European corn borers used to be a serious pest of peppers. The larvae would burrow into the fruit under the cap, making it difficult to cull out infested fruit. With the widespread adoption of Bt corn by agronomic farmers, populations of corn borers have been greatly reduced. However, it appears that in the last couple[Read More…]
Articles from 2017
123 articles found.
Manganese toxicity is a common problem for cantaloupes growing in sandy soils across southwestern Indiana. Because symptom of manganese toxicity can easily be confused with foliar diseases, growers may misdiagnose the problem and waste fungicides by spraying for nonexistent diseases. As we now know that manganese toxicity is a nutrient related disorder caused by low[Read More…]
In the past few weeks, we have received several reports about blossom end rot on tomatoes and peppers as the crops start to set fruit. Blossom end rot is a physiological disorder (not an infectious disease) that commonly occurs on tomatoes and peppers. Initial symptoms of the physiological disorder include dark green or brown water-soaked leisure[Read More…]
I have observed very few foliar diseases of cucurbits this season. However, I have had several worried phone calls about these diseases, so here is an update. Alternaria leaf blight-this disease is caused by a fungus that survives in crop residue. It usually is not an important disease. However, Alternaria can cause brown lesions with[Read More…]
We are seeing small caterpillars feeding on tomato leaves in high tunnels at Pinney Purdue. The first sign may be feeding partially through the leaf, or ‘windowpane’ feeding, or small holes on the leaf. By turning the leaf over we find a yellowstriped armyworm or hornworm (Figures 1 and 2). In the morning, we find[Read More…]
When we first began working in high tunnels about 8 years ago, most of the popular literature said that the tunnels would provide protection from most insect pests, other than the usual greenhouse pests like aphids and mites. What we found very quickly is that that information was untrue. We found very high populations of[Read More…]
In southern Indiana, we are between generations of striped cucumber beetles. That doesn’t mean there are none out there, but numbers are lower than they were and lower than they will be. The second generation should be coming out soon. Northern areas are a little behind. The biggest concern we have with the first generation[Read More…]