures lower than 30°F, while popcorn stage flowers (Figure 1) and tight buds may tolerant temperatures…Read more about Strawberry Growers Should be Prepared for Cold Protection[Read More]
We know from published research that the health and quality of a vegetable transplant affects how it will establish, grow, and yield in the field. Our recent work comparing tomato and cucurbit seedling growth in different organic growing media and with and without added fertilizer has provided some good examples of this. See Vegetable Crop…Read more about Vegetable Transplant Care Translates into Early Yield Differences[Read More]
Dear Vegetable Crops Hotline readers, Firstly, I want to let you know the status of a few Purdue Extension Events related to fruit and vegetable growers. That PSA Grower Training in LaGrange County that was planned on March 20 was canceled due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). A Strawberry Workshop that planned…Read more about Considerations for Fruit and Vegetable Growers Related to Coronavirus & COVID-19[Read More]
Dear Watermelon Growers, At our past winter technical meeting, several growers suggested fertilizer recommendations need to be reevaluated for watermelon production in our area. This suggestion is timely and critical. We plan to initiate a project for the 2020 watermelon production season to reevaluate the fertility and irrigation practices used in Indiana. We will identify…Read more about Watermelon Fertility and Irrigation Management[Read More]
Welcome to a new year of the Vegetable Crops Hotline (VCH), Purdue Extension’s newsletter for people in the business of growing vegetables. As usual, we will have fifteen issues throughout the 2020 growing season. The first issue of the year is sent to all who subscribed to VCH via US-mail in 2019 as well as new…Read more about Welcome to a New Year of the Vegetable Crops Hotline[Read More]
Tomato and Cucumber growers who are interested in grafting tomato and cucumber plants by themselves may find this information helpful. Step-By-Step instruction of how to graft tomato plants is available from Purdue Extension publication Vegetable Grafting: Techniques for Tomato Grafting https://mdc.itap.purdue.edu/item.asp?Item_Number=HO-260-W as well as a Purdue Extension video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ufx66Isf88 A cucumber grafting instruction was also…Read more about Learn How to Graft Tomato and Cucumber Plants[Read More]
Growing media for organic transplant production vary a lot in their chemical composition: pH, electrical conductivity, nutrient levels, and C:N ratio. This of course influences how seedlings grow. Knowing the characteristics of growing media can help growers decide whether adding nutrients or materials to adjust pH are likely to improve seedling growth. As part of…Read more about Submit Your Organic Transplant Growing Media for Chemical Analysis[Read More]
It is time to renew your Indiana Vegetable Growers Association (IVGA) membership for 2020. Please use the form attached to this newsletter or download from ivga.org/renewal.pdf and send in with your membership dues. About IVGA IVGA was established in the early 1900’s to be the Voice for Vegetable Growers in Indiana and is dedicated to…Read more about Indiana Vegetable Grower Membership Renewal[Read More]