CROP TALK - UConn Extension

UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SYSTEM AND DEPARTMENT OF PLANT SCIENCE
CROP TALK
COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE AND FRUIT CROPS NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 11, ISSUE 2 — MAY 2015
IN THIS ISSUE
New Powdery Mildew Fungicide for Cucurbits…………...…..1, 3
Differentiating Between Beneficials and Fruit Pests…….….2, 6
NEW POWDERY MILDEW
FUNGICIDE FOR CUCURBITS
By: Jude Boucher, UConn Extension, Commercial Vegetable Crops
National News…………………………………………………………………...3
Dodging Basil Downy Mildew……………………………………….…….4
Have You Seen This Beetle?...................................................5
Processing Food for Sale …………………………………………….……..6
Growing Vegetables in the Greenhouse……………………………..7
Weed Management Update 2015……………………………….……..8
Sign Up to Receive Emails…………………………………………………..8
Spinach Crown Mite…………………….……….……………………...……9
Twilight Meeting: Understanding Irrigation Systems…………10
Low Vegetable Insect Pest Pressure In 2014………………………11
New England Tree Fruit Guide Available…………………………...12
Calendar of Events
> May 14th & May 19th
Processing Food for Sale from Your Connecticut
On-Farm Residential Kitchen
9:00 am to 2:00 pm
Middlesex County Extension Center
1066 Saybrook Road, Haddam, Connecticut.
Pre-registration is required and space is limited.
> May 20th
Twilight Meeting: Understanding Irrigation Systems
5:00-7:00pm
Holmberg Orchards
12 Orchard Lane, Gales Ferry, CT
(More Details on pg. 10)
> June 23rd
Growing Vegetables in the Greenhouse
9:00am-4:00pm
The CT Agricultural Experiment Station
123 Huntington Street, New Haven, CT
(More Details on pg. 7)
There is a new fungicide registered for powdery mildew (PM) control of cucurbit crops for 2015. Vivando was formerly only registered on grapes but has received a national supplemental label for
all major groups of cucurbits, apricots, cherries, hops and peaches.
Vivando has a different mode of action from other registered fungicides on cucurbits and is in a new resistance group (U8).
Meg McGrath, from Cornell’s Long Island Horticultural Research
Station, has included it in her fungicide efficacy trials for pumpkins,
winter squash and muskmelons for the last few years and has
shown that it “exhibits excellent control” of PM. It now represents
another family of mobile fungicides that is capable of targeting this
disease on the underside of leaves where PM gets started. Because
mobile fungicides tend to be very prone to resistance problems and
this product targets only powdery mildew, it will be necessary to
rotate to other groups of mobile fungicides often and to mix it with
a good preventative fungicide for resistance management and to
control other important diseases on cucurbit crops.
The IPM program in CT has advocated starting your fungicide program when you find PM on the bottom of one leaf out of 50 older
leaves scouted per week, then rotating through each family of mobile fungicides over the course of the summer for full-season crops
like pumpkins and winter squash. The mobile fungicide should be
mixed with a fungicide that will provide some control of PM and
the other major fruit rot diseases, such as black rot, Plectosporium
and scab. When you run out of mobile fungicide groups switch to
sulfur for PM and a broad spectrum fungicide to control the fruit
rot disease complex. Sulfur will provide the best under-leaf control
of PM of all the protectants. This type of program has been providing IPM growers with 95-100% marketable fruit for years (see
‘Effects of Fungicide Timing and Tillage on Resistant Pumpkins’ on
the UConn IPM Web Site, www.ipm.uconn.edu/).
One example of this type of spray program that combines great
Continued on page 3
Page 2
Differentiating Between Beneficials and Fruit Pests
By: Mary Concklin, Visiting Extension Educator, Fruit Production & IPM
Spring is the beginning of pest activity around fruit and also the time when we see many beneficials begin to move in to blocks or
up out of the grass into trees. Can you identify the beneficials from the pests? It is important to know what they look like in order
to protect them because, as Huffaker once said, “When you kill the natural enemies of insects, you inherit their work.” And who
needs more work??
Take this short picture quiz to check your knowledge. Answers at the end of the article.
Which insect is the BMSB (pest) and which is the Spined Soldier bug (beneficial)?
