Watch for Phytophtora Blight

Phytophtora Blight in pepper.

Phytophtora blight of pepper, eggplant, and cucurbit crops is favored by warm, wet weather; poorly-drained soils and poor crop rotations. Once established in a field the pathogen can survive for many growing seasons. Look for blackish-brown stems on wilted plants.
-Andy Wyenandt

Cucumber Downy Mildew Seen in North Carolina

Cucumber Downy Mildew Infected Leaf

Cucurbit downy mildew has been found as far north a North Carolina this summer. It is no immediate threat to our region to date.
-Andy Wyenandt

Track cucurbit downy mildew on-line!

Vegetable growers and cucurbit enthusiasts can track the progress of cucurbit downy mildew development in the U.S. by visiting the cucurbit downy mildew forecasting website hosted by North Carolina State University. Individuals can keep track recent outbreaks and see what the potential threat is to New Jersey and mid-Atlantic region. Please check out the following link!
http://cdm.ipmpipe.org/
-Andy Wyenandt

Mandatory E-Verify bill proposed in Congress

Mandatory E-Verify bill gives agriculture businesses extra time to comply, find legal workers

By Associated Press, Tuesday, June 14, 2011

 

WASHINGTON — A bill that would require U.S. businesses to use a government database to verify that new workers are in the country legally is giving the agriculture industry a slight break.

The Legal Workforce Act [sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas] would give the agriculture industry, where labor, industry and government officials say the vast majority of workers are illegal, three years to screen all new hires to make sure they are eligible to work in the U.S. The remaining employers would have two years to comply.

 

The rest of the article can be read here: 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/mandatory-e-verify-bill-gives-agriculture-businesses-extra-time-to-comply-find-legal-workers/2011/06/14/AGDcu7UH_story.html

Rick VanVranken

Reducing Potential for Plastic Burn

Though not as susceptible
as peppers, tomatoes,
eggplant and squash trans-
plants can suffer plastic
burn on bright sunny, high
temperature days.

If you are using plastic mulch for weed suppression and water management, and less so for earliness because you're planting later in May and on into the summer months, black is probably not the best option in southern NJ, especially if the weather predictions indicate higher than normal heat patterns. Actually, it only takes a day of bright sun and high temperatures soon after transplanting to cause plastic burn.
--Rick VanVranken

Pest Alert: European Corn Borer (ECB) in Sweet Corn

For more than a decade, a general decline in ECB adult moth populations and larval infestation rates have been seen in most crops. Generally entomologists in the eastern US are attributing this long decline in ECB to increased production of BT field corn which would be a dead end host for the pest. An adult moth population bucking this trend is widely observed this spring 2011. The reasons are unclear but it is a fact. Growers are advised to scout all whorl and pre-tassel fields.

Two New Sources of Information about BMSB

The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug is expected to inflict serious crop damage again this year. Brown Marmorated Stink Bug has a very wide host range including many horticultural crops and ornamentals. Two new sources providing timely information about this pest can be found on the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug page, Rutgers NJAES Snyder Research & Extension Farm Website.

• IPM Update: BMSB Activity for the Week. Kris Holmstrom, Vegetable IPM Program,  reports capture data throughout the season in the Plant & Pest Advisory.
• Penn State Extension has gathered information about the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in a special issue of the Fruit Times.

-Rabin