Purdue University and the Illiana Watermelon Association (IWA) are offering food safety audit cost-share programs to Indiana fruit and vegetable growers this year. Funds for the programs come from a grant from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture through the USDA Specialty Crops Block Grant Program. Through the Purdue program, Indiana fruit or vegetable growers[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…]
The cool, wet weather we have been having is perfect for the root and seed maggots in early planted vegetables. I have already received calls about onion maggots. If you are planting early vegetables, check out the article in the March 19 issue of the Hotline for 2015. So, how do we define early planted[Read More…]
For most insect pests, we have some viable options to manage them organically. For years we have been looking for an organic solution for striped cucumber beetle and bacterial wilt on melons and cucumbers. It appears that we now have a viable option. There is a relatively new product, Cidetrak D, manufactured by Trece, which[Read More…]
Some of the herbicides available for use on vegetables in Indiana are registered under a supplemental label or under a special local needs (SLN, 24(c)) registration. In these cases the instructions for use on vegetables are not on the main label that comes with the purchased product. For instance, in the Midwest Vegetable Production Guide,[Read More…]
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