Which is the mite pest and which is the predatory mite?
Good or bad insect?
Good or bad insect?
Continued on page 6
V O LU M E 1 1 , N U M B E R 2 M A Y 2 0 1 5
Page 3
New Powdery Mildew Fungicide for Cucurbits (CONTINUED)
efficacy and resistance management would be to make applications at 10-day intervals with: Vivando (group U8) + Bravo, Torino
(U6) + Bravo, Quintec (13) + Cabrio, Procure (3) + Bravo, then sulfur and Bravo. Note: Quintec is not registered for summer
squash and cucumbers, but is registered for all the full-season cucurbits (pumpkins, melons, gourds, and winter squash).
Photo by: J. Boucher (Powdery Mildew on a pumpkin handle)
Meg McGrath lists the following PM products for organic producers:
sulfur, copper, horticultural oils (i.e. JMS Stylet-oil), potassium bicarbonate (ie. MilStop), and biologicals /microbials (e.g. Actinovate,
Double Nickel, Regalia, Seranade Opti, and Sonata). Note: copper
may cause phytotoxicity on many pumpkin varieties. Do not mix
Vivando with horticultural oils.
References:
McGrath, M. T. . 2015. Managing Cucurbit Powdery Mildew Successfully in 2015. Cornell Extension Fact Sheet. hhtp://
vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/
McGrath, M. T. and K. A. LaMarsh. Efficacy of Fungicides for Managing Powdery Mildew in Pumpkins, 2014. Plant Disease Management Reports 9: V030
McGrath, M. T. and K. A. LaMarsh. Efficacy of Fungicides for Managing Powdery Mildew in Pumpkins, 2013. Plant Disease Management Reports 8: V204
McGrath, M. T. and L. K. Hunsberger. Efficacy of Vivando for Managing Powdery Mildew in Cucurbit Crops, 2011. Plant Disease
Management Reports 6: V007
NATIONAL NEWS

New Bean Varieties Withstand Extreme Heat
Plant breeders at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) have been working to develop a bean–once feared to be
a casualty of climate change–that can withstand extreme temperatures. They announced the discovery of 30 new types of
"heatbeater" beans. They were developed by crossing common beans—pinto, white, black, and kidney—and the tepary bean.
The new heat-tolerant beans may be able to handle an increase in average world temperatures of 7.2°F.

Leaf Odor Attracts Spotted Wing Drosophila
The spotted-wing drosophila (SWD) has become a major pest of fruits in some areas of North America and Europe. It lays its eggs
in fresh and ripening fruits, rendering them unsuitable for sale or processing. As reported in the Journal of Chemical Ecology,
scientists in Germany have identified a leaf odor called betacyclocitral that attracts SWD, but no other related drosophilids. They
also found that SWD responded more strongly to odors that were emitted by plants during the early stages of fruit ripening and
less strongly to plants with fermenting fruits. The authors speculate that SWD may act as an evolutionary bridge between fruitcentered and herbivorous species within the Drosophila genus. Their research results may help to develop more efficient traps in
order to simplify SWD monitoring.
*Excerpted from Utah Pests News Volume IX, Spring 2015
Page 4
Dodging Basil Downy Mildew
By: Margery Daughtry, Cornell University. Long Island Horticultural Research & Extension Center
The downy mildew of basil is known to be spread via seed as
well as on cuttings or plants (Garibaldi et al., 2004) (FarahaniKofoet et al., 2012). A source of clean seed would be a tremendous improvement in the current situation. Tests made on European seed sources using PCR determined that P. belbahrii was
detected in 80-90% of commercial seed sources tested, and 522% of the sampled plants grown from these seed lots developed disease when planted out (Farahani-Kofoet, 2012). There is
some evidence that the pathogen may survive more than one
year in infested seed. Cut stems of basil are also shipped as produce to grocery stores from one country to another, and downy
mildew could easily be moved in the food supply in this way.
ment would thus be greatest for growers during the production of very young basil plants where the majority of the foliage would be exposed to lights. Both fluorescent and incandescent lighting give the suppressive effect.
