We announced in a previous newsletter article that we are doing a survey to understand the extent of root-knot nematode (RKN) damage on vegetable crops in Indiana. Among the 18 soil samples from high tunnels of 14 farms, RKNs (juvenile or adult) were found in 13 samples at 9 farms. Only 3 farmers knew RKN…Read more about Root-knot Nematode may be a Hidden Problem in High Tunnels[Read More]
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For a few years, I participated in the Squash Hunger Trial led by Dr. Annette Wszelaki, where we grew a wide range of winter squashes at multiple states. One year, I failed to manage insects, leading to a squash bug and cucumber beetle outbreak. The insects defoliated leaves (Figure 1) and caused cosmetic damage to…Read more about What Happened to the Winter Squash?[Read More]
Pumpkin and winter squash should be harvested fully mature to reach their optimal quality and fulfill their potential shelf life. Characters indicating fruit maturity include loss of rind surface gloss, ground spot yellowing, and hardening of the skin to the level that it is resistant to puncture with a thumbnail. Except for some striped varieties,…Read more about Tips for Harvest and Postharvest of Pumpkin and Winter Squash[Read More]
For the second week in a row, the much-appreciated cooler temperatures remained from August 17-23. The preliminary state average temperature was 71.2◦F, which was 1.2◦F below the 1991-2020 normal. The largest temperature departures were observed in central and southern Indiana, where departures were up to 2.1◦F below normal. After a warm, wet beginning to August,…Read more about Cooler Temperatures and Below Normal Rainfall; Warmer Weather Returning August 24, 2022[Read More]
At Pinney Purdue (PPAC) bell peppers were harvested for the first time on August 15. Plants appear a little larger in the irrigated plots than in the unirrigated plots, but it is not obvious in photographs (Figure 1). Similar to what was observed at SWPAC, blossom end rot (BER) was much more common in the…Read more about Irrigation Demonstration Update July Aug. 24, 2022, Pinney Purdue Ag Center.[Read More]
The Aug. topic of Strawberry Chat is about plasticulture strawberry production. Our special guests were Brad Bergefurd, former Horticulture Specialist at The Ohio State University, Calvin Beasley from Beasley Orchard in Danville, IN, and Danny Vanmeter from Vanmeter Family Farm in Clarkston, KY. We discussed many important topics in plasticulture strawberry production, including site selection,…Read more about Strawberry Chat Plasticulture Production[Read More]
Throughout the growing season, vegetable crop farmers often report suspected herbicide drift injury. Each type of herbicide results in specific types of injury. Knowing what to look for can help us narrow which herbicide or herbicide mode of action could be responsible. To document how watermelon and pumpkin respond to various herbicides, we sprayed a…Read more about Pumpkin and Watermelon Herbicide Injury Symptoms – In Photos[Read More]
Recently, I have observed several pumpkin vines and fruit with Plectosporium blight. When I receive phone calls about Plectosporium blight, the caller often has trouble describing the disease. Indeed, the disease is difficult to describe. Therefore, I will include several photos with this article. Lesions of Plectosporium blight are most often observed on the stems…Read more about Plectosporium Blight of Pumpkin[Read More]
A major difference between drip irrigation and other irrigation methods is that drip irrigation applies water to only a portion of the soil. This works great for vegetables grown on the plastic mulch, since no irrigation water is applied between the row middles; water applied to row middles encourages weed growth. So, does the soil…Read more about Understanding Wetting Patterns in Drip Irrigation[Read More]
Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day will held Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at MSU Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center in Benton Harbor, MI. Registration and more information about the field day can be found at https://thelandconnection.org/event/2022-mmwcfd/ If you have questions about the field day, please contact Sam Oschwald Tilton (Sam.oschwaldtilton@wisc.edu), phone (608) 219-7775
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