All/multiple crops:

Wet conditions in many parts of the ENY region continue to create conditions favorable to disease.

Electronic Point-of-Sale (POS) systems, such as the commonly used Square app, present farmers market vendors with an opportunity to gather data and learn from customer shopping habits. In turn, this data can be analyzed to reveal growth opportunities. POS provides a quick and easy means for farms to assess their marketing performance, make changes, and test for results. Matt LeRoux and Todd Schmit at Cornell’s Agricultural Marketing Research Program are working with NY’s farms to collect data using POS in direct-to-consumer channels and continue to recruit more farms for the project. They will be doing a two-part webinar series about their results so far and recruiting additional farmers to participate. Learn more here.

 Alliums: 

The fall flight of allium leafminer (ALM) will likely begin the first week of September and continue through October. ALM adults lay eggs near the tips of allium leaves. Maggots hatch from those eggs after 5-8 days and begin to mine their way toward the basal plate causing significant physical injury. Leeks are most at risk, but oviposition and mining scars can render scallions unmarketable as well. The most effective management tactic for organic growers is covering alliums with row cover or insect netting prior to the start of the fall flight. Conventional growers have several effective insecticides to choose from; more information on management options can be found here.

Brassicas:

Diamondback moth (DBM) is showing up in many brassica crops in the Capital District region.  DBM adults are very distinctive and do not look like any of the other moths that attack brassicas and are mostly nocturnal. They can be very difficult to control, especially when they get into the center of developing heads. Larvae have a few short, stiff hairs and will wriggle violently, and may also drop down from the leaf on a single strand of silk. Chlorantraniliprole (Coragen, Besiege etc.), spinetoram (Radiant, Entrust), and indoxacarb (Agree) all should provide control of DBM.

 Chenopods (Beets, Chard, Spinach):

Cercospora leaf spot levels are increasing on beets and chard. Begin spray programs at the first sight of disease. Organic growers can tank mix a copper product with Double Nickel (B. subtilis) for good control. Conventional growers have more options including mefentrifluconazole (Cevya) and propiconazole (Tilt), and mixed products such as Merivon (pyraclostrobin + fluxapryroxad) but should avoid relying exclusively on straight group 11 fungicides due to resistance concerns.

Cucurbits:

Cucurbit downy mildew (CDM) continues to march across cucumber plantings in the region.  Cucumber and melon plantings that you have finished harvesting for the season should be destroyed as soon as possible by mowing and incorporating, burning off with a non-selective herbicide, or maintaining fungicide coverage on them. These plantings can serve as a huge source of inoculum. Fungicides need to be applied to even the smallest of plants. Since Phytophthora and CDM are similar water molds, many of the fungicides are labeled for both diseases and can be found by clicking here.  Even though this “clade” or “strain” of CDM has been impacting mostly cukes and melons, CDM can infect other cucurbits such as pumpkins and winter squash. It may not kill them as quickly as cukes, but will reduce the leaf area and allow for other diseases to have more impact. Maintaining protective fungicides like chlorothalonil with your powdery mildew fungicides will help.

Powdery mildew (PM) 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. The table for PM can be found here. Not controlling PM in pumpkins and winter squash can cause several issues, including pre-mature ripening which can cause things like winter squash to not accumulate the normal sugars, poor handles on pumpkins, and increases the chance of sunburn due to the lack of foliage.

With early winter squash like spaghetti and acorn starting to ripen, it’s probably time to remind ourselves how to tell when our fall crops are mature and how to handle them. In a nutshell, many of the dark-skinned winter squash cultivars will have a nice dark orange spot of color on the side touching the soil surface. Butternut type will usually turn a slightly darker tan that is duller in color and will have a hard rind when they are mature that is difficult to penetrate with your thumbnail (if you can press your thumbnail into the skin on most winter squash, and if it still gives easily, the squash is not mature.). You can also look to see if the green stripes that you normally see when it is younger have either completely faded or are hardly there. Pumpkins are mature when the handles are stiff and have developed a uniform color, whereas immature fruit will tend to have handles that seem a little bit “wobbly” compared to one that is mature and un-wobbly. This method usually works best on fields that have had a good fungicide program and do not have a lot of disease in them already.  For more information and tips on harvesting, handling, and storing fall vine crops, click this link.

Nightshades: 

Late blight continues to spread on tomatoes in central New York near Syracuse and Ithaca. There are no confirmed reports of late blight in eastern New York yet; however, growers west of the capital district should be vigilant scouting for water-soaked lesions in their tomato crops. Additionally, a suspected but unconfirmed case of late blight was reported this week in central VT. If you suspect that you have late blight on your farm, please contact your ENYCHP specialist immediately.

Large numbers of two-spotted spider mites were found in both high tunnel and field tomato plantings in the past week. Spider mites may be seen without identification but are more easily viewed using a hand lens. Regular scouting for mites is needed to prevent large outbreaks, particularly in high tunnels. Spider mite feeding causes foliage to appear dull in color, yellow, and speckled with white mottling. Acramite, Nealta, and Portal are labeled for spider mite on tomato and have 3 days or fewer preharvest intervals (PHI), while Agri-Mek and Gladiator have PHIs of 7 days, which is more challenging during harvest season. Several organic products are labeled for mites (e.g. soaps, oils, etc.), but good coverage of leaf undersides is required for control. In high tunnel environments, releases of predatory mites at the onset of infestation can achieve excellent control.

Corn:

Counts have not been high for fall armyworm (FAW), but damage has shown up in many younger sweet corn plantings throughout the region. They can be very damaging in younger corn, with ragged feeding holes and lots of frass (sawdust looking dropping). Because most of our attention is spent on silking corn and corn earworm (CEW) control, younger corn can be missed. The threshold for damage in pre-tassel corn is 15%, which is not hard to reach with this pest. They can also infest the tips of the ears in older corn, so control is important. If treating for FAW on pre-tassel corn, use lots of water to push insecticide down into the whorl. Most insecticides labeled for CEW will also control FAW.

 

Miscellaneous: 

Basil downy mildew has spread aggressively through the Hudson Valley, even on varieties with genetic resistance like Prospera and Devotion. The oomycete pathogen that causes basil downy mildew can overcome genetic resistance when the environmental conditions are ideal for the disease to spread and when there is a high level of disease in the area. Infested plantings should be destroyed as soon as possible. A number of fungicides are labeled for use to manage basil downy mildew, including Ranman, Orondis Ultra, phosphoric acid fungicides (e.g. ProPhyt, Rampart, K-Phyt, etc.), Revus, and Presidio. More information on management options and identification can be found here.

Celery anthracnose is appearing in many plantings around the region. Click here for more information and management recommendations.