(This is a copy of this week’s specialty crop grower email… shoot Maryellen an email if you want to get on the mailing list or have access to any of the shared articles: ms3573@cornell.edu!)

Hi folks,

These emails seem to keep unfortunately landing on our smoky days! Hopefully, the weather clears out and we get some sun ahead.

Tis the season where pests and diseases start creeping into our fields, and this past week’s daily wet weather wasn’t particularly helpful for managing issues.

There are reports of cucurbit powdery and downy mildew in the northeast this week. Powdery mildew (tons more info here: https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/cucurbit-powdery-mildew/) is not particularly unexpected—it’s a common annual occurrence that can really knock down yields. Many cucumbers and melons have some resistance, and PM generally spreads better when it’s dry (so it hasn’t been spreading much this past week!).

Downy mildew is a different beast and causes significantly more plant and yield damage. (https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/crops/cucurbits/downy-mildew/ and a 2022 update: https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/downy-mildew-of-cucurbits/current-management-guidelines-based-on-research-results/)

Cucurbit downy mildew usually arrives at the end of the growing season in August/September on winds blowing up from the south. Unfortunately, there are odd early season cases reporting in this week from Quebec and New Jersey, which indicates that DM spores are bracketing our region and potentially active on the wind. If cucurbits are a key portion of your crop mix, it may be worth starting to monitor DM reports here (https://cdm.ipmpipe.org/) and get prepared to begin any prophylactic applications as it creeps closer.

For sweet corn growers, you can also check out reports and the map from the NYS IPM Sweet Corn Pheromone Trap Network here: https://sweetcorn.nysipm.cornell.edu/. They have a good video highlight and scouting sheet that walks you through how to scout your fields and determine when to take action steps.

For added resources this week (email us if you are interested in one of these articles and to get on our grower email list), we have:

• High Tunnel Soil Fertility: Calculating Nutrient Needs Using lbs/acre, Part 1, by Judson Reid, CCE Cornell Vegetable Program and Harvest NY—for growers using tunnels, the second in this series will be out mid-July and focuses on needs based on ppm. For newer tunnel growers, this link: https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2017/10/a-farmers-perspective/ is an informal intro to how tunnel soil management differs from field crops.
• Swede Midge Management for Summer and Fall Brassicas, by Elisabeth Hodgdon, CCE ENYCHP—most established growers have likely (unfortunately) had some run-ins with these guys already, but if you are a newer broccoli or cauliflower grower and have mysterious heading issues, check out this article!
• NYSPAD: Your State Pesticide Information Resource, by Michael Helms, CCE Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP)—finally, I know that this is not usually the time of year where folks have time to dig around for pesticide info! However, the DEC has been working to get way more information online, and this is a good walk through of using their website for easy reference. We don’t have any upcoming courses with credits since summer is so busy for folks, but we are working to get some recert credit-heavy sessions together locally in November and December.

I hope that the start of July sees you all doing well, and the fields starting to produce. Thank you for all your work!

Happy farming, and happy Fourth of July, Maryellen