I have received calls about seedcorn maggots in melons and have seen wireworm damage in my research plots in Vincennes. Seedcorn maggots are usually associated with cool weather since the adult flies will not lay their eggs near melons plants when the soil temperature exceeds 70°F. So the cool weather we have had this past[Read More…]
In March 2015 the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture appointed Dr. Petrus Langenhoven as Horticulture and Hydroponics Crop Specialist. During the past 18 years Dr. Petrus Langenhoven has dedicated his career to the development of the horticulture sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. His career started off at the Agricultural Research Council in Stellenbosch, South Africa.[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…]
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…]
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…]
Samples in plug trays, as well as unrooted and rooted cuttings, and plants in pots require extra care when they are packaged for submittal to a diagnostic lab. Before you mail the next sample, please take a few minutes to review these suggestions for packaging and submitting samples. This will help preserve the integrity of[Read More…]
2015 marks the 40th year of my career as an entomologist and I still am surprised on a regular basis by how insects behave. I put out a corn earworm pheromone trap on May 14 and immediately caught 7 moths that night. Over the next three nights, I caught 36 moths. Typically, the few earworms[Read More…]
Striped cucumber beetles are emerging from their overwintering habitat in southern Indiana. This pest can damage cucurbit crops in several ways. One that I saw this week is that they can kill young transplants by their direct feeding. Of more critical concern usually is their ability to transmit the bacterium that causes bacterial wilt of[Read More…]
It’s early in the growing season, but I am already receiving calls about aphids on melons. We had lots of problems with aphids in 2013 and not very many last year. Particularly at this time of year, I’m recommending Assail® for aphid control on melons for several reasons. First, it does an excellent job killing[Read More…]
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