A 2012 comparison of fungicides in the field for control of basil
downy mildew, again under Florida conditions (Raid et al.,
2013) saw excellent control under very heavy disease pressure
from a number of fungicide treatments, and slight control
from ProPhyt at 3.0 pt/100 gal. The highly effective treatments, reducing severity to 0-3% (when there was 93% disease severity in the nontreated controls), were Revus SC at 8.0
fl oz, Ranman SC at 2.75 fl oz, and Quadris SC at 15.2 fl oz. Of
these highly effective materials, only Ranman (cyazofamid)
and Revus (mandipropamid) are labeled in such a way as to
allow greenhouse use on basil. Revus may not be used for
transplant production. Phosphorous acid materials such as
Phostrol, Fosphite and K-Phite may be rotated with Ranman
and Revus in the greenhouse.
Growers in greenhouses manage the disease to some extent by
maintaining low humidity in their greenhouses and avoiding condensation during the night, but this is difficult to achieve.
In the meantime, researchers in Israel have taken a new approach (Cohen et al., 2013a). Studying the effects of lighting on
basil infected with downy mildew has led to a practical way to
reduce epidemics. By lighting basil plants (grown at 59F or higher) at night, sporulation of the pathogen was suppressed. Red
light was the active wavelength. Sporangiophores formed, but
no sporangia (spores), in the presence of 3.5 micromoles.m2.s-1.
The technique has been trialed under field conditions in Israel,
using 4-10 micromoles m2.s-1 from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am to delay
and decrease losses to downy mildew. In one case, at 18 days
after planting, the light-exposed plants showed no disease, while
control plants showed 32% infection. In another, exposure to
light at 10 micromoles.m2.s-1gave 95.6% protection at 17 days,
slipping to only 78.6% protection 12 days later. The reason for
the eventual loss of benefit is that the effect of night interruption on spore production only affects plant tissue that is directly
illuminated: the effect is not translocated to other areas of the
leaf that are shaded by a leaf above. The benefit of this treat-
Photos By: J. Boucher, UConn Extension
Cohen, Y., Vaknin, M, Ben-Naim, Y., Rubin, A.E. 2013a. Light
suppresses sporulation and epidemics of Peronospora belbahrii. PLoS ONE 8(11):e81282. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0081282
Farahani-Kofoet, R. D., Romer, P. and Grosch, R. 2012. Systemic spread of downy mildew in basil plants and detection of the
pathogen in seed and plant samples. Mycol. Progress. DOI
10.1007/s11557-012-0816-z
Garilbaldi, A., Minuto, A., Gullino, M-L. 2004. Seed transmission of Peronospora sp. of basil. Journal of Plant Diseases and
Plant Protection 111:465-469.
Raid, R. N., Raid, S. and Hartman, D. 2013. Evaluation of fungicides for control of downy mildew on sweet basil, Fall 2012.
PDMR 7:V146
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V O LU M E 1 1 , N U M B E R 2 M A Y 2 0 1 5
WANTED: Have You Seen This Beetle?
By: Jude Boucher , UConn Extension, Commercial Vegetable Crops
The short-winged blister beetle, Meloe campanicollis is in the genus know as oil beetles, because they exude a yellowish
liquid when handled. The liquid contains cantharidin, a substance known to blister the skin when handled and is toxic to
livestock. This species is unusual in that the adult tends to feed on plants in late fall and winter. Last fall I visited a farm
that was having a problem with something feeding on their Brassica crops and leaving just the center vein of the leaves (see
fig. upper right), similar to the damage that a rabbit might make. We determined that the damage was being caused by this
large (>1”) metallic-blue beetle, which the grower said had been building up on his farm for the last two or three years.
Due to the late frost last fall, there were a number of crops still growing on the farm, but the insect seemed to be targeting
his Brassica crop beds exclusively, even though the different Brassica crops were interspersed between other crops. Have
you seen this beetle on your farm, and if so, on what crops?
This beetle has an interesting life-cycle. The larvae inhabit the burrows of solitary bees while feeding on both the bee larvae
and their provisions. Newly hatched beetle larvae crawl up a weed or flower and attract bees, which they attach to for
transport to a nearby burrow. The beetle larvae then transform from a tiny, thin body-shape to plump grub–like larvae built
for feeding. They can consume all the food meant for the immature bees, and the bees too.
CHECK OUT THE INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT WEBSITE!
WWW.IPM.UCONN.EDU
Page 6
For Immediate Release
April 27, 2015
Processing Food for Sale from Your Connecticut
On-Farm Residential Kitchen
Are you a farmer interested in processing jams, jellies, acidified foods (pickles, relishes), or maple syrup from your on-farm residential kitchen? Connecticut regulations allow farmers, using the fruits and vegetables they grow, to manufacture these foods in
their home kitchen with the intent to sell them at farmers markets or on-farm stands or retail operations.
The University of Connecticut Extension, in cooperation with the University of Rhode Island, is conducting a two day workshop to
help farmers considering starting a small food processing business in their residential kitchen. The course will be held May 14 and
19 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Middlesex County Extension Center, 1066 Saybrook
Road, Haddam, Connecticut. Preregistration is required and space is limited.
Session 1, on May 14th will address exploring the on-farm value added food production
as a business option. This session will include: what you should know about regulations
and on-farm processing; understanding the potential food safety risks in your on-farm
processing kitchen; managing a risky food business with risk management planning; and
considerations when you want to scale up to produce a larger quantity and/or variety of
products. This session is geared to help farmers determine the costs and benefits of
starting a home kitchen-based food processing business—to help them make decisions
about going forward.
Session 2, on May 19th, will address product, process, and facility food safety controls for the residential farm kitchen. This session
will include: sanitation for the residential processing kitchen; canning processes and food safety controls for jams, jellies, acidified
foods and maple syrup; and writing a food safety plan. We will also demonstrate how to test sanitizers for concentration and how
to use a pH meter.
To register by May 8 or to answer questions you may have about the course, contact Diane Wright Hirsch, Extension Educator at
diane.hirsch@uconn.edu or by phone at 203.407.3163.
Differentiating Between Beneficials and Fruit Pests (Continued)
Answers are:
(1) the insect on the left is the Spined Soldier Bug, Podisus maculiventris – an excellent beneficial insect that is a native and loves
moth and beetle larvae although they will also feed on other insects. The insect on the right is the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug,
an invasive insect that has now become an agricultural pest with a wide host range including ornamentals. You can tell them apart
by looking at the shoulders, the antennae and the band around the edge of the abdomen.
(2) European red mite (pest) on the left and Stigmaeid mite, Zetzellia mali and Agistemus fleschneri (predatory mite) on the
right. The Stigmaeid mites feed on eggs and young ERM and Rust mites.
(3) This is a good insect - the larval stage of the Ladybug. It is not very attractive but is a tremendous beneficial feeding on a wide
range of insect pests. Knowing how to identify the different developmental stages of beneficials will reduce the likelihood of destroying them. And, ugly doesn’t mean bad.
(4) This is also a good insect - the egg stage of the Lacewing. This egg was found attached to a peach suspended on a long filament. Although the egg is not the life stage that is beneficial, it is a life stage that is important to recognize because the larval and
adult stages feed on insects.
Remember, if in doubt about the identification of insects, mites, diseases, nutritional problems or other abiotic disorders, send me
an email and I will help you figure out what is present. Taking a few moments to learn what it is may save you time and money in
the long run as well as potentially increasing the beneficial population on your property.
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V O LU M E 1 1 , N U M B E R 2 M A Y 2 0 1 5
Growing Vegetables in the Greenhouse
June 23, 2015, New Haven, CT
Who should attend: New or experienced greenhouse growers interested in creative ways to grow vegetables in the greenhouse.
Location: Jones Auditorium, The Connecticut Agriculture Experimental Station
Address: 123 Huntington Street, New Haven CT
9:00 – 9:30 AM
9:30 – 10:00 AM
10:00 –10:30 AM
Registration
UConn Extension Farm Risk Management Program Update
Maintaining Root Health in Hydroponic Systems*
10:30 –10:40 AM
Coffee break
10:40 –11:40 AM
Conventional and organic fertilization of hydroponic
lettuce*
Yield response to supplemental lighting.
Neil Mattson, Ph.D.
