Found 1626 Articles

​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 about Tips for Submitting Greenhouse Samples to the Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab[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 about Watermelon Disease Update[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 about MELCAST[Read More]


Getting seedlings from the transplant tray into the field is essential for a good crop (Figure 1). Healthy transplants treated well will quickly establish themselves in the field, setting the foundation for a productive crop.​  Here I offer some suggestions for successful transplant establishment. Harden transplants by exposing them to higher light, cooler temperature, and…Read more about Successful Transplant Establishment[Read More]


Do you use cover crops in your vegetable operation? Dr. James Farmer, Assistant Professor at Indiana University, is looking for farmers who use cover crops to participate in interviews about the use of cover crops, education/training in using cover crops, and the outcomes of cover crop usage​. The interviews will be either in person or…Read more about Participants Needed for Cover Crop Interviews[Read More]


​Effective Management of Farm Employees – Webinar. Thursday, May 28, 2015. 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. EDT. Register at http://goo.gl/NvQ1eL. This webinar will be facilitated by Phil Durst and Stan Moore from Michigan State University. These Extension Senior Extension Educators will discuss the impact of personnel management on the engagement of employees based on phone…Read more about Upcoming Events – Managing Employees and GAPs A to Z[Read More]


​Symptoms of this disease include tomato plants with lower leaves that become yellow (chlorotic) and die; plants that begin to wilt; a lesion on the lower stem at ground level (Figures 1 and 2). If tomato plants are removed from the soil and carefully split open from the ground level, a discoloration of the vascular tissue…Read more about Fusarium Crown and Root Rot of Tomato[Read More]


​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 about Food Safety Audit Cost-share and Consulting Program[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 about Finding a Special Local Needs Pesticide Label Online[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 17, 2015, issue of the Hotline for 2015. So, how do we define early…Read more about Root and Seed Maggots[Read More]


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Page last modified: February 8, 2016

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