In addition to delaying much of our fieldwork, the cool set spring has wreaked havoc on some of the plants we have been able to squeeze in during brief dry periods. We have received reports of damage caused by seedcorn maggots (Figure 1) and wireworms (Figure 2). In preparation of this article I browsed the[Read More…]
In the past week, we have observed a few cases where newly planted watermelon seedlings were severely damaged or dead (Figure 1). In some fields, we observed rotted roots and lower stems caused by fungal pathogens. However, such diseases were in response to the cold soils and would not normally cause problems in warm soils.[Read More…]
I know this may not come as a surprise to most of you, but it is rare that we get to observe the effectiveness of insecticides in such a dramatic way as we encountered when visiting a melon grower in southern IN recently. And in this case, the decision to apply an insecticide at transplant[Read More…]
With the support of the Purdue Extension AgSeed Program, we are currently evaluating different production systems for growing strawberries in an open-field with plastic cultural systems for our area at Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center in Vincennes, IN. A day-neutral strawberry cultivar evaluation trial was established in the Spring of 2019. The evaluated cultivars include Portola,[Read More…]
Finally the time has come to plant warm season crops. Zucchini is a popular summer squash grown throughout Indiana and the United States. It always delivers a bounty of fruit. Yes, technically zucchini is a fruit (botanically classified as a modified berry) but as per the USDA it is listed under the ‘Vegetables and Vegetable[Read More…]
So far for the month of May, temperatures across the state vary by nearly 2˚F above normal in the southeast and almost 3˚F below normal in the extreme northwest. Similarly, the same trends can be seen in the Modified Growing Degree Days as they are based on temperature (Figure 1). The main story continues[Read More…]
Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center Field Day Date: June 27, 2019. Registration begins at 8:30 am. Location: Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center, 4669 N. Purdue Road in Vincennes, IN 47591 Topics related to vegetable production include: Organic Tomato Production: Dan Egel will discuss the Tomato Organic Management and Improvement Project — including foliar disease management of tomatoes. High[Read More…]
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