Cornell University
11:40 –12:10 PM
A basic overview of CropKing hydroponic food production systems
Lunch:
Opportunities for the Greenhouse Industry in the State
of Connecticut
J. Paul Brentlinger,
President CropKing, Inc
12:50 – 2:00 PM
From Flowers to Food
Peter Konjoian, Ph.D.
Konjoian’s Floriculture Education Services
2:00 – 2:30 PM
Risk of foodborne pathogens: Are There GAPs In Your
Greenhouse?*
Coffee break
Grower Panel:
Our Experience Growing Greenhouse Vegetables*
Diane Hirsch, MPH, RD
University of Connecticut
Meeting Adjourn
Diane Karabin,
President CGGA
12:10 – 12:50 PM
2:30 – 2:40 PM
2:40 – 3:40 PM
3:40 – 4:00 PM
Joe Bonelli,
University of Connecticut
Rosa Raudales, Ph.D.
University of Connecticut
Steven Reviczky, Commissioner
CT Dept. of Agriculture
Moderator: Rosa Raudales
Panel:
Ben March, March Farms
Bruce Gresczyk Jr., Gresczyk Farms
Sal Gilbertie, Gilbertie’s Herb Gardens
and PETITE EDIBLES
* Credits for pesticide recertification will be provided (approval pending)
Registration: RSVP before June 15 at $25 per person; After June 15 or at the door $30 per person.
Contact Susan Pronovost at ConnGreen@aol.com or (203) 261– 9067
Cost includes Lunch. Please make checks payable to: Connecticut Greenhouse Growers Association
This Program is Co-Sponsored by:
Page 8
WEED MA NAGEME NT U PDA TE 20 1 5
By: Richard Bonanno, UMass Extension. Compiled by Katie Campbell-Nelson, UMass Extension Vegetable Notes Volume 27,
Number 3
In 2015 there are a few new herbicide options for vegetable crops including a section 3 label and a 24c label expansion for Dual
Magnum. The section 3 labels are usually available for full, nationwide use, while a 24c label is restricted based on local state
needs determined by EPA or liability determined by the company. Dual Magnum (metolachlor) has a section 24c registration in
Massachusetts and New Hampshire ONLY for the following crops: asparagus, beets, leafy brassica greens, broccoli, transplanted
and direct-seeded cabbage, carrots, cucumber, garlic, melons, dry bulb and green onions, bell pepper, spinach, Swiss chard,
pumpkins, caneberry, highbush blueberry. Regular section 3 registrations include beans, sweet corn, potato, pumpkin, and tomato.
Dual provides excellent control of annual grasses, hairy galinsoga, nightshade, and yellow nutsedge. To access the Section 24c
labels, go to www.farmassist.com. Under “products”, select “indemnified labels” (you will be prompted to register a login name
and password), select “Massachusetts” or “New Hampshire” and “Dual Magnum”. Fill in the required information and print the
label. Always read and follow all Worker Protection Standards information on the label. This information can be found in the
Agricultural Use Requirements box.
Prowl H2O (pendimethalin) registered crops include: asparagus, beans, corn, melons, onions, peas, potato, pepper, sunflower,
brassica head and stem, carrots, garlic, leek, eggplant, tomato, grapes, pome and stone fruits and strawberries. It can be either
pre-plant incorporated or applied to the soil surface prior to transplanting. If applied to the soil surface, treated soil falling into
the transplant hole may delay crop growth. Preplant incorporated treatments are generally safer.
Prowl may be surface applied between plastic mulch, however, do not apply over the top of pepper plants and do not apply
within 60 days of harvest. While similar, an advantage over Treflan is that Prowl will control velvetleaf. Prowl is also good on
lambsquarters, including triazine-resistant lambsquarters.
There are some new options for sweet corn weed management. As long as the corn is planted at least 1 inch deep, Zidua
(pyroxasulfone) provides residual control of yellow nutsedge, crabgrass, panicum, foxtails, and barnyardgrass as well as the
broadleaves: pigweed, carpetweed, nightshade, and purslane. It provides weak control of lambsquarters. No surfactant is needed, and Zidua is a little safer to use in early, cold soils than Prowl for other crops. New sweet corn varieties are on the market that
will tolerate either Liberty (Rely, glufosinate) or Roundup (glyphosate). These sweet corn varieties are “Liberty Link” which has
both Bt and resistance to glufosinate stacked traits, and “Seminis Performance Series Sweet Corn” which also has resistance to
glyphosate and Bt stacked. No refuge is required because of short growing time of sweet corn compared to field corn, but stewardship requires the grower to disc in stalks after harvest. Field corn growers using these technologies have reduced their
herbcide use by 33% to 50%. Using a residual herbicide at planting is still a useful option followed by a postemergence application of either Liberty or Roundup depending on variety.
