Bacterial wilt is a serious pest of cucumbers and melons. This disease is caused by the bacterium, Erwinia tracheiphila. However, it is spread by the striped or spotted cucumber beetle. Most management schemes have concentrated on controlling the cucumber beetle in order to lessen the severity of bacterial wilt. Currently, management of bacterial wilt often…Read more about Susceptibility of Melon Varieties to Bacterial Wilt[Read More]


This disease was recently observed in a tomato greenhouse. This article will review tomato spotted wilt virus symptoms, biology and management. Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) and the closely related Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) are usually observed in greenhouse or high tunnel situations. Both TSWV and INSV affect many hosts, including vegetables and flowering…Read more about Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus[Read More]


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 tissues cut 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]


Chilling injury occurs when temperatures are above 32°F and below 55°F. The plant tissue becomes weakened that leads to cellular dysfunction. The most noticeable visual symptom of chilling injury is leaf and hypocotyl wilt (Figure 1). This is caused by the rapid decline in the ability of roots to absorb and transport water. It also…Read more about Chilling Injury on Young Warm-season Vegetable Plants[Read More]


Basic Aspects of High Tunnel Soil Fertility Management – (Petrus Langenhoven, plangenh@purdue.edu, 765-496-7955) – Spring has arrived! Every high tunnel grower is now thinking of planting summer vegetable crops in high tunnels or has already planted. Whichever scenario applies to you, I hope that you have submitted soil samples or are in the process of…Read more about Basic Aspects of High Tunnel Soil Fertility Management[Read More]


Great information on pest management of brassica crops can be found at the Brassica Pest Collaborative website (https://ag.umass.edu/vegetable/resources/brassica-pest-collaborative). This project recently conducted several online workshops on managing insect pests of brassicas, including imported cabbageworm, cross-striped cabbageworm, cabbage maggot, flee beetle. All the webinars should be posted on the above website after April 12.  


Dual Magnum® has had a special local needs (24C) label in Indiana for use on transplanted bell peppers and other vegetables for a number of years. Last week the label was amended to include additional small fruit and vegetable crops, including asparagus. The new 24C label is available on the National Pesticide Information Retrieval System…Read more about Dual Magnum Indiana 24C Label Amended to Include More Crops[Read More]


The rain seems to keep falling, barely providing time for things to dry out and start planting!  The last few weeks has experienced up to 2” above normal precipitation – particularly for west-central and southern Indiana, which is near the 125th-125th percentile. Warm days seem to be relatively few and far between, causing a slow…Read more about Indiana Climate and Weather Report[Read More]


On April 1, 2019, Dr. Hazel Wetzstein, Head of the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, announced a change in leadership for the Indiana Horticulture Congress. “I am pleased to announce that Petrus Langenhoven and Kyle Daniel have agreed to serve as Co-Chairs for the Indiana Horticulture Congress, effective immediately. They bring a wealth of…Read more about New Leadership Appointed for the Indiana Horticulture Congress[Read More]


A research team at Purdue University invites you to participate in a survey of specialty crops growers to better understand your production and marketing challenges. This survey will help us identify future production and marketing research to help support growers like you. The survey takes approx. 10-15 minutes. Take the survey: http://bit.ly/purduesurvey Your responses are…Read more about Survey to Your Production and Marketing challenges[Read More]


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Page last modified: April 12, 2019

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