All/multiple crops:

Rainy conditions continue to cause problems around the region, including delayed ripening, increased disease pressure, poor weed control, and inability to get into fields to plant fall crops.

 Alliums: 

Rainy conditions are favoring foliar disease in alliums, including purple blotch and likely Stemphylium in the north.

Bacterial bulb rots are common this year, especially in later maturing red varieties. Research conducted in major onion producing regions across the US has not found any significant reduction in bulb rots when using labeled bactericides like copper formulations and surface sanitizer products. Fields with high incidence of center rot (greater than 20%) should be sold and distributed quickly as it is nearly impossible to cull all of the rotten onions before storage and the infected bulbs will cause decay in otherwise unaffected onions in storage.

Thrips pressure is high in some isolated fields of later-maturing varieties where the insects have migrated from neighboring fields of early maturing onions. Growers who have not already used their two applications of Radiant at 8-10 fl oz/acre can knock down high populations (up to 4 thrips/leaf on average) with that product. Exirel at the full 20.5 fl oz/acre rate is also effective for knocking down high thrips populations, but should not be used if Minecto Pro has already been used twice this season (both products contain the same active ingredient cyantraniliprole).

Brassicas:

If not doing so already, growers should begin regular scouting of Brussels sprouts for cabbage aphids. Cabbage aphid populations tend to increase this time of year and can drastically reduce the marketability of sprouts as they feed around and underneath the sprout leaves and are difficult to wash off postharvest. Aphid infestations usually begin in “hot spots” in the field and are first noticeable on the apical meristem of plants.

Flea beetle numbers are increasing again in some areas. Be sure to scout fall transplants for damage and control beetles if there are more than a few per leaf on small plants in particular.

 Chenopods (Beets, Chard, Spinach):

Nothing new to report this week.

Cucurbits:

Cucurbit downy mildew pressure remains high in the north, with most farms affected by CDM at this point in the season, including many high tunnel crops. While the CDM clade that affects winter squash and pumpkins still is not in our region, CDM has now been confirmed on field pumpkins in Ohio. The ENYCH team will continue to monitor the spread of this CDM clade to alert pumpkin and winter squash growers if CDM-targeted fungicides are necessary, especially in pick-your-own operations who want to maintain good canopy cover later into the season.

Powdery mildew is increasing on older summer squash plantings, which should be removed if newer plantings are produced. Pumpkins are also seeing increasing PM pressure as they begin to ripen.

Nightshades: 

No new reports of late blight in the Northeast have been confirmed since our last report. We know that late blight was found in Simcoe, ON, Yates County, NY, and north of Montreal, QC in the last few weeks. A map of late blight outbreaks can be found here. If you believe you have late blight on your farm, let us know so that we can send samples for confirmation and contribute to the outbreak map.

As we continue to experience many rainy events and lack of sunshine, many growers are managing severe disease and delayed ripening of field tomatoes.

Hornworm pressure continues to be high around the North Country, with growers reporting larger populations than usual.

Anthracnose is showing up on mature tomato, eggplant, and pepper fruits. This disease starts as an orange spot then matures into a black spot covered in spores. Both chlorothalonil and coppers can help to prevent the spread of this disease. Practicing good sanitation and removing infected fruit from the field rather than dropping them at the base of the plant may also help.

Corn:

Large numbers of western bean cutworm (WBC) moths have been caught in traps set up over the ENYCHP region, raising questions about risk to corn crops.  In the past, after the first European corn borer (ECB) flight, there was a lull in lepidopteran pest activity until corn earworms (CEW) arrived, but that’s not the case anymore. WBC tend to emerge and start laying eggs right after the first generation of ECB. Similar to ECB, WBC moths typically lay eggs on corn while the tassel is just developing in the whorl. When the WBC eggs hatch, the larvae quickly move into the whorl to feed on the developing tassel, where they are protected. They are exposed when the tassel emerges and start to move down leaf axils and ultimately to feed on silks. From the silks, they soon move into the ear and are again protected. Just like ECB, WBC are exposed and susceptible to insecticide sprays when tassels emerge. If adults are detected in traps in your area, scout late whorl or early tassel stage corn for egg masses on the upper leaf surface of the top 3 leaves. The action threshold for fresh market sweet corn is 1%. On corn leaves, WBC damage resembles ECB damage. It’s likely that in most cases you will control WBC with the same sprays you are putting out at tassel for ECB. However, if you have very low ECB pressure and are not putting out tassel sprays, there is a chance you can get caught with WBC  if they are in your fields. Also be aware that only the Bt varieties with the Vip3A protein control WBC.

Miscellaneous: 

News coverage of PFAS contamination of drinking water, food, and the environment has been increasing in recent months. A new FAQ document for farms is now available to help producers understand the risk of PFAS contamination on their farm. If you have questions about PFAS, reach out to Elisabeth Hodgdon at eh528@cornell.edu