When tank mixing pesticides, mix in the proper order. The order is Wettable Powders (WP), Water Dispersible Granules (WDG),
Flowables (F) (DF) (SC), Water-dispersible liquids (AS), Emulsifiable Concentrates (EC), and Solutions (S). Always follow the pesticide label when using adjuvants such as spreader stickers, surfactants, etc. When suggested, use the right product at the right
rate.
Page 9
V O LU M E 1 1 , N U M B E R 2 M A Y 2 0 1 5
UCONN PLANT DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY REPORT
RECEIVED: April 16, 2015
DATE OF REPORT: April 16, 2015
HOST PLANT
DESCRIPTION
DIAGNOSIS
Spinach ‘Tyee’
Deformed new growth.
Spinach crown mite (Rhizoglyphus sp.)
SAMPLE PHOTOS:
Photos from upper left: Symptom overview, mites on inner leaves (arrows), masses of spherical, transparent mite eggs
in very young leaves, crown mite magnified view showing hairs typical of the spinach crown mite.
DESCRIPTION & RECOMMENDATIONS:
The spinach crown mite is most problematic under cool and damp conditions and in the presence of high organic
matter. Control measures for organic growers focus on sanitation and crop rotation along with trying to minimize favorable conditions. Azadiractin is recommended in one of the fact sheets linked below but any products used must be
labeled for the pest and the plant in CT.
More information:
http://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/might-be-mites/
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r732400111.html
Report prepared by:
Joan Allen, Plant Diagnostician, UConn Plant Diagnostic Laboratory
1380 Storrs Rd., Unit 4115 Storrs, CT 06269-4115 Phone: 860-486-6740 Email: joan.allen@uconn.edu
Page 10
UConn Extension’s Vegetable & Fruit Program
Presents
Twilight Meeting: Understanding Irrigation Systems
May 20th 5:00 – 7:00 pm
Holmberg Orchards, 12 Orchard Lane, Gales Ferry, CT
Trevor Hardy of Hollis, NH's Brookdale Fruit Farm will describe what you need to know
about trickle and overhead irrigation for your farm. He designed the systems for Holmberg Orchards fruit and vegetable plantings and will show you important components, filter systems, and
discuss calculations for flow, head and capacity. He travels with a variety of parts and components
and will discuss assembly and maintenance.
Brookdale Fruit Farm is a multi-generational family owned farm comprising 400 acres of tree
fruit and vegetables in Hollis, NH. 12 acres and 4 greenhouses are currently USDA certified organic.
Trevor has 20 years of experience running a farm irrigation supply business as an additional enterprise at Brookdale Fruit Farm.
Workshop Contacts:
Jude Boucher, UConn Extension, Commercial Vegetable Crops Educator jude.boucher@uconn.edu
Mary Concklin, UConn Extension, Commercial Fruit Educator mary.concklin@uconn.edu
*To register please send your full name, address, phone number and email address to MacKenzie White,
mackenzie.white@uconn.edu by May 19th. There is no charge to attend this workshop.
Food and beverage will be provided.
Directions: From I-395 take Exit 79A for Rt. 2A (East). After crossing over the Thames River take a
right on Rt 12 south. After you cross over the water again the farm will be on your left.
This institution is an equal opportunity employer and program provider.
Page 11
V O LU M E 1 1 , N U M B E R 2 M A Y 2 0 1 5
Exceptionally Low Vegetable Insect Pest Pressure In 2014
By: Jude Boucher, UConn Extension, Commercial Vegetable Crops
As a seasoned veteran who has been vegetable farming
for many years, you may have wondered what happened
to all the bug pests last season? You may have also wondered if they were at low population levels just on your
farm, or in the whole state, or even the whole region.
