Muck Onion Research on Strategies for Managing Stemphylium Leaf Blight and Palmer Amaranth
With support from the New York Onion Research and Development Program, CCE ENYCHP specialist Ethan Grundberg completed a second year of research evaluating strategies for managing the foliar disease Stemphylium leaf blight (SLB) using biofungicides and for managing the pernicious pigweed species Palmer amaranth. The relentless rains of the 2023 growing season made it difficult to draw concrete conclusions from the research, but there were some notable takeaways:
Stemphylium Leaf Blight
- Phosphoric acid fungicides (ProPhyt, K-Phyt, Reveille, OLF) help maintain greener onion foliage and reduce SLB severity
- Adding Oso (polyoxin D zinc salt) to a conventional fungicide program has also resulted in greener foliage and less severe SLB
- There are trends towards reduced SLB severity when products containing Bacillus subtilis strains (Milagrum Plus, Serenade ASO, AVIV, OLF) are added to a conventional fungicide program
Palmer Amaranth
- Frequent post-emergent applications of GoalTender (oxyfluorfen) have been effective at limiting late-season Palmer amaranth pressure, though there is risk of the weed developing resistance to the WSSA Group 14 PPO inhibitors like GoalTender
- Late applications of pre-emergent chemistries like Prowl H2O (pendimethalin), Prowl EC (pendimethalin), and Zidua (pyroxasulfone, not registered for use in NY) have generally been safe for 9-leaf stage onions
- Applications of 1.5 fl oz of Chateau EZ (flumioxazin) at the 5-leaf and 6-leaf stage have significantly reduced weed pressure through harvest, but have resulted in unacceptable levels of crop injury and subsequent reductions in yield
Thanks to grower cooperators Frank Jarocki and Brennan Sobiech for hosting these trials and to the Onion Research and Development Program for financial support. Full progress reports for the Stemphylium leaf blight research and the Palmer amaranth research can be accessed by clicking the links.
USDA NASS Releases 2022 Ag Census Data
The National Agricultural Statistics Service recently released data from the 2022 Ag Census. The New York State vegetable data can be viewed by clicking here. There was a decrease of over 15,000 acres of harvested vegetables in the state from what was reported in 2017. However, New York is now the leading beet producer in the country barely passing Wisconsin. All of the census data can be accessed here.
Swede Midge Grower Survey
(5 Minutes)
Swede midge is a tiny insect pest of cole crops whose feeding causes unsightly brown corky scarring, distorted leaves/heads, blind heads, etc. It can especially be problematic on organic or low-input farms.
Cornell Cooperative Extension is pursuing grant funding to work with small scale brassica growers to help them better manage swede midge. To write a more impactful grant, we’d like to hear how swede midge has affected you.
For more information, contact Christy Hoepting (cah59@cornell.edu; 585-721-6953)
Your responses will be aggregated and remain anonymous. Thanks for your help!
Use the below URL to take survey
https://cornell.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8oDDcgCjIjF0VYW
Field Equipment Sanitation Survey
(weed seeds and other pests/pathogens)
A group of university (including Cornell) crop pest management and food safety researchers across the U.S. is currently gathering grower and ag industry information on field equipment sanitation practices with the goal of designing research to address needs of the agricultural industry and consumers.
Agricultural field equipment includes: planters and transplanters, tillage implements, tractors, harvesters, cultivation equipment, trucks, trailers, sprayers, mowers, or any other piece of equipment that is shared across fields.
Specifically, our team is interested in understanding if stakeholders are concerned about the movement of weed seeds, nematodes, insect, plant disease inoculum, and even some human health pathogens on equipment used for field operations. Additionally, we want to know what cleaning or sanitation practices you may have in place to mitigate the spread of pests.
To develop baseline information and guide future research and extension efforts, we are asking for growers and industry participation in a VERY BRIEF and ANONYMOUS survey (less than 5 minutes) so that we can get some sense of the concerns, practices, and barriers related to equipment sanitation in various crop sectors around the U.S.
Your participation would be greatly appreciated whether you think about this kind of thing regularly, or not at all.
The survey can be accessed online using this link:
https://forms.gle/DUxQQWXVh8LiANWa9
The survey can also be accessed by scanning this QR code:
CCE ENYCHP is Hiring Small Fruits Specialist
or use link below
https://apps.hr.cornell.edu/recruiting/facultyview.cfm?posting_id=_JOB_POSTING-3-78376
Posting Closes March 15th