Well if you guessed the whole Northeast, you were probably right! My colleague and fellow entomologist, Joanne Whalen, from the University of Delaware, did an
informal survey of the Extension Vegetable and Field Crop
Specialists from around the region and asked if each of
the major crop pests were at high, medium, or low population levels or “not found.” She got responses from Extension Specialists in CT, DE, MD, PA, NJ, NY, VA and WV.
Since I was inside for the whole season due to an injury, I
used the weekly farm reports that many of you supplied
for the IPM Pest Message last summer to answer her
questions.
Of the 30 vegetable insect or mite pests that she asked about only wireworms, spider mites, cucumber beetles, sap beetles, thrips
and aphids were at even a moderate population level in at least half the states. Only thrips and spider mites were ranked at high
levels in multiple states (only 2 states each). With the exception of cucumber beetles, even these 6 pests were at low levels in 2 to
4 of the states that responded. The majority of the Specialists ranked the other 24 pests at low population levels or not found at all
last year. Results were similar for 22 field crop pests.
Joanne attributed the exceptionally low pest pressure to the severe winter of 2013-2014. Well, here in CT the 2014-2015 winter
was much more severe than the previous year, and half the winter was snow-free, exposing the insects to some record low temperatures. With the exception of flea beetle populations, where fairly accurate predictive models exist, I learned a long time ago
not to try to predict pest populations based on winter weather. However, we can always hope that low overwintering populations
to begin with, and a second severe winter, has dealt a mortal blow to many of the pests of summer. Well, we can hope can’t we!
Photos by: J. Boucher, UConn Extension
Crop Talk Editors / Contributors
2015 New England Tree Fruit Management Guide
Jude Boucher, Commercial Vegetable Crops, UConn Extension,
(860)870-6933, jude.boucher@uconn.edu
Now Available
A collaboration of tree fruit specialists in all six New England
states, and with Cornell University, the 2015 New England
Tree Fruit Management Guide (NETFMG) is a must-have for all
commercial orchardists. It includes chapters on: Integrated
Crop & Pest Management; Organic Tree Fruit Production in
New England; Pesticide and Sprayer Information; Characteristics of Crop Protectants Used on Tree Fruits; Disease, Insect,
Weed, Wildlife, and Nutrient Management; and specific spray
management recommendations for Apples, Pears, Cherries,
Peaches and Nectarines, Apricots, and Plums and Prunes.
For a hardcopy, send a check for $35 made out to “UConn”
to UConn Communications and Information Technology,
1376 Storrs Rd. U-4035, Storrs, CT 06269-4035.
An Equal Opportunity
Employer and
Program Provider
Mary Concklin, Commercial Fruit Crops, UConn Department of Plant
Science and Landscape Architecture (860)486-6585,
mary.concklin@uconn.edu
MacKenzie White, Newsletter Layout, mackenzie.white@uconn.edu
Administrative Officers
Gregory Weidemann, Dean, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Michael P. O’Neill, Associate Dean and Associate Director, UConn
Extension
Bonnie E. Burr, Assistant Director & Department Head, UConn Extension
Cameron Faustman, Associate Dean for Academic Programs and
Director, Ratcliffe Hicks School of Agriculture, Storrs Agricultural
Experiment Station
Richard McAvoy, Department Head, Department of Plant Science and
Landscape Architecture
The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes. The recommendations contained are based on the best available knowledge at the time of publication. Any reference to commercial products, trade or
brand names is for information only, and no endorsement or approval is intended. The Cooperative Extension System does not guarantee or warrant the standard of any product referenced or imply approval of the
product to the exclusion of others which also may be available. All agrichemicals/pesticides listed are registered for suggested uses in accordance with federal and Connecticut state laws and regulations as of the date of
printing. If the information does not agree with current labeling, follow the label instructions. The label is the law. Warning! Agrichemicals/pesticides are dangerous. Read and follow all instructions and safety
precautions on labels. Carefully handle and store agrichemicals/pesticides in originally labeled containers, out of reach of children, pets and livestock. Dispose of empty containers immediately in a safe manner and
place. Contact the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection for current regulations. The user of this information assumes all risks for personal injury or property damage.
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Extension
University of